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
samantha Neugebauer 