Characters in the Short Stories: "The Good Corn" and 'Turned'
There is one major difference in The Good Corn and Turned and that is the reactions of
the
wives to their husbands actions. In reality what the two men did was the same but how
the
two women reacted was entirely different. Mrs. Mortimer forgave her husband and Mrs.
Marroner up and left her husband. This difference in reactions is caused by the
different
cultural circumstances that the two women were in.
Mrs. Mortimer from the Good Corn was a farmer's wife, she was uneducated and had not
known any other lifestyle besides her country one, her isolation caused her to become
dependant on her husband and besides him Elsie was her only companion.
Mrs. Marroner on the other hand was a well educated, high society woman. She lived in
Boston, an upper-class suburb, had a Ph.D. and once lectured at university. Because of
her
suburban upbringing and education she was a confident and independent lady who relied on
no-one. She was the more dominant person in their marriage whereas in The Good corn Mr.
Mortimer was the dominant partner.
In The Good Corn when Mrs. Mortimer discovered that Elsie was pregnant she was at first
upset but later realised what a blessing the whole situation was, she had been longing
for a
child for so long and was hoping that Elsie would give the baby to her. Mrs. Mortimer was
not
overly upset with Mr. Mortimer because she felt that because she was in a depressed
state
concerning her infertility that she pushed him away and also the fact that if she didn't
forgive
her husband she would be left stranded with no-money, no possessions and not knowing
anybody because of her isolated circumstances.
Mrs. Marroner on the other hand reacted to Gerta's pregnancy very differently. At first
she
was devastated, overly emotional and in denial that something like this could happen
after all
that they had been through and because Gerta was almost like a daughter to the
Marroner's.
After she had thought about the previous event she realised that what Mr. Marroner had
done
was appalling, a crime against women and unforgivable. She also realised that Gerta was
not
to blame for her pregnancy, so in turn she decided to leave Mr. Marroner and take Gerta
with
her. She had no use for her husband anymore, she was independent, educated and didn't
need Mr. Marroner to support her, Gerta or the baby.
Not only do the women act differently because of their cultural differences but so do the
men.
Mr. Mortimer when confronted about the pregnancy immediately apologised and told his
wife
that Elsie meant nothing to him and neither did their short affair. This reaction was
influenced
by the fact that he needed his wife more than he realised, she cooked for him and did
the
household chores, things he couldn't do and it was most likely that if she left him so
would
Elsie. Also the Mortimers marriage seemed to be more loving and passionate even though
it
was rarely shown, this maybe because of their isolation from the rest of society and that
their
only company was each other.
In Turned Mr. Marroner tried to hide the fact that he had slept with Gerta, he went away
and
pretended he was on a business trip. He hid the truth because he was intimidated by his
wife,
she had power and he feared her in a way because of her independence and wealth and he
realised that she really didn't need him. When he returned to Boston he searched in
desperation for her, in a way it seemed like he needed her for support, he was
unconfident
and if their marriage broke up then it would damage his public image or status.
A persons cultural circumstance greatly effects how a person will behave in certain
situations, The Marroners and Mortimers went through basically the same situation and
yet
how the men and women reacted were entirely different.
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