In this paper, we will discuss how the protagonist of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie, and “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, Mabel, struggle in their search for love and feeling of self-worth and acceptance. Connie and Mabel both search for love in the wrong places because they do not receive the love they desperately crave and need from home. This lack of attention creates a feeling of worthlessness within Connie and Mabel. Science has proven that children need love and attention in order to properly develop cognitively and socially. Without the proper nurturing and love children will not grow up to their fullest potential and will become more dependent on others for survival. We will compare how both Connie and Mabel have
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Mabel resorts to searching for love from any guy that will pay her any attention. Mabel’s eyes meet Dr. Fergusson’s and there is a moment between the two individuals, a moment that aroused an emotion. Mabel had not felt any emotion in a long time. “She lifted her eyes, feeling him looking. Their eyes met. And each looked again at once, each feeling, in some way, found out by the other.” (Lawrence, 397). Mabel feeling as if there is nothing worth living for anymore decides to commit suicide by attempting to drown herself. As she wades into the water the local doctor, Jack Fergusson, sees her committing suicide in a pond and rushes to her rescue. Jack saves her and brings her back to her house where she wakes up and assumes since he performed this act of saving her that he must be in love with her. “Who undressed me?’ she asked, her eyes resting full and inevitable on his face.‘I did,’ he replied, ‘to bring you round.’ For some moments she sat and gazed at him awfully, her lips parted. ‘Do you love me then?’ she asked.” (Lawrence 399). Mabel felt that the only reason someone would save her is because they were in love with her. Mabel never receiving the love she needed has no idea what love actually is. She has a misconception of love. She assumes that since someone saved her, then that person must love her. Before Dr. Fergusson can even answer her she claims that she …show more content…
First, because of Connie strolling around town looking for someone to show her some attention, she is giving off the image of ‘look at me’ ‘don’t you see how pretty I am?’. The problem with this attitude is that she is drawing the attention of any immoral guy looking for some helpless girl to fulfill their sexual desires. This is exactly what happened to Connie. She is with a guy named Eddie and they are at the drive in movies when another guy sees her and claims that he will get her. “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, "Gonna get you, baby," and Connie turned away again without Eddie noticing anything.” (Oates, 146). Later in the week, Connie’s parents and sister leave to go to a grill out but Connie stays at home. After her parents leave and Connie is home alone, the man that claimed he would get her shows up at her house. The man who wants Connie is Arnold Friend. A.R. Coulthard writes in “Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" As Pure Realism” that “The tendency among "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" commentators is to equate Arnold Friend with the Devil himself. C. Harold Hurley writes in “Cracking the Secret Code in Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?’” that Arnold Friend refers to the numbers on his car “33, 19,17” “But when the sum of the numbers – sixty-nine – is interpreted as yet another indication of
Mabel resorts to searching for love from any guy that will pay her any attention. Mabel’s eyes meet Dr. Fergusson’s and there is a moment between the two individuals, a moment that aroused an emotion. Mabel had not felt any emotion in a long time. “She lifted her eyes, feeling him looking. Their eyes met. And each looked again at once, each feeling, in some way, found out by the other.” (Lawrence, 397). Mabel feeling as if there is nothing worth living for anymore decides to commit suicide by attempting to drown herself. As she wades into the water the local doctor, Jack Fergusson, sees her committing suicide in a pond and rushes to her rescue. Jack saves her and brings her back to her house where she wakes up and assumes since he performed this act of saving her that he must be in love with her. “Who undressed me?’ she asked, her eyes resting full and inevitable on his face.‘I did,’ he replied, ‘to bring you round.’ For some moments she sat and gazed at him awfully, her lips parted. ‘Do you love me then?’ she asked.” (Lawrence 399). Mabel felt that the only reason someone would save her is because they were in love with her. Mabel never receiving the love she needed has no idea what love actually is. She has a misconception of love. She assumes that since someone saved her, then that person must love her. Before Dr. Fergusson can even answer her she claims that she …show more content…
First, because of Connie strolling around town looking for someone to show her some attention, she is giving off the image of ‘look at me’ ‘don’t you see how pretty I am?’. The problem with this attitude is that she is drawing the attention of any immoral guy looking for some helpless girl to fulfill their sexual desires. This is exactly what happened to Connie. She is with a guy named Eddie and they are at the drive in movies when another guy sees her and claims that he will get her. “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, "Gonna get you, baby," and Connie turned away again without Eddie noticing anything.” (Oates, 146). Later in the week, Connie’s parents and sister leave to go to a grill out but Connie stays at home. After her parents leave and Connie is home alone, the man that claimed he would get her shows up at her house. The man who wants Connie is Arnold Friend. A.R. Coulthard writes in “Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" As Pure Realism” that “The tendency among "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" commentators is to equate Arnold Friend with the Devil himself. C. Harold Hurley writes in “Cracking the Secret Code in Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?’” that Arnold Friend refers to the numbers on his car “33, 19,17” “But when the sum of the numbers – sixty-nine – is interpreted as yet another indication of