And Women Must Weep
By
Henry Handel Richardson
In “And Women Must Weep” by Henry Handel Richardson, we have the theme of
confidence, acceptance, innocence, appearance, insecurity, control, rejection and
failure. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realizes
after reading the story that the author must be exploring the theme of
confidence. Dolly prior to going to the ball feels confident within her. Helped by
the fact that she believed that is wearing a dress that perfectly compliments her.
However, when she arrives at the ball her confidence weavering and fades into a
sense of insecurity when he aspise the dresses that the other girls are wearing this
may be important as Richardson maybe using Dolly’s thoughts on her appearance
as foreshadowing to the ultimate failure that she feels later on at the end of the
story when she is rejected by the gentlemen and spends most of the evening
sitting on the chair rather than being asked to dance. It is also noticeable that
Dolly get apprehensive and loses confidence, the longer she is sitting on the chair
looking at others dancing. As a defensive mechanism she hides her programme to
suggest to others that she is unavailable to dance with anyone.
An interesting aspect of the story is the fact that Dolly appears to be under the
control and supervision of her Auntie Cha. It is she who directs Dolly throughout
the evening which may leave the readers to suspect that Dolly is somewhat
innocent of the way things are likely to be. All Dolly knows is that nobody is asking
her to dance and those who do. Dolly deems them to be unsuitable and misfit
dance partners. This is quite significant as Richardson maybe trying to convey that
nobody at the ball apart from the school is prepared to their own free will and
volition is prepared to dance with Dolly. This is somewhat inexplicable as well as
surprising considering that the writer doesn’t attempt or endeavor to portray an
unflattering image of Dolly. It might also be possible that Dolly lacks the
confidence (diffident) to ask one of the gentlemen to dance when the leap dance
is announced. It is also possible that the writer Richardson maybe be suggesting
that Dolly feels not only deflated by her experience at the ball but also defeated
too. In reality, Dolly is endeavoring to fit in with societal ideals and norms and
clearly she isn’t succeeding. That is if success is based on gentlemen asking a lady
to dance. As it is Dolly’s real ball, the reader can immediately assume that Dolly
still relatively young and tender in age so the ball takes on an added significance
or importance that is may not necessarily merit, which may exactly be the point
Richardson is attempting to make. She may be suggesting that society and its
priorities only lead to a sense of pressure for the individual. Where prior to going
to the ball, Dolly was full of confidence, yet this confidence wavers and soon
disappears when she arrives at the ball. The ball here symbolically represents
societal values and traditions. Another noticeable tradition that is carried out
throughout the story is the fact that except for the leap dance it is the gentleman’s
responsibility to ask the lady to dance. It is as though the choices of the lady (and
Dolly) are limited. Also, any sense of free will is taken away from the lady. Though
this may not necessarily affect Dolly in light of the fact that her confidence is low
due to the fact that the gentlemen at the ball are rejecting her.
The end of the story is also interesting as despite following tradition and doing as
she had been instructed by Auntie Cha, Dolly sees the entire evening as being a
complete fiasco. How upset Dolly actually is can be gauged by the fact that she
locks her bedroom door and isolates herself from the other before she starts to
cry. Dolly has no understanding or realization as to why she could have been
deliberately alienated/rejected by the others at the ball. It probably doesn’t help
Dolly that she takes what happened at the ball so personal. There would no doubt
be other balls in future that Dolly could attend, should her confidence be restored
but for the moment, the events of the evening are too much for her to endure. It
is as though Dolly is a victim of the pressure that society can impose on an
individual. Having not been chosen by a suitable gentleman to dance, Dolly has
internalized how she feels rather than being confident enough to consider that
the loss was one the gentleman’s side and not hers. Dolly who is still innocent and
vulnerable when it comes to life experiences is a victim to societal values. Values
that are dictated by the male and not by the woman. If anything the reader hopes
that Dolly’s confidence grows and that she has learnt a lesson. Even if it is a cruel
and harsh lesson.
