"An Independent Woman"

Stephanie Robinson

Eng. 1B

Prof. Lennon

“An Independent Woman”

The story, “An Independent Woman” from the book Big Mama Stories written by Shay Youngblood, takes place in the downtown projects of Princeton, Georgia during the late 60’s. It tells the tale of the narrator’s Aunt Mae, and her way of life. It is about how this woman disregarded societal norms and live her life the way she wanted.

            The story is told in first person: single narrator and the center story is only told of Aunt Mae. To me the setting was not important to the telling of the story because if it were set in the modern-day, people would still have the same reaction to the way this woman lived her life. The protagonist is Aunt Mae and the antagonist seems to be society. There is an inner conflict presented because, she was married before and from then on promised herself that she would always be as free as the “Fourth of July.” I would say the theme of this story is obviously independence. It is shown through the 5 ways Aunt Mae is portrayed. She often talks about never getting married again, only having men when as dates, and her wardrobe consist of short, bright dresses unlike the rest of the women her age. Big Mama describes how charming she is and that’s what makes her so alluring to men. Another sign of her independence may be her use of alcohol, which is also how she makes a living. The two values Aunt Mae possesses is being a woman and having her freedom. These values help her throughout the story because they make it easier for her to move on. For example, when she told Mr. Otis to leave and didn’t seem to miss him afterward.

In conclusion, I would recommend this story for every girl out there to read because it will help show them that they can have their own identity without having a male in their life. I enjoyed reading this story because it is so relevant to today, and it shows that women can be independent without a husband and not apologize for it.