I thought that this passage reminded me of the relationship between John and Jane in "The Yellow Wallpaper"
"Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had ailed him all day. Mr. Pontellier was too well acquainted with fever symptoms to be mistaken. ..... She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her."
Then later, she starts crying all alone on the porch.
"She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much the abundance of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self-understood."
I think this shows that Mrs. Pontellier does not feel like she has a good relationship with her husband. Maybe she feels like he doesn't understand her, and it's obvious they have had disagreements. However, she seems to be confused as to why minor disagreements are making her so upset.
I find it interesting how similar the first quote is to TYW. Mr. Pontellier again refuses to listen to his wife about a medical condition and swears that he knows best. I definitely agree that this relationship is not super-duper strong. Wives shouldn't end up crying all alone because of their husbands. They spend a good deal of time with their husbands, so if they don't feel comfortable or respected they should do something about it. I guess in this time period, it was thought that wives were objects and didn't deserve respect, but this relationship is obviously getting to her. Her sadness could drive her mad! Like Jane...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gwen, all these wives get told they're wrong and that their husband is right. In the time period there was just no respect for them. She is a strange person but she doesn't deserve to go cry on the porch.
ReplyDeleteI think this might relate to what Edna said to Robert about Mrs. P. She doesn't feel love right now, so she might be worried that Mrs. P would get attached to anyone that looked her way.
ReplyDeleteRelationship dynamics have changed alot since then! Women and men generally have an equal say in the raising of their children (assuming they are not divorced). Edna should have been treated better and Leonce should have listened when she said Raul didn't have a fever.
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