Short story the company of wolves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short story the company of wolves - Essay Example Her aging grandmother had set an example of a staunch Christian by spending her days singing praises and her defense against the wolves included hurling a bible at them. The wolves in the story clearly represent a sexual predator, a man who believes this is their world to take; a man’s world. A world in which the female gender are taught to fight, fear and shield themselves as the only way for survival. The wolves represent sexual predators, rapist, domestic abusers and all forms of temptation, as written by Carter (1979) "the wolves have ways of arriving at your own hearthside. We try, and we try but sometimes we cannot keep them out" (p. 647). Women are clearly taught to be ashamed of temptation; that it is a sin to be tempted. The woman in the company of wolves who was bitten by wolves while straining macaroni clearly fell into temptation as she carried out her maternal duties, showing temptation has no respect, no boundaries, so women should always be alert; always be on the defensive. Her father, being a man himself seems to be aware of what danger the little girl clearly faces out in the woods and thus is seen to be so protective. The little girl clearly represents a new breed of evolving women who are aware of their femininity. The girl is shown to be at the tender age where she is getting to know herself. She is aware of the transformations taking place within her body; according to Carter (1979) â€Å"Her breasts have just begun to swell; her hair is like lint, so fair it hardly makes a shadow on her pale forehead; her cheeks are an emblematic scarlet and white and she has just started her womans bleeding, the clock inside her that will strike, henceforward, once a month. She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg; she is a sealed vessel† (p. 650). Carter clearly describes the feminine features that the girl carries, features and