SSRJ #3: Colette
When I first started to read this story I thought to myself, “I could use a romantic story right now”. Then the more I read I realized that this story wasn’t as romantic as I was hoping. After the first couple paragraphs, I felt I was thrown a curve ball. I was a little uncomfortable but more so disturbed. I started to literally picture a monstrous hand with claws and covered with ware wolf hair. I know that is exaggerating some but that was the picture I imagined. I think she was making a big deal about “the hand” which had me thinking irrational thoughts her husband’s hand.
I believe Colette was trying to make a point to tell us, we may not know people as well as we think. There is always another side of us that we hide. Maybe not intentionally but we do. I believe this is true. You would be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t. In this case the hand is the symbol. It’s the main object. It is used to describe a different side of her husband. Something that she has never noticed or has never paid close attention. There are probably reasons why his hand acted in an animal like way and put fear in the wife. My thought was, he could have been dreaming or it had something to do with his previous wife. But the neat part was even though she has never witness “the hand” she overcame her fears of it and kissed it. Do you believe the hand represented another side of him she never knew about?
I thought the same thing after reading the story. The hand could have represented the rocky future that was ahead of them, but I thought that the woman was blinded by love or even just infatuation. She thought he was perfect but found out a few things that she didn't like. I had a hard time believing that they were "in love" with each other, but she would only be able to accept his flaws out of love.
ReplyDeleteThis story was really different to me. I went back and forth wondering what to think about the"hand." Had she dealt with abuse as a child, was there something we didn't know about the husband? Either way I think that the author is trying to get the reader to see and have empathy for what the newly wedded wife was going through. Regardless of if it was due to her uncomfortable reaction to her husband or something that she was going through growing up she decides to press on and grow past her feeling of inferior companionship.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI thought the hand represented the fear of every newlywed who has married someone they barely know. The fear of what person they really married. It takes time to truly get to know a person and in the beginning everyone has their best foot forward. Until you have your first fight and you get to see what that person is really about and find out what they are made of. I think all these fears came up and in the end she decided to control those fears and kiss the hand that her imagination had just run wild with.
I agree with the point that the hand represented the part of the husband that she never saw before. The way she describes the husband, it seemed she only knew the good qualities and not the person as a whole. I thought about the various things that Brittany thought about what the hand stood for, but I figured it just represented the unknown. I figured the couple would work past such minor differences though.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI felt a similar feeling as I started to read this story. I kept thinking I really would like to read something uplifting as all the previous stories seemed a bit dark. I think that the hand represented the fear of the marriage as she realized she really didn't know this person that well. What could that hand of done in the past? I think she was coming to terms with that. Also coming to terms with being part of a whole instead of single is a quite a scary commitment. I think in the end as she kissed the "hand" it symbolized her unconditional love but even more so he submissiveness.
I agree about the hand representing a part about him that she was unaware about. It was odd that she would marry without really knowing who the person is.
ReplyDeleteJennifer I think that the hand does represent a different side of him that she hasn't seen yet. Possibly it is a dark hidden side of him hinted by the way she first saw it in the dim light in bed at night. I think they got married too quickly leaving a lot of their relationship up in the air with apparent skeletons in the closet
ReplyDeleteI think it is entirely possible the hand represented a side of her husband she was unaware of. Like you said, it seems you never really know a person--especially after being acquainted for only one month. It seems to me, due to the hands beastly representation, I think it may have been a darker, more oppressive side--an ugly side--being shown without his knowing.
ReplyDelete