The Role of Tradition in Women Like Us (Essay Sample)

The Role of Tradition in Women Like Us
Author’s Name
Institution
The role of tradition in Women Like Us
Women Like Us by Edwidge Danticat (1996) recounts the childhood experiences of the narrator as they grow up. The story depicts the traditions, values, isolation and loneliness that the narrator feels in her choice of career and how this sets her apart from the other women in the community. The narrator’s mother is disturbed by the fact that her daughter prefers to be a writer than to work in the kitchen like the generations before her. She tells her daughter to “always use your ten fingers” (Danticat, 1996, 20) because she believes that it is a woman’s duty to be a perfect homemaker. This demonstrates how it was assumed in the community that all women would grow up taking care of their homes. They were not expected to take on other careers outside the home, write or beautify themselves, as this was considered to show laziness. The community’s measure of hard work was therefore proper housekeeping.
In addition, tradition dictated that the women obey the men and show subservience. The narrator’s mother had a rule stating that a woman “should never have sex before marriage, and even after you marry, you shouldn’t say you enjoy it, or your husband won’t respect you” (Danticat, 1996, 20). Such a statement depicts the values passed down through the generations that affected their actions. This shows that women’s rights were denied in this community, and their first priority was to the home and the husband.
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