Author: admin

As I was reading this story, once I found out more about Louise’s illness, the whole tone shifted. It seemed like the story is not just about wanting someone anymore, it’s about possibly losing them, and that was really upsetting. What really stuck with me was the way the narrator talks about Louise’s body. I feel like they’re trying so hard to memorize her, like if they can just describe every part of her in enough detail, they can somehow keep her from not being here anymore. As I continued reading, there were super clinical descriptions of leukemia, which feel so cold. In my opinion, that contrast is devastating. It’s like you have love that’s intense and personal and emotional but at the same time, there is the medical language that reduces everything to cells and blood counts. It made me kind of understand how unfair it is that something so technical can completely take over something so human and vulnerable.

Something else I kept thinking about is how powerless the narrator becomes. Earlier in the book, they seemed so confident in moving between relationships as if it were nothing. But with Louise, it’s different. They can’t talk their way out of cancer and they can’t fix it.

This section also made me think about how we’ve seen love and illness play out in real life, especially during COVID. I remember seeing news stories about people not being able to visit their partners in hospitals or having to say goodbye through a screen. It’s obviously not the same situation, but I feel like that same fear is there. The feeling of distance and panic feels really similar.

Overall, this part of the book made love feel less like a fairy tale and more like something fragile and temporary. And I feel like that’s what stayed with me the most.

Reading this section of The Awakening, there was a distinct heaviness. In chapters 29–39, watching Edna detach from everything that is supposed to define her, like motherhood, felt uncomfortable but also powerful. The book kept reminding me how much pressure she is under to be what everyone expects. When she says she would give up her life for her children but not herself, that line really stuck with me. I felt like that perfectly encapsulates the conflict she is dealing with. She loves her children, but she doesn’t want to completely erase herself for them. That made me think about how even today, moms are still expected to sacrifice everything without question.

In Johnson’s “Motherhood,” I felt like the idea of motherhood being more of a social role than just a biological thing really stood out to me. That was the first thing I saw while reading. It made me realize how much of what we think of as “natural” about mothers is actually shaped by culture. It was kind of frustrating reading it because it made me think about how women are trained to believe that motherhood should be their fulfillment as good citizens and women in general. And if they don’t feel that way, something is wrong with them. This connects so much to Edna, because she doesn’t feel that “mother-woman” identity at all, and people see her as selfish for it.

Brooks’ “The Mother” (the poem) made the idea of motherhood feel intense and almost overwhelming. Its sad because it talks about loss and choice in such a personal way. It made me think about reproductive choice in a way that isn’t political first, but emotional first. I felt like it showed how complicated these decisions are. It’s not just right or wrong, it’s layered with so much regret and pain and love. That made me think about how society often debates reproductive rights in a loud, angry way, but doesn’t always center the actual feelings of the women involved.

Pollack’s “Milk” made motherhood look and feel very physical. I felt like it brought the body back into the conversation. Sometimes discussions about motherhood are so idealized, but this reading reminded me that it’s also bodily. It made me think about how much women’s bodies are monitored and judged, especially when it comes to pregnancy or choosing not to have children.

Tying this to today, I feel like these readings are still extremely relevant. Reproductive choice is constantly being debated, and women’s autonomy over their own bodies is still questioned. I feel like Edna’s struggle is not just about the 1800’s. It GENUINELY feels modern. Still, women who openly say they don’t want children, or that motherhood isn’t their whole identity, get judged. And at the same time, mothers are expected to do everything perfectly, work like they don’t have kids, and parent like they don’t have jobs.

Reading Chapters 16–28 of The Awakening by Kate Chopin, I feel like this is where Edna starts to become her own person, and in my opinion it’s empowering for her. I feel like when she tells Adele, “I would give my money, I would give my life for my children but I wouldn’t give myself,” that’s the most honest she’s been so far. In my opinion, that line proves she isn’t a “bad mother” like society would probably label her and how I feel like the book even tries to label her at points. I feel like that quote is her biggest sign of growth and “awakening” yet. When she moves out of the big house, I feel like it was a bold move for her, and a decision that was needed. I saw that as it was not just about leaving Leonce physically, it’s her finally claiming space for her identity and independence.

