Feminist Critical Analysis for The Flowers
For my critical analysis I am going to be using the feminist criticism. One of the aspects feminist critics focus on when analyzing a text according to Instructor Stacey Knapp is, “exploring how images of men or women in literature might reflect or reject the social norms around gender in a particular society”. (Knapp, 9.7) In the novel there are three main women whom of which all face their own stereotypes. Sylvia plays both an unconventional and conventional role of a woman yet her unconventional role still falls into a stereotype in which a lot of women face. Cindy while being considered an unconventional woman also falls prey to what a stereotypical woman might be. Nica would have to be the most classically stereotypical woman of all who plays a large role in the book. In the novel The Flowers by Dagoberto Gilb, the main women in the novel Sylvia, Cindy, and Nica all have roles that in their own individual ways conform to the general stereotypes that women face.
The first woman in the novel who plays a stereotypical role for women in the novel is Sylvia. Sylvia is Sonny’s mother who in the beginning of the novel played a more unconventional role in the book. In the earlier portion of the novel Sylvia is shown to be highly concerned with her physical appearance and her social life. In most of the descriptions Sonny gives about his mom in the beginning parts of the novel, he talks a lot about her looks and how she is a very pretty woman. “She was wearing a flower dress—I think roses, though I call all flowers roses—a new one, and shiny red shoes that matched. She was being too pretty like always.” (Flowers, p. 10) He talks of her enjoying shopping and getting new clothes and of her spending lots of time on making her physical appearance appealing. Later after meeting Clyde we are shown how she attempts to make herself seem like the conventional mother who puts a lot of energy into tending to her son which in reality is not what goes on in her home. “She came over and sat on the armrest of the couch, next to me. She touched my hair… ‘Don’t you m’ijo?’ She had no idea. We never talked nothing about me.” (Flowers, p. 12) After Sylvia marries Clyde she then tries to take on the role of the typical housewife in order to please her husband. In the novel we see how Sylvia wants her husband to see her as a good little housewife through her not wanting him to find out that her salsa is not homemade and instead store bought. “He might as well have complimented her on the tortilla chips, because she bought them at a store too. She didn’t correct him though.” (Flowers, p. 51) Another woman in the novel The Flowers who plays an unconventional yet still stereotypical role is Cindy.
Cindy is a conventional woman in the sense that she stays at home all day while her husband is away at work but in every other way she is what appears to be an unconventional type of woman. When forced to stay at home Cindy is forced to wallow in her discontent with no one to keep her company. “’It’s nice to have someone here,’ she said “’I never get any company.’” (Flowers, p. 42) That is until Sonny moves into the apartment complex. When Cindy meets Sonny she starts to enjoy his company and later takes it a step further by kissing him. She later takes it even farther by having sex with Sonny in her and her husband’s apartment. “She put my hand under her T-shirt. Then she put her hand on me. She led me to the bedroom. She took off her top and her cut-off sweats—no underwear. She fell on her back…” (Flowers, p. 124) These acts make Cindy an unconventional type of woman because the conventional stay at home wife would not be cheating on her husband when he is away from work. Again, while Cindy plays an unconventional role her role is also deemed stereotypical as well by her looking to men for a sense of self-worth or happiness. While Cindy is considered an unconventional woman, Nica on the other hand, is a very conventional and stereotypical woman.
Nica is definitely the most conventional and stereotypical woman of all within the novel. In the book Nica is described to be a quiet woman of few words at least earlier on. Nica is also forced to stay at home while her parents are away at work. While she is to stay at home her responsibilities include tending to the upkeep of the house and watching over her baby brother. “’I’m right outside here!’ she told her brother. ‘I’m not going anywhere!’” (Flowers, p. 47) Nica is considered to be a very stereotypical woman because the stereotypical woman is always thought to be the cooker, the cleaner, and the mother. Nica be it willing or unwilling is forced into this stereotype. You can see in the novel that Nica wants to be able to break away from that life and leave the apartment with Sonny to go have fun like a normal teenager. Unfortunately she hesitates because she is fearful of the consequences she would receive if her parents found out.
In conclusion, the author Dagoberto Gilb places women in his novel who all face their own typical stereotypes. Sylvia plays roles of both conventional and unconventional stereotypical roles of women. She does this through in the beginning of the novel, primping herself to make her look more appealing to men then later flipping to a typical housewife persona to attempt to please her husband. Cindy also plays the roles of both conventional and unconventional stereotypical women. She does this through her staying at home all day while her husband is away at work and by her infidelity when it comes to being with Sonny. Nica plays a very conventional stereotypical role of a woman. She does this by staying at home all day while tending to the house and her baby brother. In the novel The Flowers, author Dagoberto Gilb places Sylvia, Cindy, and Nica in the book, who all face general stereotypes of women in a number of different ways.
Work Cited
http://www.instructorknapp.blogspot.com Critical Theories. Section 9.7
Gilb, Dagoberto. The Flowers. Grove Press New York, 2008
