WOMENS PORTRAYAL IN UP IN MICHIGAN AND THE PAI Essays -

WOMEN'S PORTRAYAL IN "UP IN MICHIGAN" AND "THE PAINTED DOOR" Most people will think of women as nurturing, devoted and sensitive. These thoughts are frequently transferred into literature where the portrayal of women is often positive. In contrary, "Up in Michigan" by Ernest Hemingway and "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross are exceptions to these sentiments. In "Up in Michigan", Liz is a lovesick housemaid who is obsessed with an older man who barely knows she is alive. Ann is an isolated housewife in "The Painted Door" who has an affair with a family friend. In both narratives, the women are infatuated. So much so that they allow their emotions to impair their judgment and make decisions that have devastating results. In "Up in Michigan" and "The Painted Door", women are portrayed negatively because the characters are superficial, submissive, foolish and mindless. First, in both stories Liz and Ann are superficial. We see this in Liz in "Up in Michigan" when she becomes smitten with a man based on nothing more than the image he represents. Jim is an older, well-liked and socially respected man in their community, his power and influence is what seduces Liz. Likewise, in "The Painted Door", Ann becomes charmed by Steven's youth and vitality. His appearance and physical strength are the major factors that make Ann attracted to him. By their actions, it is easy to deduce that both characters are shallow for falling head over heels with men based on their exterior. Secondly, "Up in Michigan" and "The Painted Door" present women as submissive. For instance, Liz allows Jim to touch her inappropriately when he has not even so much as said a word to her. "The 'all-woman' is acceptable in Hemingway view because he submits...She wants no other life than with him. By succumbing...she allows him to dominate her and affirm his manhood". (The Writing Style of Hemingway) Similarly, Ann succumbs to Steven's coaxing and sleeps with him after he repeatedly flirts and reassures her that her husband will not be home. It is obvious that these women are shown as no more than puppets on a string, easily persuaded by their male counterparts. Third, both stories depict females as being extremely foolish because of their desire for emotional unavailable men. Ernest Hemingway's "women too often seem to be projections of male needfulness". (Reading Hemingway Without Guilt). A prime example is Liz because she falls in love with a man who has never shown any mutual feelings. Jim has not said or done anything that could be misconstrued as reciprocal feelings, yet Liz still has a crush on him. Ann too is irrational for thinking that the night of lust shared between her and Steven was anything but that. They have known each other for years and not once has he confessed any true feelings towards her. Both characters are victims of their own delusions. Lastly, in "Up in Michigan" and "The Painted Door", women illustrated as mindless beings. For instance Liz agrees to go with Jim for a walk after she is aware that he had been drinking and after he had molested her. The rape that shortly follows, some would argue could be attributed to Liz's poor judgment. As well, Anne naively believed that her husband would not find out about the affair. The her surprise, her husband returned home that night to see her lying in bed with Steven, he returns to the snowy blizzard from which he came and kills himself. Both women are stupid for mistaking physical affection for love and both suffer a great loss because of this. The women in "Up in Michigan" and "The Painted Door" are portrayed as shallow, obedient, idiotic and thoughless. Women are negatively portrayed in both stories and it could be attributed from the author's personal upbringing and experiences. "Dominant, overbearing, and emasculating, Grace Hemingway [Hemingway's mother] dressed and treated the boy Ernest like a girl, while praising his little manliness, with the effect that the boy suffered a sexual wound, developed an androgynous sensibility, and experienced lifelong male insecurity and sexual anxiety." (Hemingway Unbound) In this instance, Hemingway may have been conveying his own personal view of women in this his writing. Nonetheless, whether personal or not, the female characters in both narratives are dimwitted and self- deluded. The argument stands that these representations grossly disfavor women as a whole.