Women and society, both in the past and present, have a tumultuous relationship. In the past, societal norms for behaviors and female expectations were, generally, decided upon by the patriarchy. In some occasions, these norms are impressed on one woman who impresses it onto another. Throughout history, women’s fate draw upon societal expectations, as represented in “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks, in which there can be disastrous results as represented in “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy. In order to appropriately discuss the three works, one must know what a feminist, new historical approach entails. In “Feminism and the ‘New Historicism’”, written by Judith Lowder Newton, one definition may be: “In feminist history, moreover, sexuality and reproduction, both constructed, both seen as sites of power and struggle” (Newton, 154). It is both the difference in gender and the fact that women are capable of birthing children affects literature. Depending on the piece, it can be seen as a “power” over men, but in other cases, it’s a main point of argument for a patriarchal society. “Sadie and Maud” is a telling of two sisters’ lives through perfect rhyming quatrains. The nursery …show more content…
She did something even more against the typical societal concepts-she gave birth out of wedlock twice: “Sadie bore two babies/Under her maiden name,” (Brooks 872). Yet, while describing Sadie, the narrator’s description is more feminine: “Sadie was one of the livingest chits/In all the land,” (Brooks, 872). Although not particularly gratifying, the description depicts Sadie as a more vibrant woman than Maud. In the end, though, Sadie died young and left nothing for her two children except the symbolic fine-tooth comb in which her children, too, will scrape for life. On the contrary, Maud lives a long life, but it is a solitary, lonely life. This depicts two possible outcomes for