A Typical Victim of the Patriarchal Society

陳俊汀 李文軍

【Abstract】Death in the Woods is one of the famous novels of Sherwood Anderson， who is a distinguished writer in America， and now it still wins great popularity in the whole world. In this novel， the author depicts the protagonist Mrs. Grimes miserable life incisively. This paper endeavors to analyze the female character in the patriarchal society from the following two perspectives—social background and marriage life， and naturally comes to the conclusion that the protagonist Mrs. Grimes finally died because of the oppression of the patriarchal society.

【Key words】Death in the Woods； female character； patriarchal society

1. Introduction

Sherwood Anderson is noted for his novels in America and William Faulkner considered him as “the father of the American writers of his time.”Sherwood Anderson has exerted great influence on William Faulkner， Hemingway and any other famous American writers， and he plays a very important role in the history of American literature.

Death in the Woods is one of the representative works of Sherwood Anderson， and the plot of the novel is concerned with the protagonist Mrs. Grimes role transition from a servant at a German farmers home to the wife of Jake Grimes. In the novel， Mrs. Grimes is probably destined to meet her doom. When she was a little child， she was abandoned by her parents and was sold to a German farmer. However， she was treated badly there—the German farmer wanted to rape her and his wife often found fault with her deliberately. Later， she got married with Jake Grimes， who was a tough. Nevertheless， although her role has changed， she still hasnt changed her miserable life. After her marriage， she had to feed the whole family. She was unfortunate enough to have such a terrible husband and such a bad son. Although she worked with toil and sweat， she still had to suffer the pain that came from her husband. Ultimately， she died lonely in the woods at a snowy day.

This paper aims to give a detailed analysis of the female image under the patriarchal system from the following three perspectives—social background， marital status and the specific surroundings， and reveals that patriarchy exerts ruthless oppression on women， and thereby gives a detailed explanation of feminism which is presented in the novel. In the patriarchal society， women are regarded as mens appendage， and women are obedient to men. Under the patriarchal system， women totally have no right to seek for parity that they deserve. In reality， they dont have the equal rights in occupation， income and marital status， and they are always discriminated by men. They are the victims of the patriarchal society.

2. The Victim of Social System

Sherwood Anderson lived in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century—it was a time when American society experienced the transition from the agricultural society to the industrial society. In this period of transition， a substantial amount of farmers lost their lands and they had no other choice but to go to cities to find new jobs. Consequently， a kind of social phenomenon appeared—the young laborers swarmed into cities， while the old women were abandoned in the deserted rural areas. In the meantime， with the fast-paced development of science and technology， peoples values of life and morality had changed. However， the new values had not been formed yet. People felt very confused and had no clear aims and objectives for themselves. They were just like ice-cold machines， working aimlessly. The whole society presented an appearance of gloom. It was because of such a social system that lots of women just like Mrs. Grimes became the prey of the patriarchal society. Just as Mohanty said that the oppression of women had become a global phenomenon.

Mrs. Grimes， the heroine in Death in the Woods， lived in such a gloomy and indifferent society. At the very beginning of the novel， the author Sherwood Anderson described that “All country and small-town people have seen such old women， but no one knows much about them.” And even when Mrs. Grimes carried a heavy load on her back， “No one gave her a lift. People drive right down a road and never notice an old woman like that.”From these descriptions， it is not difficult for readers to find that people， especially men， paid little attention to those old women.

Initially， Mrs. Grimes had not had her own name. After her marriage， she was allowed to have her husbands surname. When she was a little child， she was abandoned by her parents and became a “bound girl”. “She was a bound girl and did not know where her father and mother were. Maybe she did not have any father.”It was at this time when she began to become the victim of the patriarchal society.

