If I Can't Have Her, No One Can (Old Woman Magoun)

A detailed Summary of If I Can't Have Her, No One Can (Old Woman Magoun)

Most people, when forced to give up the one thing they truly love, would rather see it be destroyed than in the hands of another person. In "Old Woman Magoun," by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, the old woman is in that position. She is burdened with relinquishing custody of her granddaughter, Lily, to the child's father. Throughout the story, the old woman faces an inner struggle over caring for and, ultimately, losing her granddaughter. She deals with her struggle in a very realistic, human response.

Old Woman Magoun is a woman who refuses to be disobeyed or disagreed with. She has a peculiar command over all those in her company. "No one had dared openly gainsay the old woman" (Freeman, 362). The only person she cannot make "visibly cower" (361) is Nelson Barry, Lily's father. He is the only one that shows any disregard towards the old woman. Old Woman Magoun and Nelson Barry never agree with each other in any way. The old woman has been especially cautious of Barry ever since her daughter died and she had to take care of Lily. After an un

In many of her stories, Freeman "invests the women with power and yet simultaneously limits their power" (http://www.georgetown.edu/libraries/ 2). Old Woman Magoun has a mysterious command over people, but it doesn't help her when it comes to keeping Lily. She still has to relinquish her control over the child and she has no power to change the circumstances. Freeman makes the old woman suffer the "realities of nineteenth-century New England" (2). These realities are that a woman must abide by her socially defined and accepted role and if she does not abide, she will suffer the consequences that result. These consequences are usually that of major change. Old Woman Magoun breaks the preconceived notion that woman's role is to be submissive and therefore she is punished in an indirect fashion. She is expected to give the little girl to her father with little or no argument. She cannot perceive doing this because of her incredible love for the child.

Old Woman Magoun murders her granddaughter because of her selfish human nature. Unfortunat

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Approximate Word count = 710
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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