6/19/2020 0 Comments Ulysses [Penelope] by James JoyceThis reading was so interesting to get through because it was basically one big, run-on sentence. It was almost as if we were getting this woman’s entire thought process, as it was going through her head. I truly struggled to understand some of the things she was talking about at times. However, the sexual tension this woman was feeling was incredibly evident, which was not a normal thing to be talked about in this time period. Women’s feelings were not usually even thought about. I also found her opinions on women interesting and conflicting. It’s difficult to analyze this writing from the point of view of a woman, when it was actually written by a man. I struggle with conflicting thoughts because although these sound like real things a woman would be thinking during this time it’s not actually words coming from a woman.
At the very beginning of this piece, the narrator immediately goes in on sexual desires. She begins to talk about the man she had an affair with and how he treated her. She seemed a little upset and even sounded like she felt as if she had been used by him. She goes on to talk relatively explicitly about his sexual desires by saying, “…O well I suppose its because they were so plump and tempting in my short petticoat he couldn’t resist…” She then goes on to say, “…they excite myself sometimes…” which would not have been a very normal or accepted thing to say at the time. Later in the writing she goes on to complain about not being touched by her own husband and wanting it so badly. She says, “…it’s a wonder Im not an old shrivelled hag before my time living with him so cold never embracing me…” Then she says, “… still of course a woman wants to be embraced 20 times a day…” These two lines especially show her strong desire for physical attention from her husband. Another thing I found interesting is that the narrator kind of seems to have conflicting views on women. At one point she says, “… I don’t care what anybody says itd be much better for the world to be governed by the women in it you wouldn’t see women going and killing one another and slaughtering…” This line gives the reader the idea that the narrator is a woman’s woman, but she contradicts herself later by saying, “…some women ready to stick her knife in you I hate that in woman no wonder they treat us the way they do we are a dreadful lot of bitches…” Although she’s not saying anything too terrible about women, this line does kind of seem to contradict the previously mentioned line about women, so we’re kind of left with mixed ideas as readers. Overall, I’m still struggling with the fact that this was written by a man from a woman’s perspective. It seems that it was purposely written like a big run-on sentence so that it would seem more realistic as the actual, real-life thought process as a woman. The writing style was a tactic to make the charade more believable.
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AuthorHello! Welcome to my blog page! My name is Abbie and I'm a Communication Studies student at Wright State University. I like to spend my free time shopping, playing Animal Crossing, and watching Netflix, of course. I'm currently not working so I get to hang out with my fiancé's two kids who are 4 and 5 every day. |