Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Bunner Sisters - Part Two
Ann Eliza and Evelina have been described as “new women” in our class discussions of this novel. At first, it was because of their business ownership and single status. As the story went on, several events occur between the sisters and Ramy which change their lifestyles a bit. This made me wonder if both sisters would still be considered “new women” at the end of the novel. When Ramy first started visiting, Evelina dressed up and acted more “girly” than usual to gain his attention. She eventually becomes the wife of Ramy who is trapped in an abusive marriage. She continues to change herself when she converts to Catholicism. In this sense, Evelina lost her way as a modern “new woman.” Ann Eliza, on the other hand, stayed true to herself throughout the entire novel. She took care of both herself and her sister. Although there were times of weakness for Ann Eliza, she always did what she had to do to stay alive. Because of this, I think Ann Eliza was the best example of a “new woman” in The Bunner Sisters.
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I'm hesitant to classify Evelina as a new women because of who she became while married to Ramy as well. She lost sight of her values, gave into his rule, and even changed her religion which could be considered the ultimate illustration of a person's beliefs in order to please her battered husband, who pushed her into the decision by bringing her to the Catholic hospital when she fell sick under his care. I was sickened though, too, with Ann Eliza. If she was suspicious of Ramy's intentions prior to allowing Evelina to move out of town with him (Which she should have been given his "iffy" behavior and his asking for all of their life savings) she did nothing to deter her sister from making this ultimately fatal decision.
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