I also want to mention how this spoken confession is kind of ironic and definitely has a symbolic meaning behind it. I feel like Chopin purposely sets up this contrast. Adèle is the perfect “mother woman,” as the book constantly repeats, and Edna is a woman who refuses to “efface” herself. I feel like that conversation shows how far Edna has grown because she is no longer quietly different; she is openly saying she is.

Reading the early chapters in this story, what stands out most to me is how quietly but clearly Edna is already out of place in her world. Nothing dramatic has happened yet, but the tension is there from the start. Her marriage to Leonce seems stable on the surface, yet it feels more like a social arrangement than an emotional partnership. He treats her as someone he owns, checking on the children, criticizing her sunburn, and expecting certain behaviors.. not necessarily because he’s cruel, but because that’s what society tells him a husband should do. That makes Edna’s discomfort feel more structural than personal, which is interesting because it suggests her awakening is tied to social expectations rather than just a failing relationship.

The setting at Grand Isle also feels really important. The ocean, in particular, keeps coming up as something both calming and unsettling for Edna. When she learns to swim, it feels symbolic even this early, it’s like the first moment she realizes she has control over her own body and experiences something independent of her roles as wife and mother. That scene doesn’t feel like a huge rebellion yet, but it feel like the beginning of self-awareness.

Reading excerpts from The Hidden Hand and Tomboy made me think a lot about how the idea of the “tomboy” shows up across time but feels very different depending on the context. In The Hidden Hand, Capitola is entertaining and bold as she doesn’t follow expectations for how a girl is supposed to act, and that’s part of what makes her so fun to read. I found myself enjoying how confident and fearless she is, especially in moments where she outsmarts adults or refuses to be passive.

With Tomboy, my reaction was more personal and reflective. Prince’s memoir feels honest about how complicated gender expectations can be growing up, especially when you don’t fit neatly into what people think a girl should be. It made me think about how being labeled a “tomboy” can be both freeing and limiting. On one hand, it allows space to reject certain feminine norms but on the other, it still boxes someone into a category. Compared to Capitola, Prince’s experience feels less like a performance that others enjoy and more like an ongoing negotiation of identity.

Overall, reading these together made me notice how reactions to gender nonconformity have shifted but also stayed similar. Both texts show girls pushing against expectations, but the stakes feel different. Capitola’s behavior is adventurous and often comedic, while Tomboy highlights the emotional and social pressure behind not fitting in.

In Girl, Woman, Other, Evaristo presents identity as fluid, interconnected, and constantly shifting. The novel’s structure, moving between characters and generations, emphasizes how individual experiences are shaped by larger systems like race, gender, and class. I was struck by how the characters’ personal struggles are rarely isolated yet always tied to family histories, friendships, or cultural expectations. There’s a sense that identity is not something fixed but something negotiated in relation to others.

“Goblin Market,” though much older, also deals with temptation, bodily desire, and the consequences of consumption. Personally, I believe Laura’s decision to taste the goblin fruit can be read as a metaphor for forbidden desire, and the aftermath shows how society punishes women for giving in to that desire. What’s interesting, though, is that the poem ultimately centers on female solidarity.

This is my “Intro To You And Blog”, or my first blog post!

My name is Isabella Viverito. I am a senior here at Rowan University, and I am 21 years old. I am an English Major, and I am also part of a bible study here on campus. When forced, some literary works I enjoy are Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe, but my favorite author is Jane Austen. My future career plans are to be an english teacher and hopefully an assistant principal one day. I also plan to continue to be an avid faithful person and always hold space for God.

As a 21 year old English Major, I want to use this course to synthesize the critical, theoretical, and research skills I have developed throughout this major while engaging deeply with a topic that feels both intellectually and personally relevant. I am particularly interested in examining how representations of womens bodies across different life stages have been shaped by historical, cultural, and literary forces, and how those representations continue to inform contemporary expectations around sexuality, femininity and aging today!