Marian has always been a strong character. To watch her break down over housework, I could not help but think that there was something more to the scene. The type of sadness I felt reading the passage made me feel like what Marian was experiencing was more similar to a death then preforming housework. In many ways I think was more like death.
To start Marian has always lived a life of prestige. She has never had to do housework. By her taking on this role it is showing her fall in status and the hardships to come. Marian’s lost goes beyond her status though it reaches the very core of her character. Marian has always been a very independent woman and now she must completely rely on Walter. Marian has always had a lot of pride in the fact that she is not obedient and placid like the other woman in her life and now she is being forced into a role that is stereotyped specifically for woman. I think in taking on the housework Marian is giving up a lot more than just some free time.
I also think by performing housework Marian is solidifying her role as “mother” in the trio’s foe family, which is not a role that Marian has ever indicated wanting for herself. Marian has always proven to be a very mature person, but it has always been in ways that are “for men”. For example, her taking care of Laura’s legal affairs in terms of her marriage as best as she could. Now Marian most be mature in a maternal way. She has to tend to the house, take care of the child (Laura), and anxiously wait for her husband (Walter) to return home.
I was reassured however when Marian says “it’s my weakness that cries, not me. The housework shall conquer it, if I can’t” (Collins 433). This line is a reminder that Marian still has a fire in her. She is determined to make the most of her poor situation. While Marian may have lost her independence she has not lost her strength which has always been her defining quality.
Aside from being stripped of her privilege, I also think that Marian’s forced identification with being feminine is also causing her distress. Throughout the novel, she has always conveyed that she felt more masculine than feminine, either with looks (such has her hands) or with how her mind works. Being forced to take on a more domestic role has thus forced her into a role which she find incredibly uncomfortable and out of character for her. While this part in the novel is clearly making a statement about status and wealth and what happens when one looses it, I also believe it is commenting on what happens when one is forced to identify with a certain set of gender norms that one does not normally identify with.
I completely agree that it was heartbreaking to see Marian do the housework for their little trio. While I see Marian as a Strong Independent Woman, I can’t help but be reminded by women who often degrade other women for their femininity. While it truly sickens me how femininity is portrayed by Laura and beauty is valued over Marian’s knowledge, I can’t help but think of women who say “I’m not like other girls” as if to put themselves on a pedestal. I’d make the argument that while it sucks that Marian has to do housework (Walter, where you @@@@???) it shouldn’t be portrayed as a sign of weakness.