Death in the Woods Women and Femininity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Thank heaven, she did not have to feed her husband—in a certain way. That hadn't lasted long after their marriage and after the babies came (2.8)

In this passage, Anderson has flipped the concept of "feeding" to refer to sexuality. This is telling: their sexual relationship is something that only he desires. For her, it's just another job.

Quote #8

The son and his woman ordered the old woman around like a servant. She didn't mind much; she was used to it (3.2)

Now this is just sad. Although she was freed from servitude, Mrs. Grimes ended up becoming a personal slave to her very own family.

Quote #9

Neither of us had ever seen a woman's body before. It may have been the snow, clinging to the frozen flesh, that made it look so white and lovely, so like marble (4.15)

Mrs. Grimes was ignored during life but admired during death. Isn't that weird? If you ask us, it's that the townsfolk know (subconsciously, of course) that Mrs. Grimes has given her life to "feed" men. To them, that's what a woman is supposed to do.