In the
story No Name Woman, Kingston starts
by assuming that her aunt was raped. “…perhaps he first noticed her in the
marketplace.” (pg. 2746) In doing this, she assumes that her aunt was the
innocent one. She continues on with saying “my aunt did not take subtle
enjoyment of her friend, but, a wild woman, kept rollicking company.” (pg. 2748)
This implies that her aunt may have been freer with her sexuality. Finally, she
suggests that she “often worked at herself in the mirror” (pg. 2748), implying
that she may be prostituting herself.
This
transition suggests that Kingston is trying to convince the audience that her
aunt is not innocent. It is like she is trying to get them to buy into the idea
that she brought it on herself. When she says the line “she gives me no
ancestral help” (pg. 2748), I got the impression that she was trying to convince
herself. It came across that she was trying to believe that her aunt was a bad
person. I thought that the reading turned rather introspective and came across
like a story inside of her mind.
I wondered if she wasn't just trying to give us an out at that point...give her reader the freedom to make an opinion and see if it held up by the end of the story. I still don't know what I think other than the loss of life doesn't seem to benefit anyone in the end. If they could just see past themselves so much could have been avoided!
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Leah and her comment in this particular situation. I too believe that Kingston was speculating how her aunt got pregnant not to necessarily condemn her, but to help herself and her readers understand the severity of the aunt's situation. I feel as if Kingston provides us with evidence that could cause us to both sympathize with and accuse the aunt of doing something wrong. The death of a child is never a good outcome, so I understand how you think the aunt was not innocent because she killed her baby. However I also think it is important to remember that Kingston does not know the whole story and that her speculations about how her aunt got pregnant are just that.
ReplyDeleteDuring the speculation Kingston goes from thinking her aunt was raped, to imagining her as a loose woman, and lastly imagining herself free in her sexuality in the same regard that Kingston could be. The point of this was not that Kingston knew what had happened to her Aunt because all she knows is what her mother told her. The main point is to illustrate that it doesn't matter either way her aunt is dead. Did the aunt deserve what happened to her? No and that is part of what makes her so important to Kingston because she has been forgotten and hidden from existence.
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