While I was reading The Source by Katherine Anne Porter I began to think of how different this story was in comparison to other southern literature we have read.
The slave quarters seemed to be treated well when the Grandmother, Sophia Jane, was in town. The story states that while she is not there the slaves were denied their minimal rations of food and supplies, but things change quickly when she arrives. Immediately she takes to the slaves concerns and helps them by replenishing supplies, fixing the living quarters to a more acceptable standard, and making sure they all were supplied with the clothing they badly needed. It seemed to me that Sophia Jane did seem to want to help the slaves, but at the same time more concerned with control over the situation.
I found this much different from other southern literature we have read in that normally the women had very little control over their surroundings. For example, in the story Barn Burning the women had no control at all; they were kept silent and were told what to do. Even while the father was attempting to burn down the barn, the mother did what she was instructed and held the son so that he could not alarm anyone.
Sophia Jane kept control over her situation while she was around. She wanted everything in order exactly to her specifications. When one area of the property suited her, she would move on to the next and begin giving orders to be performed there. It seemed as though she really only visited this property in order to let it be known that she was still in control, and others would do as she instructed
One thing I found interesting about the writing was that the Sophia Jane was not mentioned of possibly scolding Mister Harry or Mister Miller. I thought that since they had allowed such disarray she may be angry with these men. Instead she used her power to get her goals accomplished, and the men are not mentioned. This made me believe more about her control issues and less of her concern for her property. If her main concern was the condition of the property she would be angry with these men for not making sure that her expectations were met all year round. Instead it seems that the rest of the year did not matter, but when she came to town change was in order.
6 comments:
I think that you are right in finding the Grandmother to be a controlling woman. This character trait that begins in The Source as you noted continues in some of the other stories. In The Old Order, for example, she is no longer preoccupied with cleanliness but is dismayed at how poorly she thinks her grandchildren have turned out despite all she “had done for them” (13). The Grandmother is disappointed that she cannot stop the passage of time and the changing of ways. Her grandchildren are products of the New South and do not view her old ideas with the same reverence that she does, which causes her frustration because she cannot control this.
It is interesting to me that you found the Grandmother’s obsession with keeping the land and servant quarters in good condition was more about her need for control than interest in the land. This may well be, but I think the reason she did not yell at any of the men is simply because that would have been out of line for a Southern woman. I think she places keeping with conventions and not shocking anyone above all other priorities, with the possible exception of family.
Yes you are absolutely right, she defeneltly kept order of her surroundings. I do hink that Sophia was conserned about the place but yes i also noticed it was more of a sence of power to her. It was in her characteristic to think so. I like The source because your right for a change women were in control as oppose to the othe r readings. This brough about a big change that i was waiting to see.
I also thought this story was very different from our other readings. For once, a women was in control. I liked how she treated the slaves with respect, making sure they had everything they needed. The slaves also seemed to trust her because they felt confident enough to let her know their problems.
I agree that one of the grandmothers greater qualties was her sense of control. She went to all lenghts to gain and use her power. it was even mentioned in one of the later pieces that her and nannie used motherhood, and the duties of motherhood as source for her power. I think that the grandmothers sense of control, and want for it comes from the old south. Once again relating the grandmother as a depiction of the old south, it was all about order and reliability. You get those characteristics by having control over the situation. I think that the ways of the old south came in great conflict with the grandmother when it came to gender roles. there were certain limits that even the Grandmother could not surpass and this bothered her. It said how she wanted to do something about how the men took advantage over thier servants but there was nothing she could do, as she was a female. this sense of conflict is so prominant in the past literature, it drives and motivates the actions of the characters and carries the story.
I agree that Sophia Jane was very controlling. This did not mean that she was always concerned about what was going on around her. I think it was more that she had a power high. In all the stories that we have read so far it is clear that women at this time in the South did not have any power. Sophia Jane stood out because she had all the power that is usually resreved for men. It did benefit others though, black servants got what they needed and her sons were not reprimanded for failing to take care of things.
Porter surely does try to show us a different "kinder" side of slavery. It is like she was trying to say "not all slave owners are bad, look at Sophia Jane." Then we see that even she say the slaves as property, especially as a child. "I want the monkey." That is not especially "kind."
You make a really good point by saying the grandmother is controlling. She has enough control to hold the family together while she is alive, make decisions that were at that time only made by men, and see to it that everything was kept in perfect order. I think that this quality made her a really strong character, at least in her time. Another example of her strength is that although she did not believe in all of the values of the Old South, they were still very important to her, and she was strong enough to hold onto them.
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