Despite having a higher education and still unmarried above the age of 20, Marian 's ultimate goals seems to be raising a family with Peter, even if social conventions are likely to play a bigger role in this than psychoanalysis or her own desires: “Of course I 'd always assumed through highschool and college that I was going to marry someone eventually and have children, everyone does” (123,124). This alone puts Peter in a position of power within their relationship. Marian is not the kind of heroine who likes to swim against the tide, and she appears to be rather conservative when it comes to her concept of family. When Ainsley announces is that she is going to have a baby, Marian 's immediate response is: “You mean you 're going to get married?”
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Jeanette 's descriptions of her relationship are much more emotional than rational, she speaks of Melanie 's lovely grey eyes (103), her “marvellous bones” (132), and how she feels like drowning when they hug (112). And unlike Marian, she talks about actual feelings as a 'weapon ' to 'destroy '. Jeanette is a true romantic, who still believes in real, passionate love, despite her negative experiences. For love, she would ”cross seas and suffer sunstroke and give away all [she has]” (217), and after this confession it is not difficult to understand why, a few chapters earlier, she describes intimacy as “disturbing” (132). When Jeanette talks about 'destruction ' she does not refer to an act of violence or domination. To her, love equals complete, mutual surrender and unconditional loyalty. Outside factors, like social expectations or gender roles, play a lesser role to her, since her love already exists outside the social norm. Hugh Stevens (2011) proposes two prime functions of marriage: a romantic one and a social one. The romantic function is the fulfilment of personal needs, which is exactly what Jeanette is looking for. The social function, however, is to merge and expand families, a function that is, given the time and circumstances Jeanette still lives in, impossible for her to conduct. This does grant her a …show more content…
And Clara is indeed not very happy with her situation. She complains about being nothing more than a housewife, but apparently lacks the motivation to do anything about it. Joe thinks she should not have gone to university: “She gets the idea she has a mind, her professors pay attention to what she has to say, they treat her like a thinking human being” (296). This, Joe explains to Marian, is against her “feminine role” which “demands passivity” (ibid). His solution to this problem is “maybe women shouldn 't go to university at all”
Jeanette 's descriptions of her relationship are much more emotional than rational, she speaks of Melanie 's lovely grey eyes (103), her “marvellous bones” (132), and how she feels like drowning when they hug (112). And unlike Marian, she talks about actual feelings as a 'weapon ' to 'destroy '. Jeanette is a true romantic, who still believes in real, passionate love, despite her negative experiences. For love, she would ”cross seas and suffer sunstroke and give away all [she has]” (217), and after this confession it is not difficult to understand why, a few chapters earlier, she describes intimacy as “disturbing” (132). When Jeanette talks about 'destruction ' she does not refer to an act of violence or domination. To her, love equals complete, mutual surrender and unconditional loyalty. Outside factors, like social expectations or gender roles, play a lesser role to her, since her love already exists outside the social norm. Hugh Stevens (2011) proposes two prime functions of marriage: a romantic one and a social one. The romantic function is the fulfilment of personal needs, which is exactly what Jeanette is looking for. The social function, however, is to merge and expand families, a function that is, given the time and circumstances Jeanette still lives in, impossible for her to conduct. This does grant her a …show more content…
And Clara is indeed not very happy with her situation. She complains about being nothing more than a housewife, but apparently lacks the motivation to do anything about it. Joe thinks she should not have gone to university: “She gets the idea she has a mind, her professors pay attention to what she has to say, they treat her like a thinking human being” (296). This, Joe explains to Marian, is against her “feminine role” which “demands passivity” (ibid). His solution to this problem is “maybe women shouldn 't go to university at all”