Verified Document

Purple Lady A Lost Lady Term Paper

In short, it's mentally and emotionally taxing to grow up believing physical abuse is warranted, objectification of women is normal, and whatever a man says happened, happened. Thankfully, in later chapters, Celie slowly starts to become disabused of these ideas. In A Lost Lady Mrs. Marian Forrester is an aristocrat. And, therefore, she is not subjected to some of the personal atrocities that Celie is subjected to (i.e., Mrs. Forrester's babies are stolen from her and presumably murdered by her stepfather). Nevertheless, like Celie, Mrs. Forrester lives in an era where men objectify women. Like Celie, she is something to be possessed.

"If she merely bowed to you, merely looked at you, it constituted a personal relation. Something about her took hold of one in a flash; one became acutely conscious of her, of her fragility and grace, of her mouth which could say so much without words; of her eyes, lively, laughing, intimate, nearly always a little mocking" -- this is how the Neil Herbert describes Mrs. Forrester (Cather 38).

From the description, it's clear that she is something to behold, that she has an impact on one's conscious. But, the reader will also notice the words that are used to articulate her essence, "fragility," "grace," the sensual quality of her eyes and mouth, "intimate," are often used to express traditional feminine stereotypes (women are weaker then men, women should submit to men, women should be dominated by men, etc.). The reader can assume that Neil's attraction to Mrs. Forrester is based off of her feminine mystique. But implicit...

Forrester has grown to accept the "this is a man's world" disposition. And like Celie, she believes that submitting to men is the way in which society is supposed to be.
In her recount of how Mr. Forrester rescued her when she broke her legs, Mrs. Forrester discusses the need to feel protected, "I could feel his heart pump and his muscles strain,' she said, 'when he balanced himself and me on the rocks. I knew that if we fell, we'd go together; he would never drop me'" (Cather 175).

That last line, "he would never drop me" is instructive to the reader. It illustrates Mrs. Forester's desire to feel secured and protected, to feel that a man is in control, come what may.

The notion that men are in control, or should be in control, is something that both Mrs. Forrester and Celie accept. Celie accepts this because it has been literally beaten into her. And Mrs. Forrester accepts this because she has a desire to embrace traditional femininity. However, they also both accept it because it is reinforced by their respective cultural and social milieus. As it turns out, and what both Walker and Cather are expressing is that it's a man's world whether one is an aristocrat actress or a rural Georgia farmhand.

Works Cited

Cather, Willa. A Lost Lady. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Print.

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida: Harcourt Press, 1982. Print.

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Cather, Willa. A Lost Lady. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Print.

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida: Harcourt Press, 1982. Print.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Color Purple, Directed by Steven Spielberg and
Words: 2029 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the eponymous novel by Alice Walker, recounts the tale of Celie Harris and the obstacles she had to overcome in order to achieve the freedom she longed for and deserved. The Color Purple deals with many social issues including racism, sexism, and poverty, but a major underlying theme within the film is belonging. There are many ways in which the

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra Love and Poetic
Words: 1315 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Shakespeare's Antony And Cleopatra Love and Poetic Imagery in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra." In William Shakespeare's play, Antony and Cleopatra, some people blame Antony for jeopardizing his Roman manliness for the love of Cleopatra, and some people think that the play shows that the Roman world of power and martial honor is well lost for love. This paper will discuss the depictions of Antony's and Cleopatra's respective conflicts, and how those depictions

Batman Outfit Exploring the Batman
Words: 3211 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Another theme which is symbolized by this dual, contradictory character in Batman films is fear, especially Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. The darkness of Batman's outfit instills fear. Bruce Wayne is initially scared of a bat he sees out the window and bat is also a dark color. What Bruce is in Batman Begins is an individual with fear who not only tries to overcome it but also becomes part of

Piaf, Pam Gems Provides a View into
Words: 46193 Length: 125 Document Type: Dissertation

In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a

Character in Cinema
Words: 17376 Length: 50 Document Type: Thesis

He simply cannot escape these expectations. So, when Robert DeNiro takes on a comedic role, such as the role of the potential father-in-law in Meet the Parents, the moment he comes on the screen, the audience is aware that he is Robert DeNiro, in addition to the character that is being portrayed. Therefore, his character can do things that other characters could not. Who but Robert DeNiro could portray

Ripening of Age the Short
Words: 7517 Length: 24 Document Type: Term Paper

This sentence, although it talks about bowels, is really describing the mother's love of the baby. This story is written like a detective story. It is very difficult to determine which woman is telling the truth and to determine if King Solomon is actually a bad person or a good person. It does not give the names of the women. They are simple referred to as one woman and the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now