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Blog Post for The Cottagette & The Yellow Wallpaper

Most stories that we have read have always made the best out of an unfortunate situation it is known that stories usually have a happy ending although some struggles. In the story “The Cottagette” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I feel like there was a happy ending because Malda and Ford truly had feelings for it and at the end Ford really only wanted the best for Malda. He knew that she had a passion and he wanted her to pursue it. 

“But you haven’t done half as much of your lovely work since you started this kitchen business, and–you’ll forgive me, dear–it hasn’t been as good. Your work is quite too good to lose; it is a beautiful and distinctive art, and I don’t want you to let it go.” Ford saw Malda’s potential and wanted to her to keep growing even if that meant that he had to sacrifice being taken care of. “Could I? Could I? Was there ever a man like this?” This was the closing of the short story and it shows that Malda was in disbelief that there was actually a man like this would put her before himself. Also that she can have her love but also keep her passion which was the perfect ending for her character.  

Malda always thought that she had to cater to the man and everything she did had to be for him because that was the typical role for men and women in relationships back then.  She was shocked when Ford said that he would take over the cooking and actually payed attention to how her art suffered from her having to cook and clean. Although Malda was confused at first she realized that that was what she truly wanted. he didn’t have to  give anything up or choose between anything. I think this short story offers a truly happy ending.

 

“A Rose for Emily”

Why didn’t Emily marry Homer Barron or any other suitor after her father’s death?

In the story of “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner, since Emily’s family was upper-class level, Emily’s father never wanted to let her daughter find herself a good suitor. Maybe he thought, no one was good enough to marry his daughter because Emily was very kind and soft girl.

” So when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased exactly, but vindicated; even with insanity in the family she wouldn’t have turned down all of her chances if they had really materialized.”

When Emily’s father died, she decided to date with Homer Barron but she could not marry him. Was it maybe because of the town people gossiped saying that Homer Barron is not a match for her or was it, Emily, herself who got used to not being with someone else. But, she loved Homer Barron, she loved him so much that she ended up murdering him because she knew she couldn’t live with him yet she couldn’t live without him as well. Meaning, it was better for her that his dead body being next to her, she felt like he’s always with her. I think she is psychologically not right.

“The Baba Yaga”-Cinderella Story

The story that I chose to read was “The Baba Yaga”, a Russian Cinderella story written by Aleksandr Afanasyev. While reading this story I realized that I have actually read it before in a children’s book years ago. Never knew this could fall under the category of a Cinderella story. Now that I read this story through the lens as such, I can see the similarities despite the many differences. First things first are the roles of the characters which are very familiar: the main heroine, father, stepmother, and the fairy godmother (though in the context of this story it’s the aunt).

The father is alive and present, while the stepmother still serves a role of an antagonistic character but not the prime one. The aunt supports the young protagonist by giving items and advice to ensure her survival. The surprising element of this story comes from the mention and introduction of the Baba Yaga, something unique and serves the primary role of a villain in this story. When Cinderella comes to mind, often the name leads to the thought of a story involving evil step-sisters and a ball. Instead, the young girl is at risk of being cooked and eaten by the Baba Yaga, having been sent to its hut by her evil stepmother. The main story beats are still the same though, as it still follows the tale of the main protagonist escaping from unfavorable conditions to a more safer and welcoming life.

What I find most interesting is the end of this story in which the father takes matters into his own hands. Finding out that his wife attempted to murder his own daughter, he decided to take the violent route and kill the evil stepmother. The story still ends happily with both father and daughter living peacefully in the forest. Different from marrying into royalty, but still considered to be a good ending in which the villains are punished for harming the main character.