Dearest Spagman,

     I hope this letter finds you well and at home on Orian. I am currently on Earth, in a region called “North America” travelling slowly, but surely. My mission is almost over, as I have procured many of the supplies I was sent here for, all that remains is the elusive potato, but try as I might, I cannot figure out how they harvest it and have not seen any in the fields I have visited, I only hope I haven’t missed the growing season. The language barrier is insufferable and unforgiving and I’m afraid more than I can navigate, I hope I do not have to return home without procuring the potato. The methods of travel here are unbearably slow, teleportation has not been discovered and since I do not have an earthy identification card, I’m travelling on what seems to be a prehistoric train (a contraption that has many ‘cars’ that can only run on tracks). The only upside of the tedious travel is that I’ve had time to read some of the translated American texts I’ve brought along, the commentary on early American life is truly fascinating, especially from the early writers who were women (I think, they would be the ‘life-givers’ of Orian). By using a constellation of literary devices, these female authors and their female characters provide a mirror to the hypocrisy of American society; they expose how women subvert the rigid social constructs that have been put in place by a patriarchal society.

     Anne Sexton was a powerful, tortured America poet. After reading her biography, the meaning behind her confessional poems is more clear. On the surface, Sexton seemed like a typical woman of the 1950-1960’s, she was a wife and mother of two children. However, underneath, Sexton was a woman who had multiple marital affairs, many therapy sessions, and eventually committed suicide (Wagner-Martin, “Anne Sexton’s Life”). Out of all of this inner struggle, Sexton wrote a poem “Her Kind” where she uses metaphors to describe trying to find her way in the world of being a stereotypical woman, doing stereotypical things, yet never feeling quite right.

     Each stanza of “Her Kind” ends with the line, “I have been her kind” (ll. 7, 14, 22). She also talks about fixing dinner “for the worms and the elves” (l. 11) and making a home in the caves in the woods. Cooking and homemaking were very stereotypical things for women to do during this time period, but the strangeness of where the home is and who the suppers are for serves as a metaphor for how foreign Sexton felt in this identity. Sexton also references being a witch in the poem, and on the blog (some sort of electronic journal), “Book Haven,” the author does an excellent job of tying to unpack what the significance of all of this turmoil had for Sexton’s poetry, “using a metaphor of the traditional image of the witch, Anne is describing ways in which she does not fir the caricature of the 1950’s/60’s ideal woman.” The metaphors that Sexton employs show how in efforts to conform to the social constructs of American society, she can’t help but feel ostracized.

     Unlike Sexton and her poetry that created a confessional for her tortured life, Sarah Jewett uses a young female child as the main character in her short story “A White Heron.” Sylvia is a young girl, living with her grandmother during the 1800’s where as Lacey McCormick puts it, “marriage and family preservation are first priority” (McCormick, “Sylvia”). Jewett uses symbolism in this story to show the constructs that young Sylvia is supposed to abide by, yet flaunts in the pursuit of something more beautiful.

     Sylvia encounters a young man, who kills and preserves wild birds for pleasure. This act, in itself, symbolizes the man exerting dominion over nature. Instead of hunting as a provider, the young man hunts completely to fulfill his need for trophies. Sylvia’s grandmother meets the stranger and immediately offers her hospitality. Sara Schultz was right to point this out as a symbol of “what would have been typical of the mind set and doings of the typical house/homemaker of this day” (Schultz, “Sylvia”). Juxtaposed with Sylvia, we see the extent that Sylvia is subverting these roles. Once his belly is full and he has secured a place to sleep the stranger reveals what he is most looking for: the elusive white Heron. While white is a virginal symbol of purity, the Heron symbolizes many things: in the Chinese culture, the Heron stands for strength, purity, and patience (“Symbolic Meanings Blog”).  All of these adjectives are also suspiciously feminine. Sylvia discovers where the bird lives, at great risk to herself, but instead of giving her knowledge to the man, she hold its close, like a dear secret, “she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak” (Jewett, II). The secret Sylvia keeps is symbolic to her budding womanhood, instead of enjoying the approval of handsome man; Sylvia knows that the beauty she holds inside of her is more important.  

     Like Sylvia, another character that defies the societal pressures to conform to being a typical woman, is Mary E. Wilkins’ Sarah Penn. At first glance, Sarah Penn looks to be a very stereotypical woman, while her husband tends to the farm, she tends to the home, keeping it clean and also cooking for her family. However, it is the strong characterization that Wilkins employs that truly makes Sarah stand out. It is her unlikely response to disappointment and the quiet solution she concocts that shows her unwillingness to succumb to the social constructs of her gender.                        

     What Sarah really wants, is a new home. She's living in the current one for forty years, grasping at the promise her husband once made her to build her a new home. A smart woman, she understands it's not financial constraints to blame for the lack of a new home, but the selfishness of her husband. When she confronts him about building yet another barn, he rejects her, simply telling her "I ain't got nothin' to say" (Wilkins, 556). She is disappointed, and cries, but ultimately comes out to start making her husband new clothing. While this seems like a definition of the stereotypical role of being a woman, it is an act of defiance. In this moment, it is easy to see Sarah as a dutiful wife, keeping to the promises she has made to her husband, despite the fact that he hasn't upheld his promises.                                                            

     Also, Sarah decides to take it upon herself to claim the new barn as her long promised new home. Her husband is out of town, and she directs the male characters of the story to obey her, and forego the instructions her husband has issued. Since defying one’s husband was considered taboo, the reaction of the townspeople was hardly surprising – the minister of the town even went to see her, as if to talk her out of her decision. She has taken control, and once her house is set up in the new barn, continues with her wifely duties as if nothing has happened. She awaits the arrival of her husband, dutifully cooking him dinner, as if nothing has happened. She is not an angry woman from the broken promises her husband has made, she has simply taken control of her situation -- and this, gives power to her, creating a vehicle for deconstructing the roles of women.                                                 

     Spagman, each of these women, Anne Sexton, little Sylvia, and Sarah Penn are all remarkable women who have done remarkable work to redefine the roles of women in American society. While the America I’m visiting now is not the same America these women existed in, things are still not necessarily equal. The authors, Sexton herself, Sarah Jewett, and Mary E. Wilkins used different styles of writing: confessional poems, metaphors, symbolism, and characterization. Even though each piece is written in a very different style, the messages can be read the same: it is impossible for women to be equal without subverting the social constructs put in place by a patriarchal American society.

I’m looking forward to seeing you, what I hope is soon! 

With Affection,

Meatparm Rylee Erickson