Anayeli Maximino Discussion 2

The theme in the nineteenth-century Emily Dickinson’s poem “The Wife” connects with the twentieth-century story “Another Evening at the Club” by Alifa Rifaat because it mentions the gender norms during that time. In “Another Evening at the Club,” mentions how this young teenage girl, Samia, ends up getting married to a wealthy older man. Her mom prepared her to become a wife by doing work at home while she was still in middle school. Samia started to question whether the servant knew where her missing bracket was. So, the husband took matters into his hands and slapped her which shows power when there’s a disagreement between a man and a woman. Salma could’ve said something and stopped him from hitting the servant but no she was just standing there. But later on, Salma finds the bracelet, and the husband doesn’t care enough to drop the charges because he doesn’t want the town to laugh at them. The quote “To take honorable work, of woman and of wife” by Emily Dickinson connects with Samia’s life because she as a woman must look beautiful, do wife duties, and agree with any decisions her husband makes. This entitles her to have no say. Her husband is the man of the house and is right in everything. Emily Dickinson and Alifa Rifaat both give an example of gender norms during those times and sadly it’s still happening to this day.