On the other hand Dorothea does behave quite unexpectedly, and not fitting for the time nearer the end of the story. I think she becomes less stereotypical as the story progresses. An example of this is she sees Randall when he is ill. The text says, ‘this was not the man who had gone away […] the man she loved and had promised to marry’. This shows that she is starting to doubt her decision which was considered very unusual for a woman of that period. When Randall proposes to Dorothea, she thinks of excuses to get out of the situation and to put him off the idea. One of the excuses she uses is, ‘I would only be a hindrance’. These sort of excuses especially for turning down a proposal were considered rude and very strange, as it was normally an honour to get married. Infact the main job of a woman pre nineteen-hundred woman was to be married and have children. After this Dorothes is saying in her head ‘never,never,never’. This is not how you would expect a woman to respond. Despite all of this Dorothea still cannot tell Randall that she doesn’t love him. She is just trying to avoid the fact because she knows she is not allowed to show emotion. The pressure of the situation is too much for Dorothea so she feels she has to run away, ‘Dorothea had changed house gown’. This indicates that she is going out. The text shows she is going out alone in her carriage by saying, ‘mounted her wheel […] feeling as if death himself persued her’. This shows that she is so worried about telling Randall that she feels she has to fun away.
The person who I think is the second most stereotypical woman is Milly Richards from the story ‘Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver’. Which is a story about a man who has three girls who all want to marry him, at the beginning anyway! Milly Richards is engaged to Tony Kytes and lets Tony get away with anything. When referring to Tonys relationships the text says, Tony got fixed down to one in particular’. The word particular makes it sound like he has got more than one girl, and it makes it sound like he has become stuck with one and therefore doesn’t realy love her. Milly says, ‘My dear Tony’! this shows that Milly idolises and loves Tony even though he isn’t overly bothered about her. Milly also says, ‘I’ve come to meet you like you asked me to’. What Milly says here shows that she will do whatever Tony asks her to do. Milly says one statement that could be stereotypical or non-stereotypical. She says, ‘surely you don’t want me to walk’. This is stereotypical because women were not expected to walk anywhere on their own. But in some ways it is non stereotypical because she is asking a man for a ride. Tony asks Milly for a favour; before she even knows what it is she says she will, ‘certainly dearest Tony’. This shows she will do anything Tony asks her to do.
Pre nineteen hundred women weren’t supposed to get messy. They were just supposed to have children and look like a nice possession. So when Tony asks Milly to ‘creep under the empty sacks just here’, you would think she would say no. But she says ‘I don’t mind to oblige you Tony’. This again shows that Tony can control Milly like a robot. After Tony has proposed to two other women in front of Milly she still says ‘if you like Tony’. Despite being Tony’s last choice.
I thought Hannah was more stereotypical. Hannah is from the same story as Milly. Hannah is a flirt like most pre nineteen hundreds women, ‘she tossed head a little and smiled off hand’. This is very common behaviour for a woman of that time, she does this even though she knows Tony is with Milly. Hannah says some things that are quite uncommon for a lady of that period, for example, Hannah says ‘well aren’t you going to be civil enough to ask me to ride home with you?’ this is unusual because she isn’t waiting to be invited for a ride she is asking. When Tony says, ‘but you seem as if you are staying at your aunt’s?’ Hannah replies and says, ‘No I am not, […] how can you be so stupid, Tony?’ The way that she phrases this sounds like she is telling Tony off which is not fitting of the time, especially as there is not a good reason. Tony can make Hannah do whatever he want, for example. Tony says to Hannah, ‘would you mind taking the reins for a moment’, and Hannah ‘consented’ even though she doesn’t have a clue how to drive a wagon. When Tony proposes to Hannah she turns him down, ‘I have spirit and I do refuse him’. I think that Hannah only refuses Tony because her father didn’t want her to marry him. For a pre nineteen hundreds woman it was very common for a woman not to marry without her fathers consent. But personally I think Hannah would have agreed if her father had not been their. I think this because the text says, ‘hoping he would ask her again’.
I think that Unity is the least stereotypical but there is not much different between herself and Hannah. Unity asks Tony for a lift home, ‘my dear Tony will you give me a lift home?’ This shows that Unity is not afraid of men, which is very unusual for a woman of that period. Unity ‘is she better than I?’ This shows that Unity is a flirt and doesn’t like being beaten at anything. Tony asks Unity to ‘lie down in the back part of the wagon, and let me cover you over with the tarpaulin?’ and ‘Unity Sallet agreed’. This shows that she is stereotypical because she will do whatever Tony asks her even if it is something unladylike like lying on a dirty floor and getting covered with an old, wet and dirty tarpaulin. When Tony proposes to Unity she says, ‘Take her leavings? Not I!’ It was uncommon for a pre nineteen hundreds woman to turn a man down let alone being angry and aggressive at the same time. This shows she has confidence to make her own decisions, not like most women. However she did look back to see if he was following her. This shows that she does like him but just didn’t want to give him the pleasure.
In conclusion I think all of the women were quite stereotypical, but some more than others. I think that Dorothea is the least stereotypical because she does a few big things which you wouldn’t expect a pre nineteen hundreds woman to do.
By Stuart Toon
