Something that surprised me from the story “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant was its abrupt ending because it was totally unexpected. The Loisels spent many years paying off the debt of a necklace that at the end of the story is revealed to be fake. Imagine living 10 years in poverty and making the effort to pay something that has no value at all.. Something that intrigued me from this story was how Mathilde’s urge to appear wealthy and become higher class led her to make the huge mistake of borrowing a necklace and having to face the consequences when loses it and lives 10 years of misery, after paying off her debts and learning the lesson, the situation seems to humble her. Why would you want to hide who you really are? Why would you want to adopt other people’s habits? Why do we believe we need to impress others with things we can’t even afford sometimes to be loved/ be part of their daily lives?
Something that puzzled me can be found in “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson
“She rose to his requirement, dropped
The playthings of her life
To take the honorable work
Of woman and of wife.”
This puzzled me because she refers to what she likes to do as “playthings” as if it had no value. I think this might be because women’s work is less valued than men’s and they see it as something to spend/kill her time. I’m a little confused by this. Also, referring to her “wife role” as an honorable role? while her dreams, passions and expectations are “playthings”?
One thought on “Lorianny Neris, Week 9”
Lorianny, thank you for the really interesting comments about what puzzled you. You express so well the contradictions in the language. Why are the woman’s dreams passions, and expectations referred to as “playthings?” while her role as a wife, catering to a husband is deemed “honorable?” You puzzlement opens up so many questions!