Yet, they simultaneously lent her the ability to soldier on through a difficult life. The combination of all who she loved, her illnesses, her tragedies and her heartbreaks, shaped Ellen’s mindset and personality, while altering the course of her life for better and for worst. Ellen Weatherall’s romantic life was marked by abandonment; her fiancé left her at the altar and her husband died young. It is significant to note that these early abandonments seemed to have left her unwilling to remarry. Also, she faced life-threatening illnesses which likely left her near-death more than once.
Somehow caught in a never ending battle of how to survive. For April Raintree, her battle was both hiding and finding her identity- spiritually, emotionally and physically. Even though April Raintree had so many defining moments in her life, the three main factors that shaped her identity was living with the DeRosier’s, the rape, and the death of her sister. When April Raintree was living with the DeRosier’s, they changed her identity drastically. By living with the DeRosier’s April was taught to hate her people, her family, but she also learned to stay strong.
The reader can see this when John says, “But he is an old man living there all alone. What is it Anne? You’re not like yourself this morning” (Ross, 288) One can see in this quote that Anne’s happiness is starting to change after hearing news about John leaving to see his dad again. She is starting to get aggravated by it, and wishes that John would just stop going. Later on in the story, one see’s in this quote by Anne, ““I mustn’t,” she said aloud again “I married him....”” (Ross, 293) that she is trying to convince herself not to sleep with Steve because of her relationship with John.
She is more insightful of her surrounding than Nora Helmer. Mrs Linde expresses to Nora how she is still a “terrible spendthrift” (Ibsen, 2011, p. 556) and hasn't “learned any sense yet” (Ibsen, 2011, p 556). Mrs Linde seems to be holding back a bit of resentment for Nora who keeps rambling on about how “tremendous'”(Ibsen, 2011, p. 556) the wife of a lawyer life is; whose promotion is expecting
Kavita, Somer, and Asha, all struggle psychologically with the reality of the brutality they face as women. Kavita struggles to conform to the idea that she had to give her daughter up for adoption, and the fact that she might not even meet her. Somer is deeply affected by Asha’s desire to know who her biological parents are and the desire she has to meet them, and Asha is extremely affected by the sense of rejection she feels from her biological parents for not wanting her and putting her up for adoption. Kavita’s psychological suffering in the novel has to do with the loss of her daughters. Her psychological trauma begins with the brutality of the way her first daughter was taken away to die.
Although she has learned a lot from her schooling and has a better knowledge than her mom & sister, I feel she possesses this know-it-all attitude about what heritage really is. Although Wangero does make a good point in saying that heritage is beautiful and should be shown as art for people to appreciate, I just feel she went about the situation all wrong. Maggie is at first a docile character, until she sees her sister disrespecting her mother and then she stands up because her mother doesn’t. I am not saying I have no sympathy for Maggie. Based on the theme of the story I feel that Maggie has a greater, more genuine appreciation for her heritage.
Her dealing with these individuals has caused her to become very resentful, bitter and jealous. She was very jealous of her sister Stella-Rondo. In the text Sister stated “I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again” ( Welty, 367). This statement that Sister made insinuates that she does not want her sister around. And would be thankful if she went back to where she came from.
She tries to manipulate Stella and tries to blame her for the loss. She says that if she would have stayed during the hard times to help the others through their sickness and death that she could have focused more on taking care of the home instead of everyone else Blanche pokes fun at Stella's lifestyle and social standing when she herself is in an even worse situation. She is homeless and staying where ever she can. She is defending herself against blame for the loss of Belle Reve before Stella can even put her two cents in. In Stella’s eyes she thought that she was just one more person in the way.
She does not feel comfortable taking on the old fashioned lifestyle her mother and sister do. Dee is a more contemporary version of society striving to leave their home and become successful. Dee inadvertently talked down to her mother and sister, reading to them on several occasion as if they were ignorant (121). Dee appeared to be very intimidating
Almost immediately, Woolf reveals Mrs. Dalloway’s insecurities, with her accidental encounter with a man from her past, Hugh Whitbread. Although decades have passed since the two parted ways, Clarissa immediately grows aware of her hat, which she feels might be unfit for the occasion and perhaps does not match Hugh’s impeccable sense of style. Mrs. Dalloway constantly thinks about her past and the summers at Bourton, through which Woolf reveals several important themes. First, the fear of aging and time is distinct as she ponders the different directions her life could have taken and notes “she felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged.” In addition, as Clarissa walks, she recalls lines from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, which come from a funeral song and reveal her constant contemplation of death. Peter Walsh and Clarissa Dalloway have a lot of similarities.