long, firmly moulded limbs seemed those of a primal earth spirit; but she was only an ignorant child, with a child’s weaknesses. When Mr Marroner had to go abroad for his firm, unwillingly, hating to leave his wife, he had told her he felt quite safe to leave her in Gerta’s hands she would take care of her. – good to your mistress, Gerta,’ he told the girl that last morning at breakfast. leave her to ‘Be ‘I you to take care of. I shall be back in a month at latest.’ Then he turned, smiling, to his wife. you must take care of Gerta too,’ he said. expect ‘And ‘I you’ll have her ready for college when I get back.’ That was months ago. Business had delayed him from week to week, from month to month. He wrote to his wife, long, loving, frequent letters, deeply regretting the delay, explaining how necessary, how profitable it was, congratulating her on a the wide resources she had, her well-filled, well balanced mind, her many interests. He often asked after Gerta’ sometimes enclosed a picture postcard to her, joked with ‘little his wife about her laborious efforts to educate child’ who was so loving and merry and ‘the wise. All this was racing through Mrs Marroner’s mind, as she lay there with the broad, hemstitched border of fine linen sheeting crushed and twisted in one hand, and the other holding a sodden handkerchief. (685 words) Turned, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; 1911 Answer the following questions, referring directly to the text to support your answer. How does the writer present us with contrasting images of Mrs Marroner in this passage? Discuss the way the writer creates an equal sense of emotional distress for both Mrs Marroner and Gerta, whilst at the same time establishing and developing their differences. In line 32/33 we find out that Gerta was is called was unusually “what ‘willing’, teachable and plastic;”. Considering the passage as a whole, why might Mr and Mrs Marroner find this comment by the narrator particularly appropriate? In this opening passage of the short story, show how Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s use of language and style draws the reader into the story. (Total 30 marks: 15 marks for content, and 15 marks for language and style)
long, firmly moulded limbs seemed those of a primal earth spirit; but she was only an ignorant child, with a child’s weaknesses. When Mr Marroner had to go abroad for his firm, unwillingly, hating to leave his wife, he had told her he felt quite safe to leave her in Gerta’s hands – she would take care of her. ‘Be good to your mistress, Gerta,’ he told the girl that last morning at breakfast. ‘I leave her to you to take care of. I shall be back in a month at latest.’ Then he turned, smiling, to his wife. ‘And you must take care of Gerta too,’ he said. ‘I expect you’ll have her ready for college when I get back.’ That was months ago. Business had delayed him from week to week, from month to month. He wrote to his wife, long, loving, frequent letters, deeply regretting the delay, explaining how necessary, how profitable it was, congratulating her on a the wide resources she had, her well-filled, well balanced mind, her many interests. He often asked after ‘little Gerta’ sometimes enclosed a picture postcard to her, joked with his wife about her laborious efforts to educate ‘the child’ who was so loving and merry and wise. All this was racing through Mrs Marroner’s mind, as she lay there with the broad, hemstitched border of fine linen sheeting crushed and twisted in one hand, and the other holding a sodden handkerchief. (685 words) Turned, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; 1911 Answer the following questions, referring directly to the text to support your answer. How does the writer present us with contrasting images of Mrs Marroner in this passage? Discuss the way the writer creates an equal sense of emotional distress for both Mrs Marroner and Gerta, whilst at the same time establishing and developing their differences. In line 32/33 we find out that Gerta was “what is called ‘willing’, was unusually teachable and plastic;”. Considering the passage as a whole, why might Mr and Mrs Marroner find this comment by the narrator particularly appropriate? In this opening passage of the short story, show how Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s use of language and style draws the reader into the story. (Total 30 marks: 15 marks for content, and 15 marks for language and style)