SSRJ #1 Godwin

• This piece of literature was very astonishing to me at first. Godwin starts out preparing the reader for a sorrowful setting of this women's life, as she explains the cold dark season of winter. But on the other extreme one might quickly glance at her life, a kind gentle husband, and a beautiful three year old boy and conclude that she is pleased with the life that she lives. Too quickly however does the reader begin to see that the life she is living is overwhelming to her and she can no longer cope. The element of the sorrowful woman escaping her so called "life" to the white room to claim an endless opportunity of roles that she may make her own are still unsatisfying to her and eventually lead her to withdraw from her family further and step back from the world outside her window. This piece made me generally think about how quickly this culture that we live in expects each person to conform to the duties of what is in front of them. This is unfortunate and in the case of this short story, we see that after all of the stress and strain that she endures searching for meaning to her life ultimately leads to her departure from this earth. 
• The symbolism present in this story help to shape what Godwin was trying to portray through the protagonist. Throughout the text a repetitious theme is presented when the husband replies to the sorrowful woman and says "i understand these things". This not only simplifies the words so that he does not overwhelm her but it is an example of the husband standing in where she cannot cope and measure up to in order to keep the household in unity. By addressing "these things" I recognize that he is giving her the freedom to find out who she is within her, despite the role that she has already been elected through the choices that she has made through marriage and childbearing. He is allowing her to step aside to figure out who she is. This theme is unrealistic in the real world, to have the luxury to shut away every responsibility and to focus on what makes one happy without any responsibilities. But it is recognizable that the author may be bringing to life the underlying issue that todays society impressed upon people and their decisions, specifically housewives, and expects them to all be the same. Godwin is not to be mistaken here though, as to abandon the things that are in front of a person in order to soul search, but instead one may take the character advice and step back from the pressures that one may inflict on ones self and take life from a perspective that only stepping back and breathing may imply. 
• As I read this short story, one common theme came to my mind and arose as a perplexing question. What "symbolically" or literally is the author trying to get across with the nightly draught that she drank?