“Till do us part”. When taken literally, this is a powerful, committing set of words that over two million Americans swear to each year as they tie the knot. Oddly enough, the American Psychological Association states that the current divorce rate in the United States is 40-50 percent. Suffice to say, the majority of these divorcees do not end their marriages because of death, but rather relationship troubles that darken the once bright light that shone over their spouse. The idea of marriage has been around for centuries, and through the years the role of males and females in the partnership has evolved to its current state. Particularly for females, complete transparency, expression, and honesty whilst being apart of a marriage has not always
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In Willa Cather’s “A Wagner Matinee”, Georgiana Carpenter conforms to the pressures and expectations of society, as she sacrifices her prestigious career as teacher at the Boston Conservatory to marry a farmer. Throughout the story, the reader is exposed to the story of how Georgiana’s marriage to this farmer and move to Nebraska has required her to become a full-time mother of six, helper on the farm, and an incomplete soul. After Georgiana comes to terms with the fact that she is aging and will have few chances to get married, she hands over the keys to freedom in her life and puts them in the hand of a gentleman who will rarely feed her craving for music. In a plea to her nephew, she warns him about his enthusiasm for music: “‘Don't love it so well, Clark, or it may be taken from you. Oh! dear boy, pray that whatever your sacrifice be it is not that’” (Cather, “A Wagner Matinée”). Heartbroken from her separation to her dream job, Georgiana’s marriage silenced her cries to treat the world to her musical capabilities. Now residing in a rural town in the middle of Nebraska, Georgiana has few opportunities to live out her passion, as she cannot do what she was put on this earth to do: play music. Cather’s character serves as a prime example of how marriage can limit the freedom of a woman to do what they love, halt the pursuit of their ambitions, and deny a sense of
In Willa Cather’s “A Wagner Matinee”, Georgiana Carpenter conforms to the pressures and expectations of society, as she sacrifices her prestigious career as teacher at the Boston Conservatory to marry a farmer. Throughout the story, the reader is exposed to the story of how Georgiana’s marriage to this farmer and move to Nebraska has required her to become a full-time mother of six, helper on the farm, and an incomplete soul. After Georgiana comes to terms with the fact that she is aging and will have few chances to get married, she hands over the keys to freedom in her life and puts them in the hand of a gentleman who will rarely feed her craving for music. In a plea to her nephew, she warns him about his enthusiasm for music: “‘Don't love it so well, Clark, or it may be taken from you. Oh! dear boy, pray that whatever your sacrifice be it is not that’” (Cather, “A Wagner Matinée”). Heartbroken from her separation to her dream job, Georgiana’s marriage silenced her cries to treat the world to her musical capabilities. Now residing in a rural town in the middle of Nebraska, Georgiana has few opportunities to live out her passion, as she cannot do what she was put on this earth to do: play music. Cather’s character serves as a prime example of how marriage can limit the freedom of a woman to do what they love, halt the pursuit of their ambitions, and deny a sense of