The role that women played years ago was essentially crucial, and that has changed somewhat drastically. After reading the short story
“Girl”, and contemplating it’s meaning, I instantly thought of not only the
movie, but also the time setting in Titanic.
Throughout
the movie Titanic one of the main cast
members Rose, resembled the girl, in “Girl”. Rose’s mother always spoke to her
as an authority figure, and as if she were scolding her. Her words were harsh,
but she expected that Rose listened and understood them. The mother anticipated
that Rose know how to conduct herself as a proper young lady. In the story
“Girl”, the mother was constantly critiquing what and how the daughter did
things. And if the daughter did not
compose herself the way that she should, and was supposed to, then she would
not be accepted by society as a whole. This resembles a part of Titanic where the mom was lacing the
corset Rose was putting on, and she was almost reprimanding the daughter,
stating that if she did not stay with her fiancé Cal, her family would not be
accepted by the higher-class, or even by society at that. The mom stated that
leaving your fiancé for another man was not the role you were to play as a
young woman, and that it was looked down upon. A lady was to stay with her
soon-to-be husband, for she made a promise to that man, whether she loved him
or not, because it was her absolute duty, not a choice. These were presumptions
made on how Rose was to carry herself, and how she was to live her life. Just
like in “Girl”, there was a clear line society drew for the role of women that
was not to be crossed.
This was a good comparison between the "Girl" and "Titanic" because before reading your post, I probably would not have thought of that. Just like you, I do believe that the daughter and Rose both share characteristics of being told how a lady should uphold herself and how their environment plays a vital role in what a lady is like. The setting in the "Girl" is in the West Indies where woman are to be submissive to their husbands and be a house wife. (That's what I got from the short story). Also, in the times of "Titanic" woman were still not regarded as equal to men and woman had to act a certain way to be able to be a part of higher society. Your connections to the short story and the "Titanic" have opened my mind up to how both literature and movies can have deeper meanings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great post.
I haven't seen the movie “Titanic” in years, yet I do see this connection. In “Girl” the mother was reprimanding her daughter in hope that she would listen and be a better person as she grows. Possibly trying to have her not make the same mistakes that she did when she was her age. However, Rose did not listen to her mother’s rant as she did not stay with her fiancé Cal and pursued a romance with Jack. Now going back to the short story, you are left with the question of “what does the girl do next” and frankly, no one really knows. I like to think that because you saw a resemblance with this in the movie “Titanic” that maybe the girl will act as Rose did…
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the movie "Titanic". I can definitely see how you could make the comparisons between Rose in "Titanic" and the girl in "Girl". The time periods in each of these as well as the settings seemed to have a lot to do with what was going on with each girl and their mother. "Girl" was set in the time period of 1978 and "Titanic" was set in the time period of around 1912. Both of these time periods were around a time when society felt that women should still be a certain way and do certain things in certain ways. As far as the settings go, "Girl" was set in the West Indies which was a place where girls are expected to do what they are supposed to do as young ladies and not what they want to do. "Titanic" dealt with English people mainly and they seemed to also be set in the ways of how women should be in society and no different. There are many connections that can be made here between these two but you have done a great job here in your comparisons.
ReplyDeleteI found this post very interesting, since I have watched the movie “Titanic” several times but never really understood the complexity of the of the situation, as regards to the time period. I like the connection you made between the story, “Girl”, and “Titanic”. The mother in “Girl” is giving advice to her daughter about how to live as a self-possessed woman. She gave her commands on how to carry herself so that she would be acceptable to society, just like the mother in “Titanic”. The concept of domesticity is seen in both the story and the movie, suggesting that women have a specific role to follow.
ReplyDeleteI think the connection you made between the two is very strong. I did not even think about Titanic as a connection until I read your post but it makes perfect sense now. Like you said, Rose was being forced to fit a “role” that she clearly wanted no part of and actually managed to free herself from, just like Jamaica did in real life by going to America. The similarities between the two is almost eery because there is such a similarity. Your writing in this post is to the point and clear. I had no trouble reading or understanding any of your points.
ReplyDelete