Introduction
Jamaica Kincaid’s short story, “Girl”, is an interesting piece of literature that details the relationship between a mother and a daughter. Kincaid presents a criticism towards the traditional role imposed to women by the society. The short story portrays an intense relationship between a mother and her daughter, where the mother seeks to influence the behavior of her daughter. Although the story paints a picture of an authoritative mother, one can also perceive some king of love and concern. The story has a rare text structure. It is one enormous paragraph with no period, implying that the mother seeks to dictate the life of her daughter. The text has only two interventions of the daughter, with the entire story being a monologue of the mother. This demonstrates the nature of the mother-daughter relationship as one in which the mother wields the power. Essentially, “Girl” is a series of commands from mother to daughter. The daughter is expected to follow the orders given by the mother, particularly when it comes to how she needs to conduct herself in public. Therefore, mothers have always tried to prescribe the behaviors they deem appropriate for females in the society.
In “Girl”, the daughter is generally constrained within the behaviors prescribed by their often dominant mothers. Through “Girl”, the author seeks to demonstrate how certain cultural characteristics are passed on from generation to generation, with mothers playing a central role. The mother believes that whatever she prescribes is always right and requires the daughter to comply. The mother asserts that there are two types of women; respectable woman and a slut. The author recognizes the role of mothers in shaping individual behavior, particularly that of their daughters. The mother offers stern instructions on how to behave like a lady both at home and in public. The daughter is submissive, demonstrated by her silence throughout her mother’s unending sermon. The daughter interjects only twice is such a long discourse. The daughter carefully listens to the forewarning. The mother harshly instructs her to ensure that the cotton she buys does not have gum on it. She also instructs her on how to sweep the yard and the house. Surprisingly, the mother even lectures the daughter on how to eat food in a way that is not appalling.
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The mother-daughter relationship in “Girl” has been used to demonstrate that women are their own enemies. Although we expect the mother to empower the daughter, she goes on to impose traditional roles to her daughter. The roles that the mother prescribes to her daughter have an undermining effect, as they are meant to make her submit to men in the society. The daughter is prepared to undertake domestic roles, hence discouraging her from taking positions of responsibility in the larger society. The mother teaches the daughter the acceptable way of a woman, based on what she was taught by those before her. Trying to break away from such traditional barriers makes the woman to be labeled as bad, particularly in a patriarchal society that is characterized by male chauvinism. The mother is also expected to teach morals to her daughter. However she uses sexual undertones in her speech in a way that suggests that she wants her daughter to make out with men. The mother asks the daughter to “always squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh” (Kincaid, 1983). This way, the mother encourages the daughter to date several men before settling on one. The advice is not one that we expect a responsible mother to give her daughter.
Kincaid’s “Girl” suggests that the mother can give both beneficial and negative information to her daughter. Thus, the mother-daughter relationship has advantages and disadvantages. This indicates that not all the advices from the mother are worth taking seriously. In the story, the mother provides information about what to do inside and outside the house. She also goes on to prescribe information regarding what a girl should and should not do. For instance, the mother insists that the daughter should not sing benna in Sunday school and swat like a boy to play marbles. The mother speaks like a very knowledgeable person. This list does not end there. The mother tells her daughter not to walk bareheaded if the sun is up and that she should always walk like a lady on Sundays. Furthermore, she demands that her daughter should not eat fruit when she is out on the streets. This way, the mother gives clear instructions on how she wants her daughter to behave. Although some of the information could be helpful, some of it could be potentially dangerous for the daughter. For instance, the matter teaches her how to prepare medicine for aborting a pregnancy. Such information could encourage the daughter to indulge in irresponsible sexual behavior, knowing that she can terminate pregnancy in case it occurs. Forbidding the daughter to play marbles may also jeopardize her ability to socialize with boys in a healthy way. Thus, the story suggests that the advices from the mother should not be followed blindly as some may be potentially detrimental.
The relationship between the mother and daughter, as portrayed in “Girl”, is marred by a power imbalance that can be counter-productive. This is because the mother can be overbearing on her daughter. The story presents very little of the perspective of the girl. The mother can exploit the daughter’s helplessness and impose improper morals that ruin the girl’s life. The reader is left to wonder what the girl really thinks, given that some of the instructions are unreasonable. The story shows that parents can impose values without necessarily considering the views of their children, like in the case of the girl. The mother does not show the slightest desire to accommodate the views of her daughter. For instance, the mother uses a sexual undertone without even knowing whether the daughter is sexually active or not. She also asserts that the daughter should not sing benna in Sunday school without even considering the probability that she could not even be doing so. The story demonstrates how parents can be blind in the way they instruct their children. When the mother warns the daughter against playing marbles by swatting like a boy, she is oblivious of the social aspect of her daughter’s life, particularly in relation to her interaction with peers.
“Girl” paints a picture of a society that has always imposed stereotypes on children. This is demonstrated through the information the mother gives her daughter. The information given by the mother is discriminative of women in the society. For instance, she insists that a girl should not play marbles by swatting like a boy. By instructing the daughter not to play marbles, she is confining her within the traditional societal barriers regarding the role of women. Additionally, the mother tells the daughter that it is her duty to perform household chores. Such a directive seeks to confine the woman within the domestic arena, discouraging the woman from exploring other societal roles. According to the mother, domestic chores are the preserve of the woman. Such statements create an impression that the mother believes that there are things that women cannot do. The stereotypes perpetuated by the mother serve to establish the gender gap in the society.
According to the mother, women should always be limited to the home while men can go out without being restricted. Sadly, the mother keeps referring to her daughter as a slut, labeling her in a very derogative way. This suggests that the mother is trying to recreate in the daughter the kind of discrimination against women that she herself has experienced.
The relationship between mothers and daughters in the United States is somewhat different from that in “Girl”. Kincaid’s “Girl” is set in a society where women were still confined in their traditional roles in the society. The mother states all the things a girl needs to learn in order to make a good woman. However, the mother does not talk about being independent, educated, or seeking a higher purpose of oneself. The mother seeks to undermine the role of the girl in the society by confining her to the home. Laundry, cooking and maintaining good appearance in public are roles that will keep a women under male dominance. The narrative has changed in the United States’ society. People are increasingly embracing gender equality and women gradually occupying positions of power. In the US, most mothers are career women who are an inspiration to their daughters (Sen & Mukherjee, 2014). This indicates that current mothers believe in gender equality and are preparing their daughters for greatness. Thus, the relationship between mothers and daughters in the US is progressive compared to that in “Girl”.
References
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." 1983. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th http://www.saginaw-twp.k12.mi.us/view/8490.pdf
Sen, G., & Mukherjee, A. (2014). No empowerment without rights, no rights without politics: Gender-equality, MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities , 15 (2-3), 188-202.
