Something To Do With That Mark Clemens Man

“Girl” (1984) – Jamaica Kincaid

“this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a buttonhole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming”

10:00 P.M. Sunday. Take out the anthology. Flip to a page. Read.

Taking the usual steps toward blog-post completion, of course the night of the due date, I found this charming tidbit in the “Fiction For Further Reading.” In and amongst the typical short stories that inhabit this section this caught my eye. Too lazy for a judgmental and extensive selection process I decided to go ahead and read the piece. I noticed right away that this could hardly fit into the same category as the other short stories, in fact the mere paragraph could hardly be considered fiction. To my senses it was a clever list; a list derived from reality and true life experience to be sure. The nature of the format makes the content seem so real, as if Kincaid has just copied the statements from real life, which made me ponder on the status of fiction in general. Isn't all fiction in reality non-fiction, just a series of experiences and memories translated to the page in different styles and variations? Indeed. In this instance the reality is specific to gender and geographic roles. A mother indicates to a young woman all that makes a proper lady. So of course the expository rant of demands and instructions includes sewing, cooking, setting the table, ironing, washing clothes, grocery shopping, proper conduct, and all the things that make a woman: everything that doesn't make a man. A man of course does not cook his own food, or wash his own clothes. A man does not have to be demure or monogamous. A woman, however, must. Or else. Or else what? She is a slut. This piece focuses on expectations, and ironically plays upon the reality of these expectations. While for us these stereotypical roles seem outdated, if not sexist and indeed archaic, they hold a vast amount of truth or else we, the audience, would not be able to recognize the irony, laugh at its mild humor, and relate to the very humanity of its theme. The wit and talent of the writing comes from the idea of combining multiple assumptions about various groups of people. The work contains such things as “okra,” “benna,” “dasheen,” “doukona,” etcetera. All of these things are characteristic of a Caribbean environment. The subject matter is associative of a relationship between mother and daughter. The mother is the stereotypical woman in her characteristic society. Anything other than the norm is normally considered atypical. All the aspects of this piece combine to play on the expectations of the reader. In fact the speaker is actually telling the audience what to expect through these strict demands and assumptions. The speaker assumes that her daughter wants to be a slut, because she acts differently; by “play[ing] marbles” and asking questions. When the daughter asks questions like, “what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?” the mother automatically concludes that her daughter has made the decision to become a slut. Why? Because she cannot take all this advice and “wisdom” on faith, and continues to inquire about the world; an unacceptable role for a woman, which is why the piece is titled “Girl.” The real lesson comes from the latter part of the story, where the mother briefly starts to tell of nontraditional skills, that she must have learned from being a “slut” or liberated and unconfined “girl” herself, with lines like “this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child,” “this is how to bully a man,” or “this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it.” The mother's severity dissipates and allows for the irony to continue, as honest expectations fade into truthful imperfection. On a similar note the idea of free spirited girl versus matronly woman reminds me of Harry Smith, to whom this blog is partially dedicated. An American folk song from his anthology is titled "Single Girl Married Girl," the song parallels the idea of typical gender roles in society, to which the lyrics are as follows:

"Single girl, oh single girl
She's gone anywhere she please
Oh, gone anywhere she please
Married girl, oh married girl
Got a baby on her knees
Oh, got a baby on her knees

Single girl, oh single girl
She's going dressed up so fine
Oh going dressed up so fine
Married girl, oh, married girl
She wears any kind
Oh, she wears any kind

Single girl, oh single girl
She goes to the store and buys
Oh goes to the store and buys
Married girl, oh, married girl
She rocks the cradle and cries
Oh, rocks the cradle and cries

Single girl, oh single girl
She lays in bed 'til one
Oh lays in bed 'til one
Married girl, oh, married girl
She's up before the sun
Oh, up before the sun

Single girl, oh single girl
She's looking for a man
Oh looking for a man
Married girl, oh, married girl
She's got her wedding band
Oh, got her wedding band"

The song mirrors the irony of Kincaid's work, by presenting the irony of a "girl's" situation. A girl wants maternal responsibilities, but also resents the loss of independence once such is found. The song also lends insight into why the mother so adamantly stresses not becoming a "slut," and gives her daughter instructions on how to perform an abortion and become a respected woman, as she does not want her to lead the same life. Ultimately, the title gives the piece a sense of future and uncertainty, the prospect of growth and maturity (or lack thereof), as a mother attempts to dispense some knowledge to her youthful progeny.


I fully endorse this form of creativity, it is not quite stream of consciousness, it should be categorized as selective hearing or memory, as all the things that we can or choose to remember, that we record from the one-sided conversations. Something that looks too real not to be. Too short to have meaning, yet too repetitive not to. In short, I think I like it. I applaud the publisher's choice to include the piece, and think even more highly of this anthology in general. I'm sure Mr. McCarthy would agree that this creative composition consists of the “Madman” concept of the construction process, and in many ways is successful in this organic form, without further development or plot. If I were to experiment with this writing technique I would once again venture to say that such an invention would not in any way be detrimental to my writing, especially considering how deficient my skills are currently, how could it hurt?