How Gender Inequality Reduced Women's Strength as Writers politically, economically and socially? With a female presidential bid, a narrowing gender pay gap, and a push toward more family-friendly maternity/paternity leave, a quick glance would reveal staggering progress compared to our counterparts women of the 20th century. But as we delve deeper into our concerns and our future, we see a disturbing repetition of themes that, despite our progress, have not evaporated, but simply transformed: gender equality, identity and motherhood. Three books reviewed in the WNMU Women as Writers course demonstrate these concerns: The Edible Woman (1969) by Margaret Atwood, Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman (1996) by Nuala O'Faolain, and Maria: Gold, The Wrongs of Woman (1798) by Mary Wollstonecraft. These books provide an exceptional method used to compare the characters' experiences with how contemporary women view their place in society, in the workplace, and in their personal relationships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay “Trapped” by Relationships Concerns about gender equality feature prominently in all three books. Maria: or, The Wrongs of Women, published a century and a half before The Edible Woman, is dedicated to the struggles women face and is considered a radically feminist work (Pryce). In the book, Maria was committed to an asylum and lost custody of her child, not through the courts, but through a kidnapping arranged by her husband without recourse. Although she left her husband for cruelty and adultery, she was never able to fully escape. She describes the experience saying: "After leaving what the law considers my home, I was chased like a criminal from place to place, although I incurred no debts and did not have required no maintenance - yet, as the laws authorize such a procedure, and make women the property of their husbands, I abstain from animadvert” (Wollstonecraft ch. 17). Maria broods over her fate while she remains imprisoned in the asylum, and it is strictly because of her husband that she is there. In The Edible Woman. , Marian, the main character, feels a similar sensation of being "trapped", although not literally as in Marian, she begins to look at her relationships differently, learning more about herself through her romantic liaisons. As a roommate, Ainsley refers to her. relationship with promising lawyer Peter: “He monopolized her” (Atwood 29). Peter, from the beginning of the book, reveals himself to be egocentric and dominating, to the point that Marion actually attempts to do so. escaping Peter twice in social settings, once at a bar and another time at a party. In the first case, Marian starts running and says: "I could hear the fury in Peter's voice: it was an unforgivable sin because it was public." Her hysteria mounts as Peter chases after her in his car, but when she is finally caught, she simply thinks: "The relief of being stopped and held, of hearing Peter's normal voice again and knowing that 'it was real, was so big that I started laughing. powerless.”Mental Instability and RelationshipsAssertion of mental instability has been used as one of the most common ways to control women. The divorce wasvery rare in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in Britain it was not until the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 that divorce was brought before the courts. At that time, only men were allowed to “petition the court” for divorce on the grounds of their wife’s adultery. It was not until 1923 that either spouse could petition the court for a divorce on the grounds of adultery (BBC). A member of the Tennessee Genealogy Society described the confusing approach to women's mental health: stating, "I was visiting a courthouse and noticed the term 'insanity' on many women's forms. I asked the judicial assistant about this. She showed me where a woman could very often divorce for reasons of insanity. Her husband was put in an insane asylum, then he filed for divorce. A few months later, his marriage records to a younger wife usually appeared” (Sansone). Maria may have been held in an institution, but for her, it wasn't because she was mentally ill. unstable or ill. Due to her role as a wife in the 1700s, she is entirely at the mercy of her husband. Her marriage was a contract – almost inviolable – and her commitment to an asylum was a means to reach her husband. In Maria, the main character describes her husband's misdeeds: “Neglected by my husband, I never encouraged a lover; and preserved with scrupulous care what is called my honor, at the expense of my peace, until he who should have been its guardian had laid snares to ensnare me” (Wollstonecraft ch. 17). In The Edible Woman, Marian finds her problems getting worse as Peter begins to treat her more and more like a wife, and she also begins to change her daily routine, avoiding steak, rice pudding, eggs and vegetables