Laura Brown may appear to be your run-of-the-mill house wife and mother, but there are more layers to her than the cake she makes a disastrous attempt at making for her husband’s birthday. Similar to many of the women in her generation, Laura married at a rather young age and had a child soon after. She feels fortunate for her loving family, but begins to feel trapped and suffocated in her domestic reality. She is discontent with the simple, mundane tasks that fill her days, and is desperate to find some sort of creative outlet, even though she is by no means an “artist.” By baking a birthday cake for her husband, it’s almost as if Laura is channeling her restricted creativity by treating the cake as a beloved work of art. This is why she is so distraught when the cake does not turn out- she is frustrated that it has failed to live up to her expectations, and fears that she won’t live up to others’ expectations of her.
For Laura, this birthday cake symbolizes her need to fulfill the desire she has to play a meaningful role in life, even if it is only within the domestic sphere. She is dissatisfied with the first cake she bakes and throws it out, hoping her second attempt will bring success. Although she is more pleased with the way the second cake turns out, she is filled with disappointment when it is “ruined” by Richard, who accidentally spits on it while blowing out the candles. This shows that Laura’s quest for creative satisfaction and purpose is a never-ending one, because she feels trapped and cannot find an acceptable escape. No matter how desperately she tries to find happiness in her domestic role…
“The ‘y’ in ‘Happy’ isn’t what she’d hoped it would be, and two of the roses are lopsided.”
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Your post was very interesting. It made me think that Cunningham was making a statement about creativity. He seems to suggest that Laura will never make her perfect cake or create something truly great until she has the time and the privilege to create. She will never create a cake that is more than "amateurish, homemade" until she does not have to make one at all (143). She needs the means to only do what she wants. This is an idea that we saw in Woolf's "A Room with a View."
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that Laura was disappointed with the word "Happy" on the cake. It is an interesting parallel to her unhappiness in her domestic role.
ReplyDeleteI like what you're saying to me, Stephanie, about how Laura will never "create something truly great until she has the time and the privilege to create." What I left wanting to know upon finishing the novel was did she ever get the chance to create?
ReplyDeleteI have to think that no, she didn't. Her portions of the novel seemed to hint at something more than just "I have all these ideas but my family is bothering me!" In another post on another blog, Kirstin wrote that she was trapped by a time period with changing ideas about things. What I want to know is, why the move to Canada? Was she merely trying to escape the confines of American society for women at the time?
Interesting post! I also focused on Laura's cake in my blog post! That's one of the many things that stood out to me in the novel! I particularly like how you mentioned about her not liking how the "y" in "happy" turned out! It is an exact replica of Laura's feelings at that particularly moment. The "y" not turning out properly is symbolic of how she questions her life. She is not happy with the "domestic role" that she has been forced to fulfill. In fact, the roses being "lopsided" are symbolic of them withering away! Laura is not satisfied with her life! She wants more and needs more from life but she is forced to settle for what is expected of her.
ReplyDeleteThe cake moment was a poingnat storyline. You effectively outline Laura Brown's brief obession with creating the perfect cake. I had not noticed the parallel between the cake representing her failed expectations. Laura Brown ultimately fails in her expectations as a wife and mother, but do you think she considers her escape from that life a failure?
ReplyDeleteI think its all just a lot of nonsense. There is no way she can even love Dan. She wants a life totally different than the one shes in now. She cant mix the two. She just sounds like she married before she had room to really grow.
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