Day 1

Day 1 Blog:
Social Freedom Doesn’t Come Easy
Is freedom really free? Yes, we do have certain but limited rights without impinging on others rights, but what about social freedom? Social freedom, as demonstrated through the works of Bradstreet, Irving, and Gilman does not come easily.
In Anne Bradstreet’s, “The Author to Her Book”, Bradstreet writes of a book, an “ill-formed offspring of my feeble-brain” that was not fully complete do to Bradstreet’s obsessiveness. However, her book was “snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true.” Now, her work is in “critic’s hands” to be torn apart. Social Freedom is demonstrated in this poem by Bradstreet because it shows that even though we have the freedom to say and write what we want, it always comes with consequences. In Bradstreet’s case, her book being taken from her will be in the hands of real people and critics who are the main people threatening to hold her back from being truly free. These people and critics now have the ability to tear apart her work and “made thee in rags,” and even “where errors were not lessened (all may judge)”. People fail to see that Bradstreet is a real person too, she is subject to her own thoughts and opinions, and in doing so, she will make errors, just like everybody does. Another problem was that social freedom was difficult to attain because she is a women in an era where women were not supposed to be writing and whose opinions are not supposed to be taken seriously. It becomes evident deep into the poem whey Bradstreet was so obsessive. She knew that the book would be torn apart because she cannot please everyone. Even if Bradstreet did obtain social freedom with this book, how can she keep writing to please readers of her books and most importantly herself? It is a constant tug of war and quite frankly difficult to achieve due to her obsessiveness and desire for perfection. Even though Bradstreet does not necessarily obtain social freedom in this poem, she does get what she wants to say out. The question is though, is it really worth it? Her freedom is not really free because of her obsessiveness. It causes her so much stress which could lead to further problems. Bradstreet can be related to the character Hotchner from the TV show Criminal Minds. The man is so obsessive and into perfecting his work, that he forgets about his family. Therefore, his family life suffers from this and he loses his wife to a divorce.
In Bradstreet’s second poem, “Prologue,” I am having trouble deciphering the message, however, the message I get out of this poem is feminism. Bradstreet, a women in the Puritan era, was not looked upon as worthy. Every women had her job and that was in the house, not out writing. Yet, she wanted to write of history, “to sing of wars, of captains, and of kings, of cities founded, common-wealths begun.” However, she knows that this is not her place in society and demeans herself saying, “for my mean Pen are too superior things.” Men in the Puritan society warn her with “each carping tongue,” and tell her that “ my hand a needle fits better.” I believe that from this poem, Bradstreet will not achieve social freedom when it comes to her writing, and even if she did achieve social freedom, it will not be accepted like she states in her poem, “If what I do prove well, it won’t advance, They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.” In this particular poem, men are what is holding Bradstreet back from being truly free to do what she wants, which is write. A question I have about this poem is why does she talk about the Greeks? How does this have to do with her Puritan society?
In Bradstreet’s third poem, “To my Dear and Loving Husband,” Bradstreet writes of her love for her husband… “If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.”. Being from the Puritan era where not all marriages were based on true love, this marriage is a rare one. Women of this time were expected to be housewives and provide for the men and children. This is a relationship where there is a passion and love for each other. Social freedom of marriage was not always the case in these times, however, Bradstreet and her husband achieved it. Both were in love with each other, and it is evident because Bradstreet says, “I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold.” Mines of gold and riches are things that are very important to some people and hold great prestige, however, Bradstreet says that her husband means more to her than even some of the most prized possessions. The fact that she uses the word “prize” shows that she is proud of her husband and proud of her relationship. There is a notion of freedom with Bradstreet. She is different from other women in this era; she has a successful relationship on both ends. To other women in unhappy marriages, they are the biggest issues holding Bradstreet back. These unhappy women could do anything in their power to try to make Bradstreet as unhappy as they are. It is unknown in the poem if this is the case, however, it could be. Also, another thing that might hold Bradstreet back from achieving freedom is the fact that her husband might not love her back like she loves him. I assume from the poem that Bradstreet and her husband’s love are equal and reciprocated, but this could also be the case for a marriage that does not lead to freedom.
In Gilmans, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a woman (the narrator) is taken to a summerhouse by her physician husband John. The woman just delivered a baby and is in a state of depression. From the start, the woman feels as if there is something wrong with the house because the price to rent was “let so cheaply….and stood so long untenanted.” During the summer stay, the woman is to stay in a room with yellow wallpaper. This yellow wallpaper bugs the woman. The problem with this wallpaper progresses throughout her stay at the colonial mansion. It goes from a slight annoyance (“ the color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight”) to complete insanity. This complete insanity is thought of as a single woman that comes out of the paper to several women coming out of the paper. The narrator writes of herself watching the women creep around outside. This I believe is symbolic because she is imagining these women as what she wants to be. She wants to be the woman outside creeping through the garden and wonderful woods, but instead, she is trapped inside of this room with yellow wallpaper. Eventually, this yellow wallpaper makes the narrator so crazy that she tears it off. The issue of social freedom is very evident in this short story. It is that during this time period, is a women really free even when she is married? Or, is she under the control of this man? It is evident that the narrator, is in fact not free in her marriage. Her husband controls her physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this case, he physically makes her stay in a room until she will get better and mentally stronger. Also, he emotionally abuses her by making her think, that he is always right. “ ‘Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?’ “ The narrator knows that society will take a man’s word over a woman’s, especially that of a physician. This woman knows no freedom except in her freedom to write and keep that from her husband. Her husband, her depression, and this house that she is locked in are the three main issues that are keeping the narrator from being truly free. Her husband has the power over her that is making her believe things that are not necessarily true, such as him telling the narrator that she is starting to get better when in fact she is getting worse. Her depression is also holding her back. All-in-all, the narrator has no social freedom within her marriage when locked in this room in the house. Her only form of freedom is her ability to write about what is going on inside her head and hide that from her husband.
In Irving’s, “Rip Van Winkle,” Rip, the main character, is “a simple good natured man” in his town. “He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil”, and was loved by all the children in the town. He has an overpowering wife, Dame Van Winkle, whom he despises and avoids at all possible costs. “Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own.” His overpowering “wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family.” Eventually he travels up to the mountains one day with his dog Wolf (his lazy companion), where he meets a “short square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard.” He follows the odd looking man to a group of men drinking and having a good time. He himself starts drinking and “one taste provoked another….and he fell into a deep sleep.” When he woke up, he went back to town and nobody remembered him. It turns out that he had slept for twenty years. He was soon accepted back into society, and he lived with his daughter. I believe that social freedom is a very evident theme in this short story. First, Rip has achieved social freedom amongst his peers and fellow towns people. He was loved by everyone even the children. He would go and talk with his buddies at the Inn and be free to speak of what he desired. I believe that this proves how easy it was for men of this time to achieve social freedom. Men were looked up to, and everybody trusted and believed them. Once Rip returned after twenty years, he was easily welcomed back into society after a few questions were asked. If that was a woman, would that have been the case? I do not think so. However, Rip may have been free within the members of his town, however, he was far from free when it came to his wife, and she was the main issue holding him back when it came to social freedom. He was controlled verbally by her, and he was afraid of her. He did not have the freedom to say or do what he wanted with her. However, he did have the freedom to leave her which is exactly what he did. This short story raises the issue of differences between men and women. Men of this time definitely had much more social freedoms than women did. Unfair, yes, however, this was simply how it was. Some women of the time stood up to it, like Bradstreet, however, others just simply let life as they know it take its course like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”