May Welland - Unsung Heroine
5/9/13 LIT P1 TAOI
Q25. “May is the unsung heroine of the novel” Do you agree? x
May’s name may evoke many ambivalent, varied responses from characters in TAOI and readers alike. From pity; “Poor May!” to scorn’; for her scheming ways – the gamut spans wide. One would scarcely conceive of her as a heroine – after all, bravery, tenacity and unflinching strength are not what May seems to value, much less embody. However, as the novel pans out and upon deeper scrutiny, May’s true self - with all its specks and sparks – is gradually unveiled, and at the end, May can doubtlessly be deemed a heroine in her own way and right; one whose victories are so artfully attained that’s its sheer subtlety elude notice and acknowledgment.
At first glance, May seems to be but a pitiable victim entrapped within the stifling ONY society governed by dominant patriarchal ideology and regulated by unswerving abidance to conventions. She is first introduced to be the subject of Archer’s male gaze, the epitome of feminine passivity and purity, decked as she was in white, feigning ignorance at being looked at and playing to the script of a charmed girl being courted as she “touch[ed] the flowers softly”. May’s “abysmal purity” – upheld as the paragon of feminine virtue characterized her as the “terrifying product of the social system [Archer] belonged to and believed in”, depersonalizing her of her idiosyncrasies and rendering her to be a malleable, manufactured tool for society to utilize, to perpetuate their customs and conventions. A mere “creation of factitious purity”, May is the ideal wife that women sought to model themselves after, and the ideal trophy wife men are proud to posses and flaunt as an accessory that complemented their social standing. The telling use of words such as “factitious”, “abysmal” and “terrifying” is particularly chilling in its reduction of may to an almost abominable, fear-inducing object and simply denies her selfhood and authenticity. Upheld as
Q25. “May is the unsung heroine of the novel” Do you agree? x
May’s name may evoke many ambivalent, varied responses from characters in TAOI and readers alike. From pity; “Poor May!” to scorn’; for her scheming ways – the gamut spans wide. One would scarcely conceive of her as a heroine – after all, bravery, tenacity and unflinching strength are not what May seems to value, much less embody. However, as the novel pans out and upon deeper scrutiny, May’s true self - with all its specks and sparks – is gradually unveiled, and at the end, May can doubtlessly be deemed a heroine in her own way and right; one whose victories are so artfully attained that’s its sheer subtlety elude notice and acknowledgment.
At first glance, May seems to be but a pitiable victim entrapped within the stifling ONY society governed by dominant patriarchal ideology and regulated by unswerving abidance to conventions. She is first introduced to be the subject of Archer’s male gaze, the epitome of feminine passivity and purity, decked as she was in white, feigning ignorance at being looked at and playing to the script of a charmed girl being courted as she “touch[ed] the flowers softly”. May’s “abysmal purity” – upheld as the paragon of feminine virtue characterized her as the “terrifying product of the social system [Archer] belonged to and believed in”, depersonalizing her of her idiosyncrasies and rendering her to be a malleable, manufactured tool for society to utilize, to perpetuate their customs and conventions. A mere “creation of factitious purity”, May is the ideal wife that women sought to model themselves after, and the ideal trophy wife men are proud to posses and flaunt as an accessory that complemented their social standing. The telling use of words such as “factitious”, “abysmal” and “terrifying” is particularly chilling in its reduction of may to an almost abominable, fear-inducing object and simply denies her selfhood and authenticity. Upheld as