The bond that women share has always been a mystery, surpassing any other type of relationship. Throughout history, there have been many Thelma and Louises or Betty and Wilmas. It’s a cohesive connection that goes beyond a comprehensive definition. However, when this type of relationship is perceived as lesbianism, the traditional gender role belief system is threatened and this can often lead to negative outcomes.
It’s evident how the close bond between women threatens traditional gender roles. In the story, two women move into Brewster Place: timid, feminine Lorraine and confident, aggressive Theresa. Once it’s out that these new, seemingly flawless neighbors are actually lesbians, the community is divided and violence soon follows. Theresa and Lorraine’s relationship falls in disrepair shortly before Lorraine is brutally raped and, as she’s reeling in the aftermath, kills the only man who protected the two from the others, Ben.
The trouble all begins with Sophie, a “willing carrier” of the rumor that had “first spread through the block like a sour odor that’s only faintly perceptible and easily ignored until it starts growing in strength from the dozen mouths it had been lying in” (Naylor 2544).
The Essay on Courtly Love Women Tale Relationship
The first tale is told by a Knight recently returned from the Crusades. Because the Knight is presented as a traditional, old-fashioned sort of fellow, it should come as no surprise that he tells a tale of courtly love. What is courtly love? This term refers to a phenomenon of the late middle ages when women were accorded an almost religious status, and the act of seeking a woman's favor took on ...
Sophie is one of the biggest obstacles the girls will face throughout the text, making their business her business:
[indent]Since Sophie’s apartment windows faced theirs from across the air shaft, she became the official watchman for the block… [she] took her position seriously and was constantly alert for any telltale signs that might creep out around the drawn shades, across from which she kept a religious vigil (2545).[/indent]
She even goes so far as to dig through their garbage and interrogates Ben, the only one to go inside their apartment. She fed the community vague stories, leaving them to “stitch all of their secret fears and lingering childhood nightmares into this existence” (2546).
As a member of the female community, Sophie presents an interesting situation. When Etta and Sophie argue about Lorraine and Theresa’s
sexuality, Etta reveals a very important part of Sophie: “She oughta be glad them two girls are that way. That’s one less bed she gotta worry ’bout pullin’ Jess out of this year” (2551).
Despite her participation in the traditional gender role of the subordinate wife, it seems that Sophie may in fact be jealous of the relationship, both romantic and friendly, that Lorraine and Theresa have. She shares no loving relationship with her husband and isn’t on particularly friendly terms with the women of Brewster. As Mattie, a supporter of the two, puts it: “‘I’ve loved some women deeper than I ever loved any man… And there been some women who loved me more and did more for me than any man ever did’” (2551).
It’s this lack of the woman-to-woman bond that induces Sophie’s bitter hatred of the two, possibly believing that if she must suffer with a man then so should they.
Joining Sophie in the hostile protest against the two is C. C. Baker, a cocky, uneducated personification of hyper-masculinity. He focuses his resentment on Lorraine, possibly because she is the closer idea of femininity with her soft voice and apparent timidity:
[indent]He knew of only one way to deal with women other than his mother. Before he had learned exactly how women gave birth, he knew how to please or punish or extract favors from them by the execution of what lay curled behind his fly. It was his lifeline to that part of his being that sheltered his self-respect. And the thought of any woman who lay beyond the length of its power was a threat (2564).[/indent]
The Essay on Mother And Daughter Relationships
What is the “mother-daughter” relationship? I have no direct information on this because I am not a daughter. I do, however, have two sisters, and their relationship with my mother is very different when compared to the characters in the short stories “Who’s Irish?” and “New York Day Women.” Relationships between mothers and daughters take different forms ...
C.C. has always used his masculinity to get what he wants from women, exerting a forceful power over them. This power feeds his sense of worth and he is unable to comprehend any women being beyond his reach. In essence, a woman indifferent to his only weapon threatens his very manhood.
In his first run-in with Lorraine, he loudly denounces Lorraine and her sexuality, throwing out terms like “butch” and “dyke;” Kiswana boldly sticks up for her and C.C. and his gang back off, fully aware of Kiswana’s boyfriend’s muscled bulk. However, he does not leave with a good taste in his mouth.
Later, Lorraine goes alone to a club with some friends in an attempt to regain a piece of her independence necessary to saving her relationship with Theresa. On her way home, she runs into C.C. and his boys, who quickly beat her into submission and repeatedly rape her, taking turns. Barely conscious, Lorraine crawls along the sidewalk until she comes upon an inebriated Ben and kills him with a brick.
The rape itself is a very clear act, done from the anger and hard feelings that lie within the likes of C.C. and Sophie. The murder afterwards is another story. It’s unclear as to why Lorraine kills Ben; it may be that she merely wanted to stop the back-and-forth motion that had torn her world apart; it could also be that she was obtaining revenge by hurting the first male she came across.
Either way, it’s very interesting that once her bond with Theresa is distressed and fraying, the others, her “precious ‘theys,’” are able to tear her down (2567).
Without Kiswana or Theresa or any of her other female protectors, she is left vulnerable and open to those who are threatened by her. Through her rape, Lorraine is forced into the traditional man-woman relationship.
The bond that women share transcends all definition and explanation. It’s a close-knit relationship that goes beyond friendship and love. When seen as a homosexual relationship, the traditional gender role beliefs held by some are questioned and this refusal to understand or this lack of understanding can lead to dire consequences.
The Essay on Men And Women Relationships
As one can see now, the question of close relationship between men and women is not an easy one. Not without reason on the very beginning of the essay it was called "a great mystery of the mankind", and it is really so. The question has a lot of its aspects and unclear moments, which deserve special attention of scientists, which are inquiring into the question of such kind of relationships Maybe ...
Works Cited:
Gates, Jr., Louis, and Nellie McKay, eds. African American Literature. New York: Norton & Company, 1997.
Naylor, Gloria. “The Two.” Gates, Jr. 2544 – 2571.
