One Two Three, One Two Three

Question 1
I believe Parker does not allow her character to stop dancing to portray changing roles of women. It is this dance between what was originally expected of women to this new sense of freedom and identity women are experiencing. Before, women relied on men financially. When she married, her life's possessions became his, and anything she earned went straight into his pocket. Now Parker has decided to speak out in 1930. America is just emerging from the roaring twentis and women were beginning to work, attend school, and becoming independent. In "The Waltz," we have the clumsy old man representing the times when the man was always in control, expecting the woman to follow. But Parker also portrays the woman as silently objecting to the man. This allows her to voice what the woman is thinking and not blatantly denying the man, but rather show how women are slowly withdrawing from the idea of the man always being in control.

Question 2 (Parker)
Parker uses "double-voice" to show the contrast between what women are outwardly showing and what they are truthfully contemplating. Ong says, "The problem is not simply what to say but also who to say it to." (11) Parker writes the inner thoughts of the dancer to show how she truly thinks without coming outright and saying it. Parker must consider her readers and how her text will be accepted. By writing the thoughts she can appeal to women by taking them into her confidence and voicing how she truly feels. Women will appreciate the story for its frankness. But she also does not cross and boundaries because this is just what her character is thinking, not voicing. Even though she explicitly writes how much she does not want to waltz with the man, she still does. So in a way she is still conforming to the ways of society and accepting the man as the leader. This way men might be more tolerant of her thoughts and ideas.