Dorothy Parker’s Big Blonde - 1037 Words

The struggle for power between men and women in this story is mainly witnessed through interactions in which the female is not living up to what the men want. This makes women, like Hazel, easily replaceable in the lives of men. Women only control the power when they are agreeable therefore Parker creates women who are tapped with no plausible way to obtain power, other than being agreeable and well liked. The reader sees how detached Hazel appears to be from other women in this story. She can’t understand why they are allowed to be sad but when she appears sad she’s told to smile and how nobody wants to hear about other’s troubles. In fact there are only three women who Hazel holds conversations with at all in the story. The first is her†¦show more content†¦The irony in this is after her failed suicide attempt she hears very similar statements from her maid Nettie. Nettie cannot understand Morse’s need to end her life and instead scold the character for her thoughtlessness. In this way the maid could be seen as the final reinforcement of the society that both created and nearly destroyed Hazel. Nettie herself pushes Mrs. Morse to cheer up because that is what she needs to do. This act brings Hazel to understand her place in the world and for the first time she agrees with the advice that has been given to her for years. The story concludes with a toast while the maid encouraging Hazel to continue cheering up and she replies with a yeah, sure. The significance of this moment was also noted by Simpson as being the moment of recognition â€Å"[hazel] has emerged finally from a verbal world of formula—where small talk is all the talk there is.† (Simpson) By attempting to break out of the role society has given her Hazel goes against social norms but upon her reawakening she is reminded of her place in this world. Her job is to only exist in the realm of small talk and smiles. Hazel seems to by the end of the story have an epiphany to this idea. She realizes that her life will continue to pass the same way it has been going for years, this idea hardens her as she accepts that this is the life she will continue to lead. This is Parker’s way of explain that for women in this life style there is no escape. They areShow MoreRelated A Glimpse of Dorothy Parkers Life Essay examples1355 Words   |  6 PagesA Glimpse of Dorothy Parkers Life Dorothy Rothschild, later to become the famous writer Dorothy Parker, was born on August 22, 1893 to J. Henry Rothschild and Eliza A (Marston) Rothschild in West End, New Jersey. Parker’s father, Mr. Rothschild, was a Jewish business man while Mrs. Rothschild, in contrast, was of Scottish descent. Parker was the youngest of four; her only sister Helen was 12 and her two brothers, Harold and Bertram, were aged 9 and 6, respectively. Just before herRead MoreDorothy Parker : The Feminist Movement1306 Words   |  6 Pages Dorothy Parker An Inspiration Dorothy Parker was a famous poet who lived from August twenty-second, 1893 to June first, 1967. From the feminist movement in 1848, to the modernist movement and the jazz age in the twentieth century, Dorothy Parker made a long lasting impact, and was also an inspiration to both movements. Dorothy parker’s common themes were anxiety and female passivity which shined through many of her poems. Dorothy Parker was born two months premature