Voyage in the Dark- Emily Armstrong

A character that continuously stood out to me in the last part of this reading was Ethel. She is a woman, who though greedy at times, is striving out to make a living for herself. Considering the time period her independence in starting and maintaining her own business is quite the feat. She often is pestering Anna to provide her with more rent, but I think her reason for doing this is not only because of the pressures of society, but to decipher her own self-worth. On page 157 of the text she makes the comment that “people don’t give you what you’re worth-not in anything they don’t”. This statement seems to be a critique of how women are viewing in this time period. Men deny women the right to their own wealth and power, continuously underpaying them or not giving them enough credit. Ethel is strong in that she realizes the world does not give her what she feels she is worth and demands more.