Embittered Woman in Great Expectations, A Rose for Emily, and Sunset B

The Embittered Older Woman in Great Expectations, A Rose for Emily, and Sunset Boulevard The slip of the delusional, embittered older woman is prevalent in literature and movies. Since Dickens created the memorable throw away Havisham in Great Expectations, she has evolved with the times into many other well-known characters, including missy Emily in Faulkners A Rose for Emily and Norma Desmond in the film Sunset Boulevard. In each of these incarnations, the woman seeks revenge after a mans betrayal prevents her from meeting societys expectations of women, only if finds no peace in her bitterness and ends up becoming a shriveled shell of the person she once was. By examining how the Miss Havisham archetype has been reinterpreted, 1 can see how societys expectations of women have changed and how these changes affect the character. In Victorian times, a womans identity and place in society were determined by who she married. The woman was the angel in the house, bringing mora l purity to the household, and often had free time to pursue lighthearted activities such as crocheting and entertaining guests. She was also trusty for raising the children and teaching them to be virtuous, as she was. Without marriage, however, a woman had few opportunities, and became a governess, an old maid, or a prostitute, none of which carried much if any affable standing. Thus, a womans greatest fear was to end up without a husband, especially as a result of some event that brought embarrassment or a stain on her character. Miss Havisham has a Victorian womans version of great expectations she is about to become the epitome of the angel in the house, a wealthy wife of high societal status, when her dreams... ... like Estella, who are able to survive those prejudices, even a lifetime of negative experiences, and emerge with strength and hope. Though we pity Miss Havisham, Miss Emily, and Norma Desmond, they chose to lock themselves away from the world rather than tryin g to overcome their situations. perchance they could have done something more to help themselves, but it seems that they did not try. Perhaps what makes the difference between an Estella and a Miss Havisham is a rose, one person like Pip who cares enough to reach out and take her hand, and show her that in that location is hope. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York, Penguin Books, 1996. Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. The Story and Its Writer. Boston, Bedford/St. Martins, 1996. Great Expectations. Fox, 1998. Sunset Boulevard. Paramount, 1949.