Allison Hartsell
SSRJ #2: Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle
Colette's short story The Hand
made me feel uncomfortable. The young wife, whose name we never
learn, goes from gushing newlywed to resigned, disgusted matron
within a matter of hours at most. The element that stood out as
interesting to me was the setting; the entirety of the story takes
place within a bedroom. In many ways, the story only takes place
within the mind of the wife, as the plot follows her growing
realization that she is married to someone she doesn't know.
The
young wife is at first girlishly devoted to her new husband. She
thinks, “'Too happy to sleep,'” as she supports the slumbering
head of her husband on her shoulder (Colette 282). As she studies her
handsome husband, she has nothing but wondrous admiration for his
athleticism, his mouth, even his hand—at first. The appearance
morphs from just manly to threatening, ready to attack, and squeezes
the blanket with “the methodical pleasure of a strangler”
(Colette 284). But when Colette moves the focal point to his hand in
particular, it becomes the centerpiece of the story. In moving the
focus from courtship to the hand and giving it a role in the story,
Colette makes a statement about what marriage meant for women: lack
of power, a life of subservience. The marriage that at first seemed
so pefect and shiny, like the superficial gleam of the husband's nail
varnish, turns ugly upon close inspection. By its closing, the
nameless young lady has realized what the hand, or marriage, really
is; and the once energetic girl begins “her life of duplicity, of
resignation” (Colette 284), and kisses the hand in disheartened
understanding. She has lost her freedom, and belongs now to her
husband. Colette intentionally left the bride and groom nameless. The
fact that neither the wife nor the husband have names indicates that
this could have been any couple in the early 1900s, and all married
women were destined to be owned and stifled.
The
Hand states very quickly that
this new husband is recently widowed. Are we supposed to think that
the marriage killed her, or the husband?
I would say the marriage killed the husband's former wife because the current wife is slowly realizing that her life is going to change quite drastically, probably for the worst.
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog, or should I say mini essay, Allison. I thought the setting of the story was very interesting too. While some might think a bedroom seems boring or predictable, a lot sure went on that night! I'd say that you nailed the literary element and theme, but the in-text citations put it over the top! I love how you said, "Colette makes a statement about what marriage meant for women: lack of power, a life of subservience." Exactly. The threatening position of the hand and the "powerful knuckles" showed how the man had all the power in this marriage, which could be applied to marriage in general. I agree that Colette intentionally didn't name the characters. In regards to your question, I believe that the husband killed his first wife. It wasn't an accident that Colette mentioned that he was recently widowed, and the line where the husband squeezed the sheet with "the methodical pleasure of a strangler" echoed that he was more than capable of killing.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog to be extremely well written and thought out. Your use of specific examples are remarkable in reinforcing your idea of what the story means. I agree with Christina's reply about the husband probably killing his first wife with the example she states in the story of "the methodical pleasure of a strangler". Great Job.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, interesting thought about the marriage killing her. Really well interspersed with in text citations. I think it is so sad that she rushed into a marriage because of his looks and not his character. People drive the divorce rate up with that kind of bad decision. It is sad to think how her story may end, will she be a victim of her own sorrow or his violent nature? Well thought out!
ReplyDeleteDemond Richardson
ReplyDeleteCommitting on Allison H.
I believe it can be look at as if the husband actually did kill his wife, or if he was so overbearing and so controlling that it killed her.
Very insightful! My theory is that the husband more than likely murdered his wife. His hand made strangle positions. To me that signals he can be a killer.
ReplyDelete