Sunday, January 29, 2012
Life in the Iron Mills, The Working New Woman
In the short story, Life in the Iron Mills, Davis uses the character Deborah to illustrate the working woman. The narrator says, "She wore a faded cotton gown and a slouching bonnet. When she walked, one could see that she was deformed, almost a hunchback" (5). This quote illustrates how Deborah is a hard working woman. This is an example of the rise of the new woman because she spends long days working at the cotton-mill. In this time period, women are expected to stay at home cooking and cleaning, however Deborah fulfills this role and she also works. The description that Davis uses to describe Deb allows the reader to see how hard work can deform women. She spends her time working at the mills and cooking which more than likely requires her to be bent over most of the time. The hunchback and faded gown are both representations of the working woman. It is interested that Davis uses such negative descriptions to describe Deb because it shows how work can have a negative impact on women. Is she trying to promote women staying at home instead of working alongside men? It seems as if she would have portrayed Deb as a stronger individual if she wanted to promote women working.
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I really appreciate the inclusion of Deb's character. She is truly a hard worker and I really felt for her as she tried to please. I believe she demonstrates a hardworking woman. I felt for her economic strain and physical condition. It is an interesting question to pose if the author should have made her without the hunchback quality. However, I believe it makes her character stronger. She is working under the worst conditions and is still making a personal difference.
ReplyDeleteI did not really think of Deborah character in the way which you are describing her. I found the book very hard to follow. When reading your comments kind of helped for me to look at the book in a different way and also helped for myself to understand certain things which I was unaware to notice when reading the book.
ReplyDeleteLike Chauntay, I also did not perceive Deborah to be the character that was described in the latter posts. I found Deborah to be an odd character that did not bring attention to the working woman in any real way. I found that Hugh established the notion of the working-class, with Deborah as the accessory in formulating his character. I am not claiming that I am any sort of angel, but I find it alarming that even though Deborah worked to get ahead in life, she still resorted to stealing. Why would a woman who knows the value of hard work be so careless in making the choice to steal?
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