Yet the reader can easily piece together this scenario: the harried working mother trying to find a spouse sends away her daughter so that (as an unattached woman) she can pursue romance and remarriage. That the daughter had been shuffled out of the way in favor of romance is made evident by the fact that once she returns she is severely marginalized by her mother's relationship with her stepfather. For example, they frequently leave this little five-year-old home alone when they go out together at night -- something that by modern standards is considered abusive. In fact, Emily is obviously traumatized by this, and becomes frightened and delusional. This overwhelming fear is made worse when her mother gives birth to a second child. When her sister is born, Emily is entirely pushed aside in favor of the newcomer. One cannot easily justify her mother's selfishness in this case. When her first child is ill with the red measles, she doesn't even go in to check on her when she has terrible fever dreams and becomes delirious. "She did not get well... she would call for me... I would rouse from exhaustion to sleepily call back: 'you're all right, darling, go to sleep, it's just a dream.',, only twice, when I had to get up for Susan anyhow, I went in to sit with her." (Olsen, 205) Eventually, when the first child becomes too much of a bother, they ship her off to the convalescent home without first researching whether she will be well treated there. They delay eight months before...
From that day forward, however, it appears that Emily is used as a sort of unpaid baby-sitter. Her own schooling is allowed to suffer while she cares for the other children.
Conflict Themes in "Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton This paper looks at the Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and discuses certain aspects within the novel, such as the central conflict themes, and the development of certain characters, this paper also looks at in brief the irony and symbolic nature of the time. Bibliography cites one reference. The Age of Innocence: The Conflict The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton was written
Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence' The Age of Innocence is an enchanting Victorian era novel that eloquently illustrates the price of being among New York's high society the late nineteenth century. The novel's main characters are Newland Archer, a high society attorney, his fiance May Welland, and her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Archer is captivated by May's girl-like innocence and her firm grasp on their society's traditions. Their families are among
When that rocket took flight, in that moment I knew that learning was something that would never end for me. I knew that learning would be a life long process that would take me through highs and lows. However, in this instance the lows would never be seen in a negative light, not by me anyway. These moments would be more opportunities to grow from mistakes and perfect my
DNA Exonerations: John Kogut The Path To Exoneration: John Kogut The Path to Conviction When 16-year-old Teresa Fusco left work at 9:45 PM on November 10, 1984 she became one among several young girls reported missing over the past several years [Centurion Ministries, 2013; Innocence Project, n.d.(a)]. In contrast to her predecessors, however, her body was discovered a month later in a wooded area several blocks from the roller rink where she worked.
By taking part in his destiny, she somewhat disproves Zeus' claim that humans are wrong to suggest that the gods are to blame -- for without her interference, the many suitors would not have been slaughtered by Odysseus. Athena's speech here, which will fuel the eventual release of Odysseus and his long ride home, continues at this point to describe the situation in which (at the story's beginning) he is
Coming of Age Stories: Explorations of Components of the Narrative In literature, one of the most frequently dealt with theme is the story of one character's developing over time and reacting to the various experiences that he or she faces through the course of the narrative. This type of tale, called a coming of age story, follows the characters from the point at the beginning of the story all the way
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