Grandmother as Head of Household in Katherine Anne Porters The Old Order :: Free Essays

Grandmother as interrogative sentence of Household in Katherine Anne Porters The venerable OrderIn her short story, The Old Order, Katherine Anne Porters creation of Miss Sophia Jane--The Grandmother-- illustrates the embodiment of patriarchal power at bottom a matriarchal figure. What intrigues me is Porters reversal of personality traits between the Grandmother and her husband. Porters icon of the Grandmother paints her as the undisputed head of house-- she wears the pants beneath the party a(prenominal) layers of lacy petticoats and heavy skirts.The contrast between the Grandmother and her husband pick up me as a reversal of typical gender-assigned personality traits. The Grandmother is all told just, humane, proud, and simple, in and of itself, I would attach these traits to a masculine man (not just any man) (20). In contrast, the terms Porter uses to string the Grandmothers husband, in and of themselves, are gendered, hysterical traits lack of aim, failure to act at cr ises, a philosophic detachment from practical affairs (21). In the brotherhood of these antithetical personalities, Porter illuminates the problems faced by a headstrong women stamp d admit by her gender-defined role in life.Atypically, the Grandmother was the head of the household, undeniably the preponderant figure-- for virtually everything. Her husband disliked and feared her deadly willfulness, her certainty that her feelings were not scarce right, but beyond criticism, and in doing so he loathed the traits that ordinarily sit with a male head of house (21). In doling step to the fore her authority, the Grandmother may have been perceived as unwavering, but her own doubts and hesitations she concealed . . . as a matter of duty (11). There was no female emotionality behind the Grandmothers actions, what was rational was right the Grandmothers husband took assist of any illogical thinking and foolhardy ventures.The Grandmother was undeniably onwards her time. While she emb odied the persona of a patriarch, she was unable to fully assume her role-- and Im not talking the male sexual role.