Exploring Women – Individuality, Sexuality, Decisions
Introduction
The road to self – recognition follows different paths in the two analyzed stories (“Galatea” written by Karen Brown and “The Virgins”, of Danielle Evans) but at a closer look, there are similarities between them. Both stories refer to the journey to self- recognition by focusing on the same theme: sexuality. The main characters of the two studied lectures are at a young age, and they are experiencing new situations, from which they get to know what life is and they must quickly adapt to the situations in which they are involved.
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The main themes of the two stories are women’s individuality, women’s sexuality, and women’s decisions in given situations. The fact that both Erica and Margaret focus their stories about themselves on subjects related to sex indicates the authors’ perceptions about women. As the stories are written by two women (Danielle Evans and Karen Brown), might indicate the fact that they are autobiographical passages.
The romanticism specific to women is vulgarized in both stories and brought in a real life context, where there is no “Prince Charming”, but on the contrary, where men are constantly aggressing women, sticking their fingers in them or grabbing their arms like they belong to them. In such a world, women must develop self – defense mechanisms and they have to learn how to take care of themselves. Erica refuges in her friend Michael, counting on the idea that he will be always there for her. “Well, he’d save me then.” (Evans 77), Erica tells Jasmine when the last one asks her who she though Michael would choose to save if he had to shoot her or one Italian girl, with whom he was having sexual relationships. In this time, Margaret isolates herself in giving herself to other men, in order to forget about William, her husband who had left her soon after they married.
Facing the real world disrupts the two women from the dream world where they projected themselves. The idealist Erica considers that friendship is more important than sexual relationships but she herself chooses sex over friendship, learning what an adult relationship is about. When she does understand that nobody helps somebody without a reason, she lets herself carried away and she engages in sexual relationship with Ron, Michael’s brother, losing her virginity to him. In a moment of confusion she is prepared to also give herself away to her friend, Michael.
With Erica’s decision of engaging in sexual relationship with Ron and not refusing to do the same with Michael, the author of “The Virgins” explores the feminine mental. Earlier that night, Erica had run away from her friend, Jasmine, and two men who had clear intentions of making sex with the two women. She refused to give her virginity to some strangers and more so, she refused to let Jasmine decide for her to whom she should sleep with. This is a sign of independence, of wanting to decide for oneself, and it shows a strong character. On the other hand, the decision of abandoning herself in the arms of Ron, when she knew that the man was solely interested in having sex with her can be perceived in two ways. First, as she said – this was safer than being with complete strangers, and this only speaks about adjusting to life. Second, she wanted that to happen and this indeed, speaks about a strong character.
The main character of Karen Brown, Margaret was even more confused, not knowing if she loved William, if she could ever love somebody, and felling divided between her day to day life, filled with sexual experiences and many other pleasures and the strict convent life, to which she aspired (Brown 1).
It may seem that what she suffered the more for was the fact that she was left and that her ego was hurt. But at a closer look, the reader can see a very in loved woman, who does not want to admit to herself that she misses William and that she is unhappy without him. She fills her days and nights with conquering new men, in order to still feel attractive and powerful, wanting to demonstrate herself that she can still allure men although she had been left.
Conclusion
The two writings expose a brutal side of life, in which two women learn how to adjust to the sorrows and disappointments that they came across to and they experience new situations. For facing them they must make some decisions. Nonetheless, as both Danielle Evans and Karen Brown indicate through their stories, the decision spectrum is quite limited, as their characters have little options from which they can choose their decision. The writings are powerful, expressing frankly the natural environment of the characters through a colloquial language, while entering their deepest thoughts, which allows for an examination of their psychology.
Works Cited
Brown, Karen. Pins and Needles. Galatea. Virginia: George Mason University. 2007. Print.
Evans, Danielle. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self. United States: Penguin Group. 2010.
Print.
