Roselily Analysis

A female’s words can often be silenced as a result of inequalities and injustices that directly relate to the nature of her gender. While the act of silencing is not always explicitly oppressive, silencing is used to assert power over another individual as a means to humiliate, ridicule, or belittle them. In relation to a male-female juxtaposition, women are often silenced by a male or group of males who are attempting to declare a sense of authority over the individual or situation. In this instance, female oppression is occurring as a means of reaffirming male gender dominance. The literary works, “I Sit and Sew” by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, and “Roselily” by Alice Walker, depict silencing of women as a result
The three woman in “I Sit and Sew,” “Sweat,” and “Roselily” all recognize the extent that silencing has upon their lives – they feel trapped by the constraints of a culturally appointed gender hierarchy and how that hierarchy is reinforced within their own lives. The narrator in “I Sit and Sew” is passionate about her pursuit of dreams. She sees her purpose on the battlefields of war, much like her male counterpart – and she recognizes that she has the tenacity and drive to support this effort. She identifies the constraints that her gender has upon her desires. We see the dynamic nature of the narrator when she states, “My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams – The panoply of war, the martial tred of men, grim-faced, stern-eyed, gazing beyond the ken of lesser souls, whose eyes have not seen Death, nor learned to hold their lives as a breath – But I must sit and sew” (Dunbar-Nelson, 57). The narrator feels frustrated by her gender because society has limited her role and ability by defining gender roles so rigidly. She equates being a man with acts of courage, valor, and bravery through engaging with splendid displays of war, and she likens being a woman with the monotony of sewing. In “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, we see the character of Delia evolve from a woman who was meek and mild to a woman who was confrontational and courageous in the face of her silencer. We begin to see the evolution of Delia when she states to Sykes, “Ah hates you, Sykes,” she said calmly. “Ah hates you tuh de same degree dat Ah useter love yuh” (Hurtson, 57). Delia’s new demeanor shocks Sykes, but this growth in Delia’s character helps to convey her recognition and disapproval of Sykes’ silencing. Throughout the entirety of “Roselily,” Roselily feels a sense of confusion in relation to her husband. She barely knows her