Sympathy Towards A Sorrowful Woman In A Sorrowful Woman by Gail Godwin, it is a story of what appears to be a woman shirking off her wife and motherly duties. However, when it comes down to it, the narrative actually shows sympathy for the woman, through the peculiar introduction as well as the description of her actions. The distinct introduction to the piece references a fairy tale, however it also underlies a sympathetic view of the woman. The beginning quote “Once upon a time there was a wife and a mother one too many times”, can be inferred that she was a great wife and a great mother, just far too often. She was burned out. This leads into the rest of the story where the reader feels bad for the woman because she was overworked and just wanted a break. The fairy tale reference helps to increase this sympathy. In the beginning of fairy tales, the princess is always in a miserable situation (Cinderella is a maid, Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger, Rapunzel is locked in a tower) and the audience feels empathy towards them, so, by …show more content…
This guilt is shown multiple times throughout, “I am the luckiest woman!”, “It’s all my fault… I’m such a burden, I know that,” and is especially shown in the final acts of the woman’s life, where once again she slaved away for her family one last time. By stating how lucky she is to have the husband and son and how it’s her fault, it reveals the woman to be selfless even in her selfishness. She no longer likes her family, but she will make sure they are happy and know it is entirely her and not them. Her final acts of doing chores for the family before committing suicide show that even when she was sick of being around her family, she still cared for them. It is this guilt and this caring for her family that allows us to sympathize with the woman, even in her darkest