“Snapshots of a Wedding” by Bessie Head and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid both tackle gender stereotypes and societal expectations for women, but “Snapshots of a Wedding” does it more successfully. While “Snapshots of a Wedding” provides a more thorough and complex look at gender relations, emphasizing the need of compassion and understanding in opposing limiting institutions, both works show the problems that women face in a patriarchal culture.
Bessie Head’s “Snapshots of a Wedding” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” are both powerful works that deal with gender politics and the expectations imposed on women in today’s society. While both books deal with similar topics, their approaches, techniques, and overall influence on the reader vary. A common thread linking the two works is the cultural expectations imposed on women. Despite her indifference, Tselane, the heroine of “Snapshots of a Wedding,” is encouraged to marry down and have children (Head 219). Similarly, in “Girl,” the narrator is given rules for how she should behave as a woman, including expectations for her domestic chores and sexual morality. The works are concerned with the pressures imposed on women to conform to society ideals (Kincaid).
The methodologies utilized in the two papers, however, vary. In contrast, “Snapshots of a Wedding” employs vivid depictions of the characters and their connections to make its argument in a more sensitive and nuanced manner. Tselane’s personal anguish and community impact are shown by the author via her connections with her family and the groom’s family (Head 219). “Girl”, on the other hand, takes a more direct and didactic approach, using a list of directions to depict the obligations imposed on women. The narrative is forceful and instructive, emphasizing the rigidity and inflexibility of societal customs.
Bessie Head’s “Snapshots of a Wedding” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” have a comparable theme: women’s limitations as a result of social standards and expectations. Both volumes investigate the social norms that impact women and show how these norms manifest in the everyday lives of women in diverse cultural situations. Tselane, the heroine of “Snapshots of a Wedding,” is forced to assume the traditional role of a wife and mother. She is forced into marriage with a guy she despises and has no love interest in. Tselane spends the most of the book battling the confines of her family and society in order to make her way in life. Tselane finally accepts her duty as a wife and mother (Head 219), despite her objections.
Similarly, in “Girl,” the speaker is a mother educating her daughter on proper manners. Mother instills in her kid the importance of housekeeping and social responsibility. The daughter is not encouraged to think for herself and is instead driven to conform to stereotyped female norms (Kincaid). Although both paintings do a good job of illustrating the limits that society places on women, “Snapshots of a Wedding” depicts this topic better. The work provides the reader with a more realistic and empathic knowledge of how these ideals influence the life of a woman. Tselane is a powerful emblem of women’s limits because of her struggle to establish her freedom and sorrow as she conforms to society’s expectations. The list of do’s and don’ts in “Girl” is devoid of context and feeling, making it difficult for the reader to connect with the speaker and understand the weight of social obligations on women.
Work Cited
Head, Bessie. “Snapshots of a Wedding.” A World of Short Stories, edited by Yvonne Collioud Sisko, 3rd ed., Pearson, 2014, pp. 216–225.
Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/19/girl.
write