"A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin (Hunter, 2009)

Mrs. Sommers, having come into possession of an unexpected windfall, chooses to temporarily escape from the dreary responsibilities of a rather common, penny-pinching existence to enjoy some of the finer things in life for a fleeting moment of lightness, free from the usual shackles of conscientiousness expected of a wife and mother. We are given no reason to believe that Mrs. Sommers had ever previously neglected the necessities of her family in order to selfishly enjoy such a fleeting pleasure as any woman would be entitled to by virtue of her gender. I see her purchase of the silk stockings and subsequent indulgences as inevitable temptations given the sudden circumstances of unexpected cash in lieu of the regular obligations being as satisfied as they ever were. This momentous event of hedonism could hardly tip the scales of justice when weighed against a lifetime of abstention, temperance, and moderation for the sake of honoring the unwritten contract to satisfy matrimonial obligation and motherly pride. Hence, the theme of escapism herein is universal. We often consider subservience as a key issue addressed by the women’s movement and feminism. However, in “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” the issue of economics is brought into focus with both gender and class taking center stage. I do sympathize with Mrs. Sommers.

This short story makes clear the fact that to be a wife and mother one has to be an excellent bookkeeper and administrator in order to meet the ever-changing and abundant needs of her family. I would imagine that rare was the occasion when time, opportunity, and disposable income would be available to any one of the lower or working class, whether they be male or female, in order to enjoy such a mildly opulent day as Mrs. Sommers had on the day described in this story. She was a victim of circumstances and to call her selfish is to ignore the greater contexts of class, gender, precedence, and economics indicated by the author. I am convinced that Mrs. Sommers betrayed neither Christian ethics nor her family by her actions. No amount of Scripture considered in context could dissuade my conclusion that this woman had consistently practiced self-sacrifice for her family and also suffered unfathomable indignities as a "have not" in American society up until that day.

There is also no reason to believe that she will not return to her selfless and dutiful life as thrifty wife and mother at the story's end. From the standpoint of developments and movements in American society and how they are reflected in the Literature written throughout our history, taking into consideration the setting of this tale, I am trying to have an open mind to the complexities of Mrs. Sommers’ dilemma and not take the easy route of pointing my finger at an act of sin. The point I am trying to make is that there is more to this story than that. Mrs. Sommers usually shopped for her family’s needs at the expense of her own. She usually never treated herself to anything nice, not even an occasional luncheon or the theater. She would usually fight tooth and nail to secure the necessities of life at a bargain for her family’s sake. This story does not paint her as a terrible sinner, but rather as a woman usually inclined towards sainthood.

This story is about a very unusual day in the life of an extraordinarily virtuous woman who, having otherwise sacrificed life and limb for her family for years, had enough self respect and self esteem left to take advantage of a fleeting fortuitous circumstance and temporarily break out of the box of her usually studious and exemplary way of life. Her thriftiness had perhaps saved her family fifteen dollars a thousand times over throughout the years of her marriage. I am not so quick as others to cast a stone at her for one single, documented, isolated incident of non-puritan action in the 1890s when women were beginning to be thought of as more than chattel in a male-dominated society. Consider that Mrs. Sommers had likely been ordered by her husband occasionally to bring home a thirty dollar box of cigars or some other frivolity for him to enjoy with his buddies. I am moved, not to condemn, but to defend the honor of this heroine.


© 2009 Brian L Hunter 

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Are We Instruments of Faith or Fear?

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Is what we are saying, communicating, or about to suggest encouraging anyone's faith, or, is it merely political hate speech designed by Satan to incite division and more of the same? But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:1). The hate speech of some self-proclaimed disciples of Jesus Christ within the last few years is so faithless that what they say makes some wonder whether they truly believe God is sovereign and omnipotent. Peter’s dialogue betrayed him and the deceitfulness thereof was counted as a denial of Jesus as Savior (Matthew 26:73). Is my conversation today full of grace (Colossians 4:6) or hatred? Like oil and water, the two cannot be mixed and qualify as righteousness. I may not know much, but I do know that God was still God even during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, slavery and the violent enforcement  of Jim Crow laws in the United States, and the premeditated mass murder perpetrated on September 11, 2001. I trust in God infinitely more than I will ever trust in any politician. Therefore, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8) Who is so much more worthy of conversation on this or any other day? I am talking about God who alone is sovereign and omnipotent, the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). Who are any of these other uncircumcised Philistines? Ask Chuck E. Cheese and I if we care. Selah. 

Note: This post was written in response to unnecessary and unproductive negativity expressed by subversives using social media to perpetuate divisiveness during the second inauguration of Barack Obama on January 21, 2013. 

  

© 2013 Brian L Hunter

Who is God?

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)

What the world definitely does not need is a second coming of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 22:29). The first round was quite enough. Thank you. Heartless, self-righteous judgment and condemnation is not what the New Covenant through the Blood of The Lamb is all about (Romans 8:1