Also we read articles on frigidity of the menopause, abortion and why husband seeks satisfaction away from home. When we were not doing schoolwork we were occupied most of the time with the garnering, passing on and discussing of sexual information. Womanhood o the mother as a failure of a woman in contrast to the narrator's construction of woman as sexually attractive. o Her desire for consumerism associated with womanhood: "l had worn these clothes (made by her mother) with docility, even pleasure, in the days when I was unaware of the world's opinion. Now, grown wiser, I wished for dresses like those my friend Lonnie had, bought at Beale's store.
" Peer influence/pressure - with Lonnie, Mary Fortune o "Lonnie was probably not going to be my friend any more, not as much as before anyway.She was what Mary would call boy-crazy. " o "l went around the house to the back doors, thinking, I have been to a dance and a boy walked me home and kissed in the end, the tone betrays her need to rationalize these events as success. She does not sound fully satisfied or convinced)o influence of Lonnie: "l did it up! " "You look like a Zulu. Oh, don't worry.
Let me get a comb and I'll/do the front in a roll. It'll look all right. It'll even make you look older. " I sat in front of the mirror and Lonnie stood behind me, fixing my hair.
PURPOSE: To reveal the great social pressures faced by female adolescents and their issues of self-esteem linked to physical appearance and popularity in school To defend the narrator's choice either to conform to the social pressures to gain popularity and status or follow Mary Fortune's independent but difficult path To investigate sexuality - heterosexuality and homosexuality "l went around the house to the ackdoor thinking I have been to a dance and a boy has walked me home and kissed me. It was all true. My life was possible. " SETTING: 1.School o Society. Has a social hierarchy based on popularity, experience (Age) and associated power.
o Is a place where she feels self-conscious and insecure as a female adolescent in the "practice world" 2. Janitor's place (visited with Mary) dark, unknown by majority, symbol of exceptionality, underground, forbidden area - forbidden love. "l reflected that athletes always seemed to know more than the rest of us about the school as a building; they knew where things were kept and they ere always coming out of unauthorized doors with a bold, preoccupied air. o represents the place in society that independent women and [or lesbians have been relegated to 3. Home: associated with her childhood,
