Gloria Kelly
Synthesis Essay
Dr. Dianne Malone, Instructor
August 15, 2011 Drawing primarily from Terry Martin Hekker, Leslie Bennetts, and Deborah Tannen articles, I find them to have their similarities and differences in their version of motherhood and careers and bitterness. Women can decide to love or become bitter to the idea of taking on motherhood alone with or without a career path and with or without a man.

Hekker’s bitterness did not come with her career choice as a housewife while Tannen’s interview with the lawyer’s bitterness did come with the career change or becoming a housewife with no help from her husband. The two women’s bitterness came to a point of resentment and annoyance towards their husbands. Hekker enjoyed her married life as a housewife in spite of criticism from family and friends while Bennetts’ lawyer became bitter when she had to become a housewife.

Hekker never complained about her housewife career and never mentioned in her article whether or not her husband helped in the childrearing. But Bennetts’ interview with the commercial litigator lawyer reveals the very opposite when it came to taking full responsibility as a housewife. Bennetts explains how the lawyer had “disdain” (contempt) for housewives until she had children and demanding hours, had to give up her career because her husband felt that it was her problem to raise the children (woman’s work). The husband refused to take the time and help with the childrearing duties and we wonder why women are bitter.

Women want men to take on the role as the other responsible party in rearing children and change the family laws. In my opinion, Hekker’s feeling of bitterness is the correct towards her husband of 40 years as he decided to divorce her for a younger woman. Bitterness for her took over when she was left without a career or a plan.