Marilyn
Monroe once said “Well behaved women rarely make history,” and I believe
Elizabeth Strout takes this assertion to heart in her novel Olive Kitteridge. Strout, a Pulitzer
Prize winner, writes of Olive, a school teacher who holds bold opinions on life.
Although Olive’s profession does not stand out in a time when women made up 82
percent of educators, nobody who encounters her will ever forget her. I love
Olive for her sassy take on life, yet she still develops as a sensitive woman
throughout the first third of the novel. Strout first introduces my favorite
character when Olive describes her husband’s assistant as looking “‘like a
mouse’” (5). Through the weak connotations of “mouse,” Strout creates a
critical tone from Olive, indirectly characterizing her as harsh. Even with his
negative trait, I see Olive as unafraid to speak her mind. Many women today
still do not hold this quality. Strout exposes another side to Olive when the
woman bumps into an old student, Kevin Coulson, and admits “‘I’ve thought of
you’” (37). Strout indirectly characterizes Olive this time as caring for
thinking of this boy who lost his mother to suicide. The author applies Kevin
as a synecdoche for Olive’s students: although she often appears bitter, she
truly wants to protect them all. The author again displays Olive’s softer side
at her son’s wedding, claiming that newlyweds believe “they’re finished with
loneliness” (68). By asserting this falsity that her son and his bride surely
believe, Strout renders Olive’s emotions to the world. Although she surrounds
herself with people, she still feels alone. I believe women today often feel
this emotion, yet remain afraid to speak their mind. Strout writes to these
women to demonstrate to them that if they trust in themselves, they will not
need the acceptance of others. Strout applies this to older women as well—age
does not mean one cannot speak their mind. I see people judging the Olives of
the world every day, and I hope that they will notice the sensitive side of
this group, just like the real Olive Kitteridge holds in Strout’s novel.
I disagree with your opinions of Olive, I dislike her. I find her rather judgmental, exemplified by her first thoughts towards Denise. I also disliked when she ridiculed Henry for helping Denise after the death of her husband.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claire. I felt that when Olive refers to her husband’s assistant, she uses a sassy tone to cover up her jealousy of the young girl. Plus, I do not believe that Olive even believes that her son and his wife are “finished with loneliness,” because the obviousness of her loneliness is astounding.
ReplyDeleteI love Olive. Like you Alyssa, I find her sassy comments and harsh forwardness very entertaining, indirectly characterizing her as honest, though sometimes brutally so. I believe her judgmental tendencies most likely stem from dissatisfaction with herself, a trait too many of us can relate to. Because of this, however, she often comes off as mean and unlovable, and this becomes the root of her loneliness.
ReplyDeleteWell written paragraph Alyssa! I really liked how you talked about how women rarely speak there mind. I definitely feel that if Strout chose a man as the main character readers would not judge him based on his strong opinions. For me, when I'm in a class with majority boys I do tend to shy away from stating my opinions. I wish I had the audacity that Olive has so that I could express myself with a straight-forward attitude.
ReplyDeleteI love your take on Olive. As odd as it sounds, she reminds me of my own mother. Her forthright manner and frankness, if not her strange treatment of her son, are both qualities my mother possesses and uses as she bulldozes her way through the immoralities of life. I appreciate both my mother's and Olive's frankness, as well as their often dry tones, for they often make me chuckle.
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