Saturday, March 24, 2012
Norma Jean is a lot like Edna
Norma Jean in "Shiloh" starts to better herself in many ways; she starts to lift weights, tries to stop smoking, and she takes night classes at a college. Edna in The Awakening falls in love with Robert, sends her children to visit their grandma, and moves out of her house. Both Norma Jean and Edna realize that their lives are not what they want for themselves. Norma Jean wants to leave Leroy because she feels eighteen again and she, "can't face that all over again"(15). Edna does not like being a mother or being married, but Norma Jean is upset about her losing her baby when Leroy and her first got married. The loss of the baby affected Norma Jean's and Leroy's marriage. Norms Jean seems to want a fresh start and not be reminded of herself when she married young and then lost her baby. Edna comes across as just wanting to do what she wants when she wants to. Edna takes her life at the end of The Awakening and Norma Jean stands at the edge of the bluff and waves her arms, there are many speculations at what she is doing. Who do you think is the better woman? and what do you think of the endings?
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I also saw a lot of similarities between the two as well. I don't think I could pick who is the better woman because they both are very strong and have strong personalities but their strength comes from different things and they show it in different ways. For example, Norma Jean has the courage to stand up for her happiness by telling Leroy she wants to leave him and Edna has the strength to realize she isn't happy and recognizes that she is unable to care for her children and sends them away to protect them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the endings go, I hated both of them. It's a bit obvious as to what Norma Jean does at the end of "Shiloh" and it makes me angry that Edna gave up on her life as well. They both had fresh starts and they basically threw them away.
I think we need to remember that neither of these women necessarily wanted to get married. Norma Jean got married young because she was knocked up, and Edna married because she felt it was the time in her life to do so. These women felt trapped by the societies that dictated their actions.
ReplyDeleteI like what Stephanie said, but i feel that they begin to change their own lives later in age. It is only when they get near the end of their transformation that they don't go through with it. I wonder if these authors were saying something about women who attempt to change during a mid-life crisis?
ReplyDeleteMy reading of both of the stories leads me to believe that both women ended their lives. I don't think one was better than the other. I think both woman were just trying to deal with their circumstances in their individual ways and do what they felt was necessary to improve their lives and make themselves happy. I find it sad that they chose such tragic ends to their lives after putting so much work into changing their circumstances.
DeleteWhy weren't they happy? Honestly, both Edna and Norma Jean had husbands who loved them and basically gave them everything they wanted. Leroy wanted to build Norma Jean a log cabin! Neither women really tried to talk to their spouse and try to fix what it was that made them unhappy. They just wanted to leave.
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