DREAMS
Every women that we read about over the course of the semester pursued and achieved dreams that were important in her life. This page looks at some of the characters and dreams that they achieved.
| Major Mattie Pinette (Echoes): In a time when many women her age were working in the textile mills, Mattie Pinette began her career as an aspiring new secretary. Not so many years later she found herself serving as personal secretary to Eisenhower. The story of Mattie's life and career is an inspiring account of a young woman with the motivation and courage to achieve both professional dreams and beyond. |
| Labranche Family (): Even though the Labranche family was fictional, the account of their emigration to New England seems to be an accurate reflection of real life history. Similar to many families of this time, the Labranche's came to the United States with the dream of finding success. They hoped that through their employment and new opportunities they would be able to move back to Canada and once again establish themselves on their family farm. This was a dream for many families in this period of history. |
| Lesley/Alana (No Adam in Eden): The dreams of these two characters are never stated in an up-front manner, yet it seems that these women both have dreams in thier own way. Lesley dreams of marrying the man she loves, and eventually stands up to her family to achieve her goal. In a sense I think Alana also achieves a dream by confronting her mother about dark secrets from the past. Though readers do not see the results of this confrontation, it seems that it opened a new chapter for the family. |
| Annette: (Annette: Story of a Pioneer Woman): Despite hugely difficult circumstances Annette finds peace, happiness, and the ability to survive on her own. Left with next to nothing as a young woman, she lives through many hardships while raising a family and trying to survive. Annette dreamt of living a safe and happy life, of being strong and productive. Not only did she succeed in her own life, but she helped others in the community as well. |
| Evangeline (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow): Though Evangeline is a heart-wrenching story, the main character does achieve her dream in the very end. When the Acadians are forced from their homeland, Evangeline is separated from the man that she loves. The search to be reunited with this person drives Evangeline throughout the rest of the story. She evenutally finds a place for herself within her new surroundings, but is never quite right until she finally encounters her lost love again. |
| Angelique: (No Adam in Eden): Angelique dreamt of escaping the life she had in the small mill towns of New Hampshire. She wanted things that she thought were bigger and better, such as going to Paris, or larger cities down the coast. Angelique wanted to be a woman that exuded class and sophistication, a woman that she believed everyone would be jealous of. She wanted anything outside of the boring life she believed she had. |
These are just several examples of the dreams that drove women throughout the class texts. Each character and individual seemed to possess some sort of goal or dream that served as an inspiration for their day to day actions. Even when life seemed to be at its lowest or worse point, the dreams that these women held helped to pull them through.