So I do have to say this is probably one of the most unique stories I've ever read. It seems like a memory someone might have had sitting on a bench thinking about the things their parents have told them throughout a few years. Unfortunately for the girl in the story "Girl," most of these things seemed to have negative feelings attached to them.
A large portion of what is written in the story seems to be stereotypical things a mother might have taught her daughter in the fifties; from how to do laundry, to cooking, to how to handle her first boyfriend. The mother teaches a variety of skills but after each time she teaches there always rests some measure of doubt that the daughter will ever grow to reach the potential of being an actual lady. The matron constantly says things like this is how the girl should sit at a table so the men around her won't recognize her for the slut the parent thinks she'll become.
Towards the later end of the story we start to see that the mother is even more ruthless than we might have thought. She mentions how to manipulate men, how to create abortion medicines, and how to overall get what one wants socially.
Overall, I would like to know why the mother doubts her child so and what exactly made her to be the woman that she is.
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You have an interesting take on the time period. When I read the story, I didn't really think of a time period in general, just as lessons a mother would teach a daughter she believes is on the wrong path. However, given the author's age and the deep, personal nature of a story like this, it is very possible that she is the speaker in this story.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with this take on the story. I think it shows how much a mother's criticisms can scar a young girl. Words don't just leave you when you get older.
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