1. ‘Mountain womanhood’, nature and the expansion of the domestic realm: what are some of the ways in which domesticity is 'expanded' in the chapter and how can landscape, nonhuman entities or local geography account for that 'expansion'?
2. Nonhuman agency and the narrative inclusion of nonhuman others: what are some of the techniques the author uses to include nonhuman others in the narrative and why do you think it is important, the different ways in which nonhuman beings are 'captured' in texts?
3. A textual woman-animal interconnection: why would Milly identify herself with King Devil?
3. A textual woman-animal interconnection: why would Milly identify herself with King Devil?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of chapter 2 of Harriette Arnow's Hunter's Horn Milly encounters the fox known as Devil King. The fox had just killed one of Nancys hens and is showing it to Milly. By the time Milly points to the fox so that Deb could see it too, it is gone. Devil king is hated by the villagers, it comes and goes without notice, and it leaves only destruction behind, but still no one can get close enough to it to kill it (Milly was so close she could see “the hairs in his eyebrows, the teeth shining in his half-opened mouth,…” (252), which shows she is different). Similarly to the fox, Milly is also mysterious. People may think they know her, but they don’t. Before going to see John, Milly changes her clothes and puts on her shoes. They talk for a bit before she asks to borrow a brace. She took her time to study him before she asked him, because she knows it is easier to ask if he is in the right mood. John does not hesitate to give her the brace because he trusts her. Milly takes her shoes off as soon as she can, because they are uncomfortable, implying they were part of a disguise she put on so that John would trust her.
Just like Devil King came to John and took the hen without him knowing it, so too did Milly swoop in and borrowed a brace. John had no idea it would be used for “witchcraft”. Millys actions were extra risky given that John is a member of the church (he is a deacon). In a way, Milly was “a fox in a hen-house”. At the end she finds a white feather where she had stopped before, which again links her to the fox.
Eduardo: 1 - "Mountain Womanhood", nature and the expansion of the domestic realm: what are some ways in which domesticity is 'expanded' in the chapter and how can landscape, nonhuman entities or local geography account for that 'expansion'?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 2 of Harriete Arnow's Hunter's Horn, there are lot of instances where the domestic realm and nature join togetther and form one scenery. Milly is described while doing some domestic chores such as sewing, and she is in the position where she is inside and outside the house in the same instance. The space where she is located, rows of apple trees can be seen, and buzzing of flies, hums of bees and yellow jackets have a slight contrast with the sound of machinery, looking as they are the same, coinciding 'mountain womanhood' with domestic values.
(3) There is a woman-animal connection with Milly and King Devil because they both suffer at the hands of a patriarchal society that forces them into positions that they never chose to be in the first place (and therefore both want to be recognized for what they are) and nature allows them to extent their area of influence. In short, with this common identity, we come to the conclusion that nonhuman bodies suffer as much as female bodies.
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