Rose Vaughan also faced several obstacles and she too chose to escape from it. When her father died and she could not live in the rectory she was living in anymore, Rose wept tried to occupy her thoughts by cleaning the house. She stayed in the rectory “arranging her father’s papers, packing his sermons into neat piles, rejecting old letters”. She was trying to occupy her thoughts by work so she would not think so much about her father and her homeless matter. Instead of facing the obstacle and finding ways to solve it, she was trying to escape from it and forget it. She later chose to marry Abrahams, a man she didn’t love in order to escape from the obstacle that she is homeless. Rose had special feelings towards Mr. Philips, the hilarious young engineer. She felt “warm” and “flattered” by his jokes. She missed him and takes the initiative to go and see him. She felt “shocked” by her affection towards him and tried to escape this obstacle by avoiding Philips. She didn’t go to see Philips and when she saw him, she “hurried along” terrified that he might see her. Baptista didn’t dare to face her own true feelings and chose to escape from it.
There are several similarities between Baptitsa’s and Rose’s way of facing life’s obstacles. They both escape from their obstacles and didn’t dare to face it. Also they both chose to marry a man whom they didn’t like in order to escape from the obstacles. Baptista chose to marry Heddegan in order to escape teaching. Rose chose to marry Abrahams since she was homeless. However, there are differences between the two personas. Baptista seemed stronger than Rose. Rose only wept for her father’s death and stayed at home cleaning the house and occupying her mind. Baptista, when facing the death of her husband Charles, acted very strong and had the courage to forget him and pretended nothing had happened. Also, Rose escaped from her affections towards Philips and didn’t tell him and let him leave in the end. She escaped from her obstacles and didn’t face it even in the end. Baptista, however, faced her obstacles. She took the initiative to tell Heddegan about her previous marriage and the death of Charles. She apologized and asked for his forgiveness. It was her own decision to do so and not forced by anyone. She was strong and faced the obstacle. She also faced the obstacle that she had to teach Heddegans four daughters. She married Heddegan in order to escape teaching in the beginning of the story, but she didn’t escape from the obstacle that she had to teach Heddegan’s daughters in the end. Baptista was different from Rose because she was stronger than Rose and faced her obstacles in the end.
Baptista and Rose were similar in how they cope with men. Both of them were obedient to their husbands and other men in the story and their true emotions and feelings are often suppressed. However, there are differences between them since Rose expressed herself in front of Philips. The two men in the story were Heddegan and Charles. Baptista didn’t love her husband Mr. Heddegan. She married him only to escape teaching and due to her parent’s persuasion. She kept secrets such as her previous marriage from him. Baptista coped with this relation by remaining “silent, cold and obedient”. She didn’t dare to disagree with her husband about going to Pen-zephyr for honeymoon although she was “distressed” by the idea. Charles Stow was Baptista’s old love whom she met in Training College. Baptista didn’t dare to disagree with him and obeyed him. Baptista didn’t like being left alone to return and tell her parents about her marriage with Charles, but she “passively assented” it and didn’t dare to disagree. Also, she thought Charles was a “tyrant” and “had stung her into marriage with him”. This showed that although Baptista didn’t really like marrying Charles so early, she didn’t dare to disagree with him and had to obey. Baptista obeyed the thoughts of these two men. Her own thoughts and feelings were seldom revealed.
Rose was similar to Baptista in the way she coped with men. The three men were her father the Reverend, Abrahams and Philips. Her father was the Reverend Ezekiel. Rose resembled him. She always tried to look prim and proper and set a good example for others since her father was the leader of the church and needed to set a good example. Rose coped with her relations with her father by obeying her father and suppressing her own feelings. She obeyed her father and didn’t dare to offend Abrahams since he was a patron of the church even though she disliked the way Abrahams addressed her father. She cannot do things according to her own will. Rose only married Heddegan out of duty and convenience and not out of love. Her relationship with her husband Abrahams was also superficial and Rose ensured “never to do anything which might bring them into a state of intimacy”. She also kept secrets from him. She didn’t tell Abrahams her feelings towards Philips. Rose coped with this relationship by obeying Heddegan’s wish all the time and suppressing her own feelings. She made Abrahams felt that whatever he did must be right. She was reserved and kept a distant from him. Philips was a young, hilarious, irrepressible engineer who came to Abraham’s house to repair the waterfall. Philips made jokes for Rose just to please her and to make her laugh. Rose felt “flattered” and “warm” by his jokes and smiled more often. She took the initiative to see him and missed him when he went to town. She also expressed her religious views about not fishing on Sabbath. Rose expressed herself more in front of Philips. She coped with this relationship differently by avoiding it. She avoided Philips and when she saw him, she “hurriedly along” terrified that Philips may see her. She didn’t express her true feelings and let Philips leave them in the end.
Rose and Baptista coped with men in a similar way. They both suppressed their own true emotions and obey what they said. They seldom act according to their own will. However one difference between them is Rose expressed her Religious views in front of Philips and didn’t obey him while Baptista obeyed all the men.
As a whole, Rose and Baptista coped with life’s obstacles and their relationship with men in a similar way. They chose the same methods which is rather passive. They chose to escape from most of the obstacles and chose to obey the men in the stories.