Rope by Katherine Anne Porter

The issue of stereotyping about man and women can be considered as one of themes of this story. In this story, the author gives emphasis on unhappy marriage. The rope has provided a story of a torn relationship in which a couple is being trapped in an unhappy marriage and is a feeling like hanging on the rope. With the utilization of characterization, the author has effectively shows an unhappy situation between two individuals through the interaction of the main character and the words they use as they converse with each other.

The story had used a long piece of cord or string to signify not only the never ending bond of the married couple, but also the endless ring of devotion that the couple must aspire to honor. Through this, I have learned that being married is not as simple as playing and when you are tired you can quit easily. One of the interesting aspects that I have found in the story is that the author opted not to disclose the name and the description of the characters. What we can only perceive is on the aspect of the subject matter and nature of their dialogues.

In addition, I can say that the author has efficiently tells the story from the standpoint of one character to the other like the character of the wife and the husband (Oldham, 2003). The use of characterization of the author permits us to have sympathy with the characters and the events which happen to the characters of the story explicitly lived through us. In this story, the wife has been described as unhappy with her life and struggling to find stability, consolation and control without any aggravation or frustration. Through her actions and the word that she is uttering, we can say that the woman holds a strong and persuasive bitterness about her life and retails all her dilemma which is used to force some disagreements with her partner.

The wife shows her resentment by accusing her husband of now helping her around. On the other hand, the husband in the story shows how he wanted to have a happy marriage and to please his wife by doing his best.  But still, they ended up arguing on things which resulted on hurting each other physically and emotionally.     I can say that through this story, I have understood that having a good relationship starts from effective communication. The author has been able to show that saying bad things to your partner only leads to emotional burden. It is essential that the couples know how to respect each other and show it through their actions and words.

 I can say that the couple of the story does not have the ability to cooperate with each other that they end up fighting and quarrelling.  I can say that the story has served its purpose of letting the reader realize how to treat other people and how to handle complex issues through good conversation.  It enables us to realize that having a happy married life depends on how we work on making it a success.

Reference

Oldham, R (2003). “Katherine Anne Porter’s ‘Rope’ Unraveled.”