t it would be rude of her to decline his offer. The women in The Standard of Living, Annabel and Midge, act as they should to a certain point, but are also more independent.Hazel is a clearer image of entrapment then the rest of the characters. She is confined to act like a “good sport”. Men expect that if they pay for her to have dinner, and give their time to a date, the least she can do is be entertaining. Her Husband, Herbie, marries her because she is a bubbly and big-breasted blonde. Once, “wedded and relaxed, she poured her tears freely. To her who had laughed so much, crying was delicious.” (The Big Blonde) She begins to release all the emotions every man has told her not to. She no longer had to be a “good sport” because she was married. This outpouring of emotion drove her husband away. Herbie’s departure did not disturb hazel, his void was easy to fill, and any man could admire her and take care of her. The irony is Hazel’s void is easily filled too; she is just one of the many big blondes through out the city. She is trapped. To be loved she must be what her sanity cannot let her be. The stereotype that she is supposed to be ditzy and fun all the time is too much to live up to, and the restrictions drive her to attempt suicide. The woman in The Waltz is Parker’s direct sarcasm and snub at how woman were expected to act. Using the contrast of first person internal monologue and spoken conversation, Parker compares the two lives women lead. The life society expects them to live and the true life they want to live. The woman does not want to dance. She comes up with many reasons in her head why she does not want to, but she still does anyway. The woman then realizes that even if she declined to sit out the dance, she would most likely have to talk to him, and she does not want to do that either. She is trapped. I doesn’t matter what she does she will still be miserab...