as she questions her sanity and her relationship. Men exert power over Marian, and while examining this relationship, she also struggles with the implications of these relationships. As she recalled while cooking dinner: “She was becoming increasingly irritated by her body's decision to reject certain foods. She had tried to reason with him and accused him of having frivolous whims, had cajoled and tempted him, but he was adamant” (Atwood 193). Nuala O'Faolain describes her depression in Are You Somebody? In her memoirs, she talks about her father and his death. Because she drank heavily and was unable to recover on her own, she asked a friend to help her recover in the hospital. Her friend agreed: “I cried for the millions and millions of anonymous women who might never have existed, for all we know about them. I wrote them a sort of anthem. I still couldn’t sleep.” However, unlike Maria and Marian, Nuala's instability is calmed by her primary relationship with Nell, while the other main characters find calm through their secondary relationships: Marian and Duncan, and Maria and Darnford. Today, we no longer face the same problems of divorce. – in the Western world, of course. According to Life, the current cohort divorce rate, calculated based on a group of people marrying at the same time, is 40 to 50 percent (Stanton). Interestingly, the same source indicates that only 27 percent of college graduates will divorce by middle age. While some women enjoy the freedom to leave an unsatisfying marriage, we still hear stories like that of Mwende, a Kenyan woman punished for not having children by having both hands removed by her husband (Kyama). Kyama of the LA Times noted that “her poor parents advised Mwende to leave Ngila, but she did not want to return home to burden them. She hassought advice from her pastor, who advised her to persist and do her best to save the marriage. An article published a few years ago highlighted the changing divorce rate, stating: "In Asia, Africa and Latin America, however, divorce is both an indicator of and a force behind social changes that have improved women's perspectives, reduces gender inequality and fuels gender inequality. development. All of this suggests that the more people are able to get out of a bad marriage, the more likely their society is to improve” (Kenny). Employment Although Maria views work differently than a mid-century woman in the 1960s, she discusses the unfairness of lower-class work. Through her exchanges with Jemima, she becomes intimately familiar with the world of working women – and the complications that arise from it. Jemima, upon the death of her mother, was forced to become a servant in her father's household, surviving mistreatment such as physical abuse and rape. Kicked out of her home, she became a prostitute, then a caregiver in an asylum. Even though she experiences the “freedom” of her own earning potential, she still suffers mistreatment from men in her own profession. In a way, ironically, the asylum is the “safest” place for her. Marian also feels trapped by her job, describing her role at a marketing agency called Seymour Surveys. The “C-suite,” as we would call it today, is reserved for men, leaving her in a position where the best she can hope for is a leadership role. She comments: “I couldn’t become one of the men upstairs; I couldn't become a machine person or one of the ladies who correct the questionnaires, because that would be a step backwards. I could eventually transform into Mrs. Bogue or her assistant, but from what I could see, it would take a long time” (Atwood 14). As soon as she discusses a retirement plan, she begins to reevaluate her choices, envying her roommate, Ainsley, for her less stable, lower-paying position that offers only one thing: the freedom to leave because it's is not a “career”. It's no longer a question of whether or not women have jobs, but rather a question of why more women are not leaders. In Barriers and Bias: The Status of Women in Leadership, published by the American Association of University Women, researchers present statistics that indicate that the higher we climb the corporate ladder, the fewer women we see. AAUW reflects: “There is no shortage of qualified women to fill leadership positions. Women earn the majority of college degrees at all levels except professional degrees, and there are more of them in the workforce today than ever before. There must be something inherent in the system that is working against them” (AAUW). And in middle-income countries, we see a stark gender gap in entrepreneurial activities; however, in developing countries the gap is narrowing again as women choose to start their own businesses out of necessity (Minniti, Naude). Again, there is work to be done.EscapeWhether these women – Maria, Marian or Nuala – lived in the 18th or mid-20th centuries – they still managed to escape, managing their situation by reading, writing or simply daydreaming.Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman, establishes the escape from a numb identity – books. Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft states that "the books which Maria had obtained were soon devoured by one who had no other resource for escape from sorrow." Maria concentratesabout writing letters to Darnford, which also helps him get out of his current uncomfortable state in the asylum. Maria dreams too, because she “was not allowed to walk in the garden; but sometimes, from her window, she turned her eyes away from the dark walls where she pined for life, towards the poor wretches who wandered in the alleys, and contemplated the most frightening of ruins, that of a human soul. » (Wollstonecraft, ch. 2). The Marian of the Edible Woman engages in her own escape. Marian is a thoughtful and insightful woman who continually analyzes what she wants in life, how to get it, and what stands in her way. Through this analysis, she identifies that she needs to escape whatever is tormenting her – escape from Peter, escape from her job, and, most likely, escape from Ainsley, who has made it clear that she is changing her own direction of life. thanks to her status as a single mother. Marian begins her escape through her unusual and evolving relationship with food, humanizing it to the point that it becomes unpleasant. This happens shortly after his commitment to the book. She describes her first meal after becoming engaged to Peter: “I inspected my egg, which was emitting a semi-frozen white probe like an exploring oyster” (Atwood 88). It is also around this time that Marian begins her relationship with Duncan, simultaneously escaping into an unsustainable romance. His unsustainable relationship, coupled with his unsustainable eating problems, suggest a temporary need to leave his current self behind. O'Faolain escapes much like his mother (and Maria) – through reading. She says: “I had to learn it from my mother: reading is a means of defense. That “they” can’t reach you when you have a book.” She describes experiencing immense tests of personal courage solely because of her ability to weather a storm through writing: "I lived in a hotel in Tehran for a few months in the 1970s. Men with machine guns patrolled in the lobby, in front of the elevators. I didn't care. Every evening I hurried back and settled down with perfect happiness wherever I was going in Remembrance of Things Past.” Today we see a similar form of escapism presented as stories surface about the reading habits of the Muslim world – it seems the hobby has evolved to reflect a deeper consideration of women's rights . In Alice's Clandestine Adventures in Saudi Arabia, author Jasmine Bager reflects: “Public libraries are supposed to exist in the country, even though no one I know has ever visited one. It’s an unwritten rule that women are not allowed inside anyway” (Bager). She describes the experience of finally having the green light to share her experiences in a discreet book club, despite the fact that "the book club could be shut down and the cafe employees could be kicked out if someone who finds the club reprehensible report its existence to the authorities. The book club is the perfect way for women to connect, but participants should still proceed with extreme caution. As one woman said: “We think book clubs are incredibly relevant. Where else could we discuss Machiavelli, the Big Bang and Wonderland? This is the beginning of social change'” (Bager). a role that Marian rejects for its limitations. As Marian describes it during her visit to Clara: “I felt now that I could do nothing more. I was only to be a witness, or perhaps a sort of blotter, my mere physical presence absorbing some of the boredom” (Atwood 28). Marian continually describes children as complicated and disturbing creatures,referring to a child as a "leech" or an "octopus". When Marian first visits Clara, she notes: "We had difficulty talking: everyone's attention was focused on the baby, who was moaning, and for a while he was the only one saying something ". When Marian later organizes a dinner, it is Clara's baby who spoils the event: “The conversation had stopped. Marian hovered around, holding out diaper pins but secretly wondering if it would be in bad taste to go downstairs and get one of the many odor-eliminating devices in the lady's bathroom downstairs. » With this identification of the child as complicated and attention-seeking, Edible Woman contrasts the role of the professional woman with that of the housewife or mother figure. Marian's friend Clara has moved beyond her academic life and now devotes her time to raising her children. Marian looks at Clara with a mixture of fascination and pity, without envy of her choices. As a working woman, it makes sense that Marian would be so critical of the pregnancy. She looks at Clara with "a wave of embarrassed pity" and