story: “The Contest”

author: Grace Paley

year: 1959

where: casa dolce casa

note: Il était une fois, there was a man who was intimidated by a woman who knew what she wanted. Small men call women selfish if they feel like a woman’s life will never revolve solely around them. It was true then, and it can still be true now.

a line: “A medium girl, size twelve, a clay pot with handles–she could be grasped. I met her in the rain outside some cultural activity at Cooper Union or Washington Irving High School.”

theme(s): Men and women, ambition, perception