Female Domesticity In Jamaica Kincaids Girl Essay Sample

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a poetic construct of no beginning and no end, an intrusion into a list long recommendation of a mother to her daughter on how she should attend to her work in the domestic sphere and how it will put her back on the right path in life, instead of the one she is supposedly, on now. The mother fervently believes that by telling her daughter exactly how to do her womanly duties, the daughter will be saved from a life of debauchery and promiscuity and she will become an empowered (female) head of household and eventually, a prolific member of the society that surrounds her.
A “domesticated” woman is one who believes that it is exactly this domesticity that is shaping her identity and thus, making her a happy and satisfied individual. The mother apparently comes from a rural area and for her, domesticity equals respect and productivity. In such a society, these women are praised as hard-working and are respected for the effort and work they do for the benefit of their family. For these kind of women, domesticity brings forth a certain liberation, in the sense that they are perceived as valuable members of society, instead of just objectified for their looks. Thus, the “how-to” list the mother gives to her daughter seems perpetual, exactly because it is. An old saying goes that “a woman’s work is never done” and it is exactly how the mother feels. It is her duty and privilege to take care of every little thing for her family, from cooking and sewing, to growing okra and washing clothes.
In light of the mother’s advice, sewing and cloth bear a significant symbolism. Despite the fact that the mother is not one of those women who wear make up all the time and make sure they are always seen by the public in a presentable mode, she is still aware that clothes are very important from a social aspect, and she knows that torn and filthy clothes equal laziness and poverty, things which she does not want to connote herself with. Consequently, all the actions connected to taking care of clothes, such as washing, drying, ironing, sewing, correspond to this particular woman’s female qualities, or in other words, how good a mother she is. It is a mirror of the state of her home: if her children go around looking like little beggars, most probably her house is also lacking in cleanliness and womanly care.
In addition, the mother connotes the state of a woman’s house with the perspective the society has on her sexuality and morality. Women who are organized, busy, hard-working and pay normal attention to their physical appearance denote the image of a confident and confident woman who is in control of what she does and who she is, and most importantly, such women never fall under the suspicion of having illicit sexual liaisons with men. Therefore, by stressing the domestic sphere of the care of one’s clothes, the mother is endeavoring to save her daughter’s chastity from malicious tongues.
Consequently, this kind of women believes that the female populace is divided into only two groups: the decent and reputable kind and the shameless sluts. It is all too evident that the mother believes she herself belongs to the first group and is afraid her daughter is headed the wrong way. Despite the fact that the extremely short text offers no indication of whether or not the mother’s suspicion’s are justified, she seems utterly certain that her daughter’s promiscuity has already commenced, and if she does not do anything about it, her daughter will most certainly end up being something she loathes most: a slut.
Thus, the mother is not gentle when it comes to scolding her child. She is dissatisfied with almost everything about her: her manner of walking, of playing marbles, of her inappropriate singing in Sunday school. This singing also symbolizes another aspect of her daughter’s emerging sexuality which the mother is trying desperately to control. The Antiguan folksongs, the so called benna, used to be sung by the indigenous people in order for them to be able to spread rumors and gossip, concealed from the British colonizers. Accordingly, the mother aligns her daughter’s singing with the forbidden knowledge and free speech, where the singing does not only represent a school disobedience, but is also frowned upon as sinful, immoral, something that has no place being sung in public. Interestingly enough, the daughter’s insistent negation of her singing suggests that she knows what her mother connotes this particular song to, and protests against having sung it. However, the fact that she is familiar with the song’s dark, sexual connotations, also suggests the idea that the daughter may actually have done this thing that she is being accused of, especially taking into account the fact that she must be on the threshold of womanhood, where a newfound interest in boys and her mother’s advice make her want to rebel.
“Girl” is a poetic assembly of simplistic proportions, the messages of which bear conflicting feelings of a daughter and her mother. These strata of advice, commands and accusations serve as the mother’s potent weapon in fighting her daughter’s blooming resent for being considered a “slut in development.” The mother is trying to open her daughter’s eyes to the reality that surrounds her: domesticity will save her morality and provide people’s respect, but what the daughter has to give up to obtain this “all-powerful” domesticity is a whole different story.