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Analysis Of The Painted Door By Sinclair Ross

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Feminist theory focuses on how women are characterized in a text and whether they have any sort of power such as social or psychological. The best lens that fits the text “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross is the feminist theory. There are many stereotypes shown in the text which present the text to be anti-feminist. The main character in this text, Ann, has to stay home and do the chores while her husband John goes out. In the text, Ann said, “I’ll get them a good supper-and for coffee tonight after cards bake some of the little cakes with raisins that he likes” (3). The time era in which this text is written in the 1930’s to 1940’s. In this time frame, women were supposed to stay home and do the chores such as cooking and cleaning, while …show more content…

Ann assumes that she has to make dinner and coffee for her returning husband and friend. This is shown as a stereotype where women are assumed to be doing chores and preparing dinner for arriving husbands or guests and nothing else. In this text, the women are portrayed to be incapable of being alone and do whatever it takes to not be unaccompanied. In this text, the author described Ann’s situation with words such as “She felt a little dread or uneasiness at the prospect of spending the night alone” (7). The author has written this story in a way where the main character is shown to be a woman who can not bear the idea of being alone and needs someone to accompany her, in order for her to be happy and have a sense of security. The author has described many times within the text where the main character is deemed unable to be alone. This leads to the response that Ann’s husband has to take, which is going to his friend Steven’s house and asking him to stay with his wife while he goes out to see his father. The lead female role is represented as weak, selfish and unhappy in this text. In the story, Ann said “Pay no attention to

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158 Words | 1 Pages

The author of the Painted Door; Sinclair Ross used Repetition throughout the story to create a distinct mood and atmosphere. In the story Ann continuously repeated that ‘John would come home’ saying that ‘he always came back’. Repetition is noticed once again through Steven, he was repeatedly warning Ann that it would not be possible for anyone to make it through that type of blizzard, therefore John would not be returning that night. Stevens repetition gave the readers a sense that Steven wasn’t telling the truth and that John would in fact be returning that evening. This preconceived idea was based on the readers judgement about Johns personality.

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177 Words | 1 Pages

In “Painted Door” Sinclair Ross establishes setting as both an antagonist and a plot device in order highlight Ann’s isolation and John’s bitter betrayal. Throughout the novel Ross employs connotative diction to construct the weather into an additional character. The blizzard became “so fierce… so insane and dominant” (Ross 7) that John and Ann are “at the mercy of the storm.” Ross’s use of apt diction and personification heightens the storm's power and accentuates its ominous tone. At first, the storm parallels and furthers Ann’s feelings of being isolated and trap making the silence ever more present.

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221 Words | 1 Pages

In the story, The Painted Door by Sinclair Ross, the protagonist, Ann suffers from many mental issues caused by isolation and depression. She is first revealed as a farmer’s wife, insisting her husband, John to stay with her during a storm, but John ultimately makes the decision to leave and visit his father. This act made Ann feel insignificant because she felt that she is “as important as” John’s “father”. This is the not the first time John was not there when Ann needed him most, seven years married and he “scarcely spoke a word” during meals. Ann who is his wife and the only living person within a “2 mile” radius is constantly rejected the simplest freedoms and of all people, her husband.

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424 Words | 2 Pages

The main theme in “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross suggests that women, who are completely dependant on a male leader and living in isolation and loneliness, confined to a traditional gender role, will constantly be challenged by a feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction in life. Women, who are unable to stand on their own without a male force leading their decisions and direction, become increasingly weak, such that they feel lost and incomplete when left to their own devices. The protagonist in the short story, Ann, is terrified of being left alone with a storm approaching, knowing that there is a stable of animals outside and forced by the risks that severe weather may cause. She is completely lost without her husband to guide her, seen at how often she changes her mind about what tasks she can do, to keep her occupied, until her husband’s return. Sinclair Ross demonstrates this dependency, when Ann tries to keep John from visiting his father: “You said yourself we could expect a storm.

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879 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction. A Jury by Her Peers authored by Susan Glaspell narrates the investigative events that occur after the death of John Wright in his house. As neighbors and the Dickson County administration, themes of sisterhood and gender roles appear through the actions and hidden motives of the characters. The book, A Jury by Her Peers, expounds on the silent suffering of women and being perceived as unintelligent while providing justifications for covering up of John Wrights death.

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When talking about hiring a man to help out on the farm, Ann’s understanding of John’s thoughts allows her to be able to “keep her silence”(Ross, 230). John does not want an extra pair of hands to help out with the farm because he enjoys the hard work that it provides him and the satisfaction he gets at the end of the day from the feeling that he was productive. For this reason Ann is able to understand John’s thoughts and keeps quiet, because she recognises how special the farm is to him. Over the time that Ann and John have been in a relationship they have grown with each other and gained a deep knowledge of each other nature. When John’s body is found lying in the snow, they could not believe that he had risked the storm, but Ann understood that “if you knew him, though-John would try”(243).

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321 Words | 2 Pages

Ann is isolated with no one to talk to, and has to resort to speaking to herself, slowly convincing herself in doubt, with no one to set her straight

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86 Words | 1 Pages

In her article, “Three Inventories, Three Households”, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that women’s work was crucial not simply for subsistence but that “women were essentials in the seventeenth century for the very same reasons they are essentials today-for the perpetuation of the race” (Ulrich 51). She believes, women were expected to do everything. They were not only to take care of the children, but they were also cook, clean, raise the greens and ranches. Mainly, women plays important role for the survival and continuation of life.

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The women were expected to create a happy home, guard the religion, and the morality of her family. The unmarried and married women who tried to seek work outside the home faced limited employment opportunities because of their gender. Women were expected to only focus on domestic duties and her role were limited to continue living in the man’s world. Women roles were expected to be in line with the culture and norms set by the society. The American culture perceived that women were not intellectually and emotionally stable to be involved in the complex world of work and, therefore, women did not take up leadership and political roles.

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865 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout history, the role of women drastically changed by becoming more independent as time went by. Specifically, in the 1950s, women established their voice and break the stereotype that was labeled to them. In Bus Stop, a play written by William Inge, expose women characters who has faced different life experience and contain different behavior. To begin with, it is necessary to comprehend the life story of William Inge and women during his time, 1950s, before expressing the female character in Bus Stop.

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1295 Words | 6 Pages

The Unnamed Woman Up until the 1900’s woman had few rights, thus they relied heavily on men. Women could not vote, they could not own their own property, and very few worked. Women’s jobs were solely to care for children and take care of the home. Women during this time, typically accepted their roles in society and the economy ( “Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1909”).

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Christina Rossetti, an English writer born in 1830, emphasizes the issue of gender, feminism, and the roles that women and men played in society during the Victorian era. In the poem “Goblin Market,” Rossetti suggests that women and men are great contributors to society and the market economy. However, through the Victorian era, men are seen and treated differently than women. “Goblin Market” seeks to define the power that men have in Victorian society, whereas women during the Victorian era were seen as weak, innocent and powerless human beings. Throughout the poem, however Rossetti characterizes women as strong, brave, hardworking and great contributors to society.

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791 Words | 4 Pages

This shows a balance between gender roles, as well as the embracing progressive changes within culture and society. In the story “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, a third-person omniscient narrator, relates how Mrs. Louise Mallard, the protagonist, experiences the euphoria of freedom rather than the grief of loneliness after hearing about her husband’s death. Later, when Mrs. Mallard discovers that her husband, Mr. Brently Mallard, still lives, she realizes that all her aspiration for freedom has gone. The shock and disappointment kills Mrs. Mallard.

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896 Words | 4 Pages

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Examination of Feminism in A Doll’s House During the victorian times women were to be oppressed by their husbands. They had no legal rights. Women were not considered to be equal to men. Women were not allowed to do many things such as partake in politics and have control over men.

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