A Sorrowful Woman
"A Sorrowful Woman" is a selection written by Gail Godwin. Within this selection she shows how a marriage does not always lead to a perfect life. Godwin uses "A Sorrowful Woman" to portray modern marriages. "A Sorrowful Woman" is a parody of fairy tales. The traditional fairy tale has a fixed resolution- everyone lives happily ever after. At the beginning of "A Sorrowful Woman" the reader is given the illusion of a happy story because it begins "Once upon a Time" (Godwin 33). In this story the ideal of a traditional fairy tale is mocked.The characters in this selection are not given names (Godwin 33); this signifies that the characters are playing a universal role. The epigraph at the beginning of story suggests that she was not meant to be a wife and a mother (Godwin 33). The reason for this conclusion is because once upon a time implies that she thought her life as a wife and mother would be perfect. The sorrowful woman hit her child on purpose so that her husband would see it (Godwin 34). In a fairy tale the mother would be happy to spend time with her family. Godwin makes fun of fairy tales by having the characters do all the opposite things of characters in a fairy tale. When the sight of her family made her so
The traditional fairy tale tells of happy endings, problems that always work out for the best, enjoyable events, and a springtime that brings about rebirth. "A Sorrowful Woman" is just the opposite of a fairy tale. She is sad and depressed. She can no longer bear to be around her family and take care of her household duties; therefore she stays away from her son and husband (Godwin 34). When she can no longer endure being in the world, she kills herself (Godwin 37). The short story by Godwin serves as a warning to say that marriage may be happiest when it is deferred because marriage does not always lead to eternal happiness. Modern marriages sometimes cause havoc and end disastrously. Goodwin, Gail. "A Sorrowful Woman." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 33-37. gloomy and sick that she never wanted to see them again (Godwin 33). There was nothing that would relieve the sorrowful woman of her depression. Her husband gives her a sleeping drought that further depresses her, instead of revitalizing her (Godwin 35). He seemed to be eager to do whatever he could to please his wife because he thought that would make her ha
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Approximate Word count = 817
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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