says that, at Seymour Surveys, "pregnancy is considered an act of disloyalty to the company." Marian's relationship with Ainsley best shows her discomfort with motherhood and how it affects a woman's options. . Ainsley is determined to become a single mother, adopting it as an alternative to the role of Clara, who seems tired, messy and too far removed from the lifestyle Ainsley and Marian have adopted. Ainsley's choice, while certainly looked down upon by Marian, is incredibly modern and fits her needs, not those dictated by society. Ainsley says: “How will society change if some individuals within it do not lead the way? I will simply tell the truth. I know I'll have problems here and there, and some people will be tolerant of that, I'm sure, even here." Unlike Jemima in Maria, Ainsley does not view pregnancy as a problem; she had much more freedom to make choices without the support of a man. In Are You Somebody?, we see a similar disregard for motherhood as Nuala O'Faolain describes her struggle to want freedom against the maternal instinct. She blames herself and her siblings for contributing to her mother's downfall, stating, "My mother didn't want us. She hadn't felt wanted herself. It wasn’t marriage that did it, it was us” (O’Faolain 213). O'Faolain focuses on the choices women must make and the implications of those decisions. She later spoke of her desire to have children, commenting: "I would have been a very bad mother for most of my life. But I would be a good mother now. Too late. Sometimes I have to look away from the little children. They are too beautiful to wear” (O’Faolain 181). Just as Darnford strikes a chord with Maria, so does Duncan with Marian. Marian's stifling relationship with her finances? leads him to seek fulfillment elsewhere. Unconventional and unusual, Duncan offers a new perspective to Marian's damaged relationship with Peter. She tells Duncan, "'I'm getting married, you know,'" to which he responds, "'But you're here.' You’re just another substitute for the laundromat’” (Atwood 56). Marian's shocked response is, "'I wonder what you're a substitute for, then.' Duncan describes himself as "very flexible" and "the universal substitute." Marian continues to see Duncan throughout the book, eventually finding herself in a situation in which she must introduce Duncan and Peter. Duncan refuses, disappearing as quickly and as strangely as he was introduced for the. 2016.

Essay / How Gender Inequality Reduced Women's Strength as Writers politically, economically and socially? With a female presidential bid, a narrowing gender pay gap, and a push toward more family-friendly maternity/paternity leave, a quick glance would reveal staggering progress compared to our counterparts women of the 20th century. But as we delve deeper into our concerns and our future, we see a disturbing repetition of themes that, despite our progress, have not evaporated, but simply transformed: gender equality, identity and motherhood. Three books reviewed in the WNMU Women as Writers course demonstrate these concerns: The Edible Woman (1969) by Margaret Atwood, Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman (1996) by Nuala O'Faolain, and Maria: Gold, The Wrongs of Woman (1798) by Mary Wollstonecraft. These books provide an exceptional method used to compare the characters' experiences with how contemporary women view their place in society, in the workplace, and in their personal relationships. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay “Trapped” by Relationships Concerns about gender equality feature prominently in all three books. Maria: or, The Wrongs of Women, published a century and a half before The Edible Woman, is dedicated to the struggles women face and is considered a radically feminist work (Pryce). In the book, Maria was committed to an asylum and lost custody of her child, not through the courts, but through a kidnapping arranged by her husband without recourse. Although she left her husband for cruelty and adultery, she was never able to fully escape. She describes the experience saying: "After leaving what the law considers my home, I was chased like a criminal from place to place, although I incurred no debts and did not have required no maintenance - yet, as the laws authorize such a procedure, and make women the property of their husbands, I abstain from animadvert” (Wollstonecraft ch. 17). Maria broods over her fate while she remains imprisoned in the asylum, and it is strictly because of her husband that she is there. In The Edible Woman. , Marian, the main character, feels a similar sensation of being "trapped", although not literally as in Marian, she begins to look at her relationships differently, learning more about herself through her romantic liaisons. As a roommate, Ainsley refers to her. relationship with promising lawyer Peter: “He monopolized her” (Atwood 29). Peter, from the beginning of the book, reveals himself to be egocentric and dominating, to the point that Marion actually attempts to do so. escaping Peter twice in social settings, once at a bar and another time at a party. In the first case, Marian starts running and says: "I could hear the fury in Peter's voice: it was an unforgivable sin because it was public." Her hysteria mounts as Peter chases after her in his car, but when she is finally caught, she simply thinks: "The relief of being stopped and held, of hearing Peter's normal voice again and knowing that 'it was real, was so big that I started laughing. powerless.”Mental Instability and RelationshipsAssertion of mental instability has been used as one of the most common ways to control women. The divorce wasvery rare in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in Britain it was not until the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 that divorce was brought before the courts. At that time, only men were allowed to “petition the court” for divorce on the grounds of their wife’s adultery. It was not until 1923 that either spouse could petition the court for a divorce on the grounds of adultery (BBC). A member of the Tennessee Genealogy Society described the confusing approach to women's mental health: stating, "I was visiting a courthouse and noticed the term 'insanity' on many women's forms. I asked the judicial assistant about this. She showed me where a woman could very often divorce for reasons of insanity. Her husband was put in an insane asylum, then he filed for divorce. A few months later, his marriage records to a younger wife usually appeared” (Sansone). Maria may have been held in an institution, but for her, it wasn't because she was mentally ill. unstable or ill. Due to her role as a wife in the 1700s, she is entirely at the mercy of her husband. Her marriage was a contract – almost inviolable – and her commitment to an asylum was a means to reach her husband. In Maria, the main character describes her husband's misdeeds: “Neglected by my husband, I never encouraged a lover; and preserved with scrupulous care what is called my honor, at the expense of my peace, until he who should have been its guardian had laid snares to ensnare me” (Wollstonecraft ch. 17). In The Edible Woman, Marian finds her problems getting worse as Peter begins to treat her more and more like a wife, and she also begins to change her daily routine, avoiding steak, rice pudding, eggs and vegetables as she questions her sanity and her relationship. Men exert power over Marian, and while examining this relationship, she also struggles with the implications of these relationships. As she recalled while cooking dinner: “She was becoming increasingly irritated by her body's decision to reject certain foods. She had tried to reason with him and accused him of having frivolous whims, had cajoled and tempted him, but he was adamant” (Atwood 193). Nuala O'Faolain describes her depression in Are You Somebody? In her memoirs, she talks about her father and his death. Because she drank heavily and was unable to recover on her own, she asked a friend to help her recover in the hospital. Her friend agreed: “I cried for the millions and millions of anonymous women who might never have existed, for all we know about them. I wrote them a sort of anthem. I still couldn’t sleep.” However, unlike Maria and Marian, Nuala's instability is calmed by her primary relationship with Nell, while the other main characters find calm through their secondary relationships: Marian and Duncan, and Maria and Darnford. Today, we no longer face the same problems of divorce. – in the Western world, of course. According to Life, the current cohort divorce rate, calculated based on a group of people marrying at the same time, is 40 to 50 percent (Stanton). Interestingly, the same source indicates that only 27 percent of college graduates will divorce by middle age. While some women enjoy the freedom to leave an unsatisfying marriage, we still hear stories like that of Mwende, a Kenyan woman punished for not having children by having both hands removed by her husband (Kyama). Kyama of the LA Times noted that “her poor parents advised Mwende to leave Ngila, but she did not want to return home to burden them. She hassought advice from her pastor, who advised her to persist and do her best to save the marriage. An article published a few years ago highlighted the changing divorce rate, stating: "In Asia, Africa and Latin America, however, divorce is both an indicator of and a force behind social changes that have improved women's perspectives, reduces gender inequality and fuels gender inequality. development. All of this suggests that the more people are able to get out of a bad marriage, the more likely their society is to improve” (Kenny). Employment Although Maria views work differently than a mid-century woman in the 1960s, she discusses the unfairness of lower-class work. Through her exchanges with Jemima, she becomes intimately familiar with the world of working women – and the complications that arise from it. Jemima, upon the death of her mother, was forced to become a servant in her father's household, surviving mistreatment such as physical abuse and rape. Kicked out of her home, she became a prostitute, then a caregiver in an asylum. Even though she experiences the “freedom” of her own earning potential, she still suffers mistreatment from men in her own profession. In a way, ironically, the asylum is the “safest” place for her. Marian also feels trapped by her job, describing her role at a marketing agency called Seymour Surveys. The “C-suite,” as we would call it today, is reserved for men, leaving her in a position where the best she can hope for is a leadership role. She comments: “I couldn’t become one of the men upstairs; I couldn't become a machine person or one of the ladies who correct the questionnaires, because that would be a step backwards. I could eventually transform into Mrs. Bogue or her assistant, but from what I could see, it would take a long time” (Atwood 14). As soon as she discusses a retirement plan, she begins to reevaluate her choices, envying her roommate, Ainsley, for her less stable, lower-paying position that offers only one thing: the freedom to leave because it's is not a “career”. It's no longer a question of whether or not women have jobs, but rather a question of why more women are not leaders. In Barriers and Bias: The Status of Women in Leadership, published by the American Association of University Women, researchers present statistics that indicate that the higher we climb the corporate ladder, the fewer women we see. AAUW reflects: “There is no shortage of qualified women to fill leadership positions. Women earn the majority of college degrees at all levels except professional degrees, and there are more of them in the workforce today than ever before. There must be something inherent in the system that is working against them” (AAUW). And in middle-income countries, we see a stark gender gap in entrepreneurial activities; however, in developing countries the gap is narrowing again as women choose to start their own businesses out of necessity (Minniti, Naude). Again, there is work to be done.EscapeWhether these women – Maria, Marian or Nuala – lived in the 18th or mid-20th centuries – they still managed to escape, managing their situation by reading, writing or simply daydreaming.Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman, establishes the escape from a numb identity – books. Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft states that "the books which Maria had obtained were soon devoured by one who had no other resource for escape from sorrow." Maria concentratesabout writing letters to Darnford, which also helps him get out of his current uncomfortable state in the asylum. Maria dreams too, because she “was not allowed to walk in the garden; but sometimes, from her window, she turned her eyes away from the dark walls where she pined for life, towards the poor wretches who wandered in the alleys, and contemplated the most frightening of ruins, that of a human soul. » (Wollstonecraft, ch. 2). The Marian of the Edible Woman engages in her own escape. Marian is a thoughtful and insightful woman who continually analyzes what she wants in life, how to get it, and what stands in her way. Through this analysis, she identifies that she needs to escape whatever is tormenting her – escape from Peter, escape from her job, and, most likely, escape from Ainsley, who has made it clear that she is changing her own direction of life. thanks to her status as a single mother. Marian begins her escape through her unusual and evolving relationship with food, humanizing it to the point that it becomes unpleasant. This happens shortly after his commitment to the book. She describes her first meal after becoming engaged to Peter: “I inspected my egg, which was emitting a semi-frozen white probe like an exploring oyster” (Atwood 88). It is also around this time that Marian begins her relationship with Duncan, simultaneously escaping into an unsustainable romance. His unsustainable relationship, coupled with his unsustainable eating problems, suggest a temporary need to leave his current self behind. O'Faolain escapes much like his mother (and Maria) – through reading. She says: “I had to learn it from my mother: reading is a means of defense. That “they” can’t reach you when you have a book.” She describes experiencing immense tests of personal courage solely because of her ability to weather a storm through writing: "I lived in a hotel in Tehran for a few months in the 1970s. Men with machine guns patrolled in the lobby, in front of the elevators. I didn't care. Every evening I hurried back and settled down with perfect happiness wherever I was going in Remembrance of Things Past.” Today we see a similar form of escapism presented as stories surface about the reading habits of the Muslim world – it seems the hobby has evolved to reflect a deeper consideration of women's rights . In Alice's Clandestine Adventures in Saudi Arabia, author Jasmine Bager reflects: “Public libraries are supposed to exist in the country, even though no one I know has ever visited one. It’s an unwritten rule that women are not allowed inside anyway” (Bager). She describes the experience of finally having the green light to share her experiences in a discreet book club, despite the fact that "the book club could be shut down and the cafe employees could be kicked out if someone who finds the club reprehensible report its existence to the authorities. The book club is the perfect way for women to connect, but participants should still proceed with extreme caution. As one woman said: “We think book clubs are incredibly relevant. Where else could we discuss Machiavelli, the Big Bang and Wonderland? This is the beginning of social change'” (Bager). a role that Marian rejects for its limitations. As Marian describes it during her visit to Clara: “I felt now that I could do nothing more. I was only to be a witness, or perhaps a sort of blotter, my mere physical presence absorbing some of the boredom” (Atwood 28). Marian continually describes children as complicated and disturbing creatures,referring to a child as a "leech" or an "octopus". When Marian first visits Clara, she notes: "We had difficulty talking: everyone's attention was focused on the baby, who was moaning, and for a while he was the only one saying something ". When Marian later organizes a dinner, it is Clara's baby who spoils the event: “The conversation had stopped. Marian hovered around, holding out diaper pins but secretly wondering if it would be in bad taste to go downstairs and get one of the many odor-eliminating devices in the lady's bathroom downstairs. » With this identification of the child as complicated and attention-seeking, Edible Woman contrasts the role of the professional woman with that of the housewife or mother figure. Marian's friend Clara has moved beyond her academic life and now devotes her time to raising her children. Marian looks at Clara with a mixture of fascination and pity, without envy of her choices. As a working woman, it makes sense that Marian would be so critical of the pregnancy. She looks at Clara with "a wave of embarrassed pity" and says that, at Seymour Surveys, "pregnancy is considered an act of disloyalty to the company." Marian's relationship with Ainsley best shows her discomfort with motherhood and how it affects a woman's options. . Ainsley is determined to become a single mother, adopting it as an alternative to the role of Clara, who seems tired, messy and too far removed from the lifestyle Ainsley and Marian have adopted. Ainsley's choice, while certainly looked down upon by Marian, is incredibly modern and fits her needs, not those dictated by society. Ainsley says: “How will society change if some individuals within it do not lead the way? I will simply tell the truth. I know I'll have problems here and there, and some people will be tolerant of that, I'm sure, even here." Unlike Jemima in Maria, Ainsley does not view pregnancy as a problem; she had much more freedom to make choices without the support of a man. In Are You Somebody?, we see a similar disregard for motherhood as Nuala O'Faolain describes her struggle to want freedom against the maternal instinct. She blames herself and her siblings for contributing to her mother's downfall, stating, "My mother didn't want us. She hadn't felt wanted herself. It wasn’t marriage that did it, it was us” (O’Faolain 213). O'Faolain focuses on the choices women must make and the implications of those decisions. She later spoke of her desire to have children, commenting: "I would have been a very bad mother for most of my life. But I would be a good mother now. Too late. Sometimes I have to look away from the little children. They are too beautiful to wear” (O’Faolain 181). Just as Darnford strikes a chord with Maria, so does Duncan with Marian. Marian's stifling relationship with her finances? leads him to seek fulfillment elsewhere. Unconventional and unusual, Duncan offers a new perspective to Marian's damaged relationship with Peter. She tells Duncan, "'I'm getting married, you know,'" to which he responds, "'But you're here.' You’re just another substitute for the laundromat’” (Atwood 56). Marian's shocked response is, "'I wonder what you're a substitute for, then.' Duncan describes himself as "very flexible" and "the universal substitute." Marian continues to see Duncan throughout the book, eventually finding herself in a situation in which she must introduce Duncan and Peter. Duncan refuses, disappearing as quickly and as strangely as he was introduced for the. 2016.

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