The Passive, the Active

The two short stories “My Heart is Broken” and “Prue” obviously deal with female protagonists and the events surrounding them. Therefore, these stories can be interpreted through feminist literary analysis, which focuses on how women are represented in literature in relation to a patriarchal society. Despite their similarities, “My Heart is Broken” and “Prue” have some differences when viewed from a feminist perspective. While “My Heart is Broken” portrays a rather passive female protagonist, “Prue” illustrates a more active and stereotype-breaking protagonist.

One interesting point of comparison between these stories is looking at how patriarchal society is represented in each story. In “My Heart is Broken,” Mrs. Thompson mirrors the male-dominated society. Mrs. Thompson claims that Jeannie got raped because she “took a walk in the bush that way” and “had them all on the boil.” Her attitude resembles that of a patriarchal society, which blames the victim for rape. Moreover, Mrs. Thompson reinforces traditional feminine values, including cleaning up the home and being happy with a caring husband. Mrs. Thompson tells Jeannie that “you could have cleaned up your home a bit” and questions Jeannie for not being happy with “a good, sensible husband working for you.” Through Mrs. Thompson, the patriarchal society is manifest from the beginning to the end of the story. However, in “Prue,” the male-dominated society only appears in a single paragraph where Prue, the female protagonist, complains about her name. Prue, or Prudence, reflects the traditional value that a woman should be always prudent about her actions. The story is more centered on Prue as a person rather on the male-dominant society that Prue is subject to.

The two female protagonists respond differently to the stereotypes of a patriarchal society. Jeannie in “My Heart is Broken” occasionally defends herself from Mrs. Thompson’s accusations, but she does not claim that Mrs. Thompson’s views are totally wrong. For the most time, Jeannie remains passive towards Mrs. Thompson, although she voices her own opinion at the very end. On the other hand, Prue explicitly rejects the stereotypes of a male-dominated society. She does not complain about most things but readily complains about her name, a symbol of gender stereotype. Prue also calls her marriage a “cosmic disaster” and “regards sex as a wholesome, slightly silly indulgence.” She does not even seem to take gender stereotypes seriously. From the male-centered view, Prue is not prudent at all.

The two protagonists also differ in where they find satisfaction. Jeannie reveals that “If he’d liked me, I wouldn’t have minded,” which means that Jeannie would have been satisfied if the rapist had liked her. Her words are surprising from the traditional view, as shown from Mrs. Thompson’s attitude. Traditionally, raped women feel shameful at the fact that they are raped. However, Jeannie does not care about her virginity or shame, but focuses on the relationship between her and the rapist. But Jeannie’s view is still passive because her heart is “broken” by a man. Her very statement that her heart is broken, though not identical to the patriarchal view, proves that she depends on men’s love to be satisfied.

On the other hand, Prue finds satisfaction from her own actions. Prue’s independence from men is evident when Prue regards Gordon’s marriage proposal as “reasonable.” Gordon states that he has another lover but wants to marry Prue in a few years. If Gordon had said this to Jeannie, Jeannie would have been unsatisfied because Gordon does not love her. Prue’s attitude towards Gordon’s proposal shows that Prue’s satisfaction does not rely on Gordon’s love. Furthermore, Prue is satisfied from her own actions because she “steals” Gordon’s possessions. She is satisfied not because she is “struck” by Gordon’s memory from the stolen objects, but because she “takes” and then “forgets” his possessions. Prue obviously plays an active role; she acquires satisfaction for herself.

To conclude, the two protagonists are different because one is passive and the other is active. Jeannie, the passive protagonist, reacts to Mrs. Thompson in a passive manner and depends upon men for satisfaction. Contrary to Jeannie, Prue defies traditional stereotypes and constructs her own satisfaction. While Jeannie is “feminine,” Prue is “female.”