When she was young， she was sold to a German farmer. She served at the Germans farm as a servant. She fed her masters and also fed their stock. However， although she worked with toil and sweat， she was still bullied and teased by the German and his wife. “At the German's place she had cooked the food for the German and his wife. The wife was a strong woman with big hips and worked most of the time in the fields with her husband. She fed them and fed the cows in the barn， fed the pigs， the horses and the chickens. Every moment of every day， as a young girl， was spent feeding something.”Moreover， the German farmer wanted to rape her， and threatened her not to tell the truth to others. Mrs. Grimes was too obedient to her master to pursue her right. “She told Jake a lot of stuff， how the German had tried to get her， how he chased her once into the barn， how another time， when they happened to be alone in the house together， he tore her dress open clear down the front. The German， she said， might have got her that time if he hadn't heard his old woman drive in at the gate…The German managed to sneak off to the fields without his wife seeing. He told the girl he would kill her if she told.”

Fortunately， when she was treated badly at the Germans farm， Mrs. Grimes met her husband—Jake Grimes. It was Jake Grimes who helped her flee from the Germans farm. Mrs. Grimes was touched by Jake Grimes “heroic acts” and married him willingly. After her marriage， she began to have her own name—Mrs. Grimes， which meant she had her own identity in this society. However， happiness did not last long. Mrs. Grimes still failed to get rid of the oppression of the patriarchal system.

3. The Victim of Marriage Life

After her marriage， Mrs. Grimes still led a miserable life. There had no true love between Jake Grimes and Mrs. Grimes. In her marriage life， Mrs. Grimes never got the respect from her husband. The relationship between them was unfair， and she never enjoyed the right that she deserved.

In the novel， the author Sherwood Anderson described Mrs. Grimes as a hard-working and thrifty woman. She did not have anyone to rely on in this world， so she had to depend on herself. She needed feeding something to make a living. “She had to scheme all her life about getting things fed， getting the pigs fed so they would grow fat and could be butchered in the Fall.”And even when it was very cold outside， she still had to take the eggs away in time. “In the Winter the hens laid few enough eggs. They huddled in the corners of the barn and she kept watching them. If a hen lays an egg in the barn in the Winter and you do not find it， it freezes and breaks.”

In addition， Jake Grimes achieved a dominant position in the family， while Mrs. Grimes had no other choice but to submit herself to her husbands authority. Her husband was actually a tough.

After getting married， Mrs. Grimes began her “feeding” career again！ She fed her husband. She fed her son. And she also fed their stock. Just as the author described in the novel， “Then she settled down to feed stock. That was her job…Then she married Jake Grimes and he had to be fed. She was a slight thing， and when she had been married for three or four years， and after the two children were born， her slender shoulders became stooped.”Sadly， although she worked hard to feed the whole family， she was still bullied and cold-shouldered by her husband， even by her son！ She was always beaten by her husband and was always ordered by her son. “When the son grew up he was just like the father. They got drunk together. If there wasn't anything to eat in the house when they came home the old man gave his old woman a cut over the head.”Her son had an affair with a woman. One day， when her son brought the woman to the home， “the son and his woman ordered the old woman about like a servant.”

However， although she was treated badly， she always kept silence. She had no rebellious spirit. Even when her husband fought with her son， Mrs. Grimes just “stood aside trembling.” “She had got the habit of silence anyway—that was fixed.”

From the above analysis， it is not difficult for readers to find that in the patriarchal society， women， especially the women just like Mrs. Grimes， became very indifferent to everything. Although her rights were trampled by men， Mrs. Grimes still kept silence and were insensible of everything. All these factors led Mrs. Grimes to be the victim of the patriarchal society.

4. Conclusion

Death in the Woods is a thought-provoking short story. In the traditional patriarchal society， women were always obedient to men. They did not have the same rights just as men do， and were discriminated by men. They were unable to get rid of such an unfair situation， and had no courage to rebel against this unfair social system. However， women should be brave enough to reject all the oppression and imparity， and take an active role in changing their fate.

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作者簡介：

陳俊汀，寧夏大學外國語學院在讀碩士研究生，專業：英語語言文學，研究方向：英美文學。

李文軍（1973-），男，漢族，寧夏固原人，副教授，山東大學英語語言文學博士，寧夏大學外國語學院碩士生導師，研究方向：從事英美文學及翻譯研究。