ENGL 4310

I'm not really able to judge when I am and when I am not being cynical. Some of the things I've said/written/thought in response to our stories have been sort of cynical, but I think some of that just comes from critical thinking and close reading. Whatever. In any case, reading and reflecting on "Good Country People" left me looking back, cynically, on what the women in our stories have been forced to learn.

What a Woman Learns in "Good Country People"

This story ... I swear ... if an acquaintance asked me to summarize it, I'd say, "Basically, this woman who's got a fake leg is super independent and doesn't trust men or people in general, and she sort of looks down on country people even though that's what she is, and then she meets this guy, this Bible salesman, who's really simple and sweet and just instantly adores her, and so SHE LETS HER GUARD DOWN FOR ONCE! And then it turns out that the guy is really a creepster, and he takes her fake leg and leaves her stranded after making out with her in a barn. Basically." And ... okay, this is where I leave behind the pretense of this being grounded in critical thinking and just confess that I'm reading this as a girl who thinks it's crappy that, in fiction and in reality, there's a tendency for women to "lose their wits," surrender their hearts, and get screwed over. If this is a text about what women are taught in relationships, then boo for that. Joy/Hulga is taught:

• She cannot trust her instincts.
• Her will ought to yield to a man's; she can be ordered around. (pg. 279: "You ain't said you loved me none. You got to say that." pg. 280: "I just want to know if you love me or dont'cher?" "Yes, yes.")
• Being vulnerable results in being taken advantage of.

What a Woman Learns in "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"

• Her role in the time of war is to be kept busy with inconsequential things.
• Her love, her one moment of hope, is gone and has deceived her (pg. 317: "... what do you think I came back for, Adam, to be deceived like this?")

What a Woman Learns in "Theft"

• She is her own thief, her own enemy. She cannot trust herself (similar to what Joy/Hulga learns in "Good Country People").
• Her mind can be made up by a man - or, even more interestingly, by a man's letter.
• The female reader could learn that the unnamed woman - the every-woman - is dispensable to all the men she encounters.

So cynical.