I really enjoyed reading the Jessie Fauset piece on "Mary Elizabeth." The way that the piece started out kept me intrigued to read more. When the narrator got into an argument with her husband, Roger, over her awful cooking ability for breakfast, I thought that Roger was a jerk. Roger knows that his wife is terrible when it comes to making breakfast food, yet he still insisted that she make him something. Obeying his request, the narrator cooked Roger some hot cakes and brewed some coffee. Of course, Roger took one bite then refused to eat anything else, then criticized her cooking and slammed the door on his way out. I thought that Roger's behavior was absolutely ridiculous, and the narrator had every right to be upset.
Although the narrator tried to cover up her red eyes from crying, Mary Elizabeth showed up, and immediately sensed that something was wrong. However, without saying a word, it was as if Mary Elizabeth knew exactly why the narrator was upset. Mary Elizabeth placed herself at the kitchen table and devoured what was left from breakfast. This calmed the narrator down, and allowed Mary Elizabeth to tell a story about her mother and father. The story Mary Elizabeth told was incredible. After twenty-six years, her mother and father found each other again (her father was sold down the river during the times of slavery), but did not get married. I feel as though by Mary Elizabeth sharing this story with the narrator it allowed the narrator to take a step back from the argument that she had earlier with her husband and realize that she does love him, and appreciate him. When the narrators husband got home he surprised her with a gift and then apologized after dinner. At this point in the story I was glad that Roger had apologized and realized that he was rude.
In general I really liked this piece of literature. However, I am just a little confused. I know that Mary Elizabeth is an elderly black woman, but what race is the narrator and her husband, and is Mary Elizabeth a friend or a house maid?
7 comments:
I thought your comment about Roger's "control" over Sally was very interesting. When I read the part how Roger made Sally make him breakfast even though she was horrible at, it never crossed my mind that he was being ridiculous. After you mentioned it, I realized that he does have a sense of control over Sally, which is smiliar to the relationship they have with Mary Elizabeth because she is there servant. Although Sally and Mary Elizabeth seem to have a good relationship and can talk to eachother, Sally and Roger still expect things from her because she is their servant just as Roger expects Sally to pick up Mary Elizabeth's job when shes not there.
When I was reading this story I thought of the narrator as a white women and that Mary Elizabeth was a type of quasi house-keeper. Now that you bring up the point though, I am not completely sure what race the narrator is. I cannot find anything that supports either case besides the difference in speech that leads me to think they are of different orgin.
I guess i was a little bit upset with roger at first too, but by the end i realized that Roger was just pissed that he had to go to work all day. I still dont think he should be such a jerk but the reality of it is that his wife needs to learn how to cook and brew coffee if that is what he wants. I mean he loves his wife and that is proven by the end of the story when he brings home the Saturday Post and kind of apologizes for what he did in the morning. He realizes he was a jerk but he was having a bad day! I mean what does his wife do all day ? She is a housewife and duirng this timeperid that was commonplace. She should spend more time and be more careful cooking, or ask Mary Elizabeth how to cook. Maybe they have cheap coffee and ingrediets? Is that all they can afford? I dont know but if he wants something good to eat before a long hard day at work he should be able to get it and be happy... shouldnt have to get angry in the morn...
I felt the same way you did about Roger. He really was being a jerk. If I was Sally I would have told him to get up and make his own breakfast and coffee if he didn't like the way I was cooking. Also to not eat what she made him after he complained about her not wanting to cook was just mean. It was also very rude. Although you do bring up the point that Roger was sorry and his attitude did change I don't like him.
I liked the way you brought up the point that Mary Elizabeth made Sally realize that she is lucky to have a husband who wasn't sold because of slavery and that she should be thankful for what she has.
I know that everyone in class today basically agreed that Roger was being unreasonable, but I think that in the early 1900’s when this took place, that type of behavior was tolerated more by women. Gender roles play into this story as men were seen as the bread winners of the family and were expected to work while the women took care of the household (watching over the servant(s) and take care of the children or do the domestic work themselves). Of course Sally had every right to get upset, but at the same time I think she was frustrated with herself because she is expected to know how to make coffee and breakfast and she obviously can’t.
I found the relationship between Sally and ROger to be interesting as well. I guess in that time period it may have been more accepted that the wife was supposed to be home keeping house and the husband was off working and earning money. I think that we seem to notice their relationship because of the culture that we live in. The stereotypical male and female roles aren't as prominent as they once were.
Both Sally and Roger are African American. Evidence of this is found in the text when Mary Elizabeth is introduced: "Mary Elizabeth came in about eleven o'clock. She is a small, weazened woman, very dark, somewhat
wrinkled, and a model of self-possession. I wish I could make you see her, or that I could reproduce her
accent, not that it is especially colored, -- Roger's and mine are much more so -- but her pronunciation, her
way of drawing out her vowels, is so distinctively Mary Elizabethan! (Fauset)"
The line talking about M.E.'s accent distinguishes the race of Sally and Roger as Black.
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