Who Is Mattie's Choices Faced In Letter By Grace Brown

Agency is the privilege to choose and act for ourselves. Without agency, we would not be able to learn or progress into adulthood. Mattie struggles with making decisions for herself because she is so accustomed to doing what everyone else tells her to do. In terms of growing up, she is halfway out the door. Although Mattie has already assumed adult responsibilities on the Gokey farm, her parents still make decisions for her. Despite her ambition, hopes, and courage, she finds herself stuck living a meager life. When Mattie begins to read Grace Brown’s letters, she is forced to confront all her choices and make the right decision based on what’s best for herself. At the peak of adolescence, it is acceptable to be selfish because the choices

The first option that Mattie has is to accept a scholarship to Barnard College and further her education in New York City. Her binding commitments to home and family gives this possibility a negative outlook. As a woman living in the early twentieth century, Mattie has a duty to take care of her family. Her father would “be furious, but only because he was losing a pair of hands” (Page 159). This familial responsibility is based on gender norms and social expectations that come into conflict with her dream. The women’s place is in the home. The pressure from external sources made it seem like the only real choice was to stay and take care of the family that her mother left behind. Coming from a small town, everyone takes care of each other. Abandoning her family would also mean abandoning the community. In order for her family to remain capable, they rely on Mattie accepting what she has, thus denying her any chance of possible progress. Mattie was not content and her true identity as a writer caused her to feel “as if the very walls themselves were pressing in upon her, as if she would go crazy if she stayed in this prison” (Page 206). The expectation is