It Takes Two to ... Waltz?

Question 1:
On the surface, I found 'The Waltz' a slightly comical piece of literature. The narrator is incapable of declining to dance despite the fact that it becomes increasingly obvious that she has little or no desire to do so such thing. However, as the story progresses and the narrator's contemptuous dialog becomes increasingly blatant, we come to the realization that the waltz represents something much greater than a silly dance. What was comical gradually became frustrating as I realized that the dance was a metaphor for all the demands put on women of her time-by men. Just as it would have been improper for the narrator to refuse a dance with an obliging partner, it was unacceptable for a woman to refuse any a man's request or demand. As the narrator, the nameless narrator, was trapped on the dance floor, forced to repeatedly and drudgingly dance the steps of the waltz at the request of a man, all women were trapped, forced to succumb to the societal demands and gender roles placed upon them. The fact that it take two persons (a male and a female) to perform he waltz further supports the lack of independence women had.

Question 2:
When observed from various, nonliteral angles, many fictional literary works are interpreted as acting as a bases for a broader commentary on society, culture, politics, gender roles, or any of a number of other issues. Thus it is likely that the content, themes and significance of Harper's The Two Offers, a commentary on the stereotypes and expectations of women, would be applicable in considering slavery, racial uplift, promotion of black culture and more. Though, as Ong would claim, Harper has oriented her work through particular writing conventions, her audience is fictionalized, opening her work to more abstract interpretation. Ong also claims, however, that it is perhaps more important to focus on the problem(s) than the fictionalization of the audience. It is safe to venture, then, that the problem--the suffering women endure to meet social standards and gender roles--can be generalized to the suffering any group of people endure because of what society has made of them.