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How are women depicted in Stained?
April 4th, 2007 by yhsstained
Though there are some positive qualities about women in this book, overall I think women are not depicted in a good light. Jocelyn is weak when it comes to men. She seems to need Benny in her life. She keeps trying to be his girlfriend even when she knows she is not what he wants or needs. If she isn’t thinking about Benny she is thinking about Gabe. She lets herself be pulled around by these boys. She doesn’t stand up to Benny when he doesn’t treat her right. Instead of ending a relationship with someone that doesn’t respect her and treat her the way she should be treated, she tries to get Benny back in her life. Throughout Jocelyn’s childhood, she consideres Gabe to be her best friend. Gabe is mean to her, makes fun of her, and acts like he is not friends with her when they are in public. He doesn’t want to be affiliated with Jocelyn, she knows this, and still reaches for him and tries to please him. Even when Gabe has a girlfriend, Anna, Jocelyn lets Gabe talk to her about Anna even though it pains her. She thinks that being there for him when Anna breaks up with him means he may care about her, but in reality he’s upset because he cares for Anna and she doesn’t have the same feelings for him.
Although Gabe’s mother isn’t a character that is very developed, she seems to be a weak woman. Margo seems strong dealing with the fact that her son, Gabe, is missing and possibily dead, I think she is weak when it comes to her relationship with her husband, Mike. Throughout the novel you slowly piece together that Gabe is beaten and you witness Mike’s temper. Now maybe Margo is also abused and can not stop the abuse afflicted on her children, but maybe she isn’t. I don’t understand why she allows herself and her children to live with a man with a quick temper and an abusive side. It may be that she loves him, or doesn’t think she could support her children without him, but I don’t think those are good enough reasons to live in fear of a father or husband.
There are two women in the novel that are stronger women. Jocelyn’s mother raised her daughter by herself. She doesn’t rely on any man like Jocelyn does, and she isn’t influenced by other people. She believes in God, but does not go to church like the rest of the town. She believes God still loves her and Jocelyn, but he is everywhere, not just at church where she and her daughter are discriminated against. She is a great comfort to Margo when Gabe disappears and keeps a cool and collected manner throughout the crisis. She is strong for Margo.
Another strong woman in the novel is Theresa, Jocelyn’s best friend. Theresa is different than most girls in town. She is an individual. She doesn’t do what all the other girls do just do be like them. She has dreams and is interested in things outside of their small town. She is opinionated and isn’t afraid to tell Jocelyn that she should not be with Benny. Theresa is a great friend for Jocelyn to have because she is smart. Jocelyn doesn’t always make the smartest decision because she makes decisions based on her emotions. Theresa keeps her wits about her even in emotional situations, and is a rock for Jocelyn.
Posted in Melissa | | | 2 Comments
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on April 4th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Mel,
You have posed several intersting ideas about the novel. Why, do you think, Jacobson creates such characters? The book was published in 2005, so this presents a rather contemporary plot line. What can readers relate to in this novel, and why does Jacobson include these characters in this way? We often read in order to make connections between our lives and characters’ lives. What connections were you able to make, if any?
Mrs. P.
on April 25th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I noticed that “stained” and “the secret life of bees” share one of the same roles of women in contemporary fiction. Mel mentioned how Jocelyn in “stained” is weak and dependant on men. She is seen as weak when her life is revolved around men. In “the secret life of bees”, the character Lily also shows weakness to men. Lily is treated as an inferior to her father and is not treated as an equal. Since the two live along and :Lily has no one to go to she lets herself be controlled by T. Ray (father) until one day she builds up the courage to run away from her father but is always in fear that he will come and find her and take her away. She still feels as the men have more power than she. The women in these two books both share the role of acting inferior to men and dependant on them. (abby)