There is no denying that the recent texts we have been assigned to read for class have been anything short of entertaining. Each story could be transformed into a modern daytime soap opera. Every story is so over-the-top and dramatic it is almost annoying. However, coming from a girl’s perspective, I have a slight suspicion that some of us still have similar feelings towards heartache.
I am not suggesting that women today behave in such extreme ways. We aren’t (for the most part at least) ripping off our clothes and mangling our flesh like Mary-Ann Mooney in “Innocence Betrayed”. Over the years we have learned to keep most of our “crazy” hidden; not only to keep up our own reputations, but to avoid scaring other people. While reading “Innocence Betrayed” on the outside we all laugh at this pathetic girl who is driven to the brink of insanity over some slime-ball guy who charmed his way into sleeping with her. However on the inside, at least for me, I completely sympathize with Mary-Ann. Even today I hear similar stories of these types of men manipulating wholesome girls into doing things that typically go against their morals. The times might have changed, but a sad story is still a sad story.
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4 comments:
I agree that it's not too difficult to sympathize with these abandoned women. I don't really appreciate the portrayal of the delicate, weak, swooning female, which makes it difficult for me (as a modern-day reader) to relate to the attributes the author assigns her. But I definitely do understand her plight and her resulting emotions.
I also like your point that many of these stories are akin to soap operas. I think that's a good confirmation that as instructive and serious as these texts are, the accounts of fallen women also had entertainment value. I think especially of "The Traveller," in which the woman is imprisoned by her husband. What an awful situation! But the horror and scandal of the tale probably kept contemporary readers in thrall.
meredith,
this was a great post and i think we are on the same page in a lot of ways. i def. feel for these women who go through this heartache, it just sucks. i think you make a good point that even though some of these women are really extreme and dramatic, their behavior is almost merited in that they are going through something that they don't want to have to go through.
sigh.
I agree with you. Even though these women might seem ridiculous at time and a little bit melodramatic, sometimes is it really not just to cover up a broken heart? I too have seen many instances where some girls I know have completely lowered their standards and morals because the guy seemed charming and sweet, yet did not respect what she wanted. That is always a very sad and upsetting thing to hear.
I did think that so many of the texts that we read were so over-the-top that it made it difficult to stay focused on the content. Because our culture has changed so much as far as we as women view relationships, it is difficult to identify with a woman that goes insane because she has been duped. We only rip our clothes off to get into something more comfortable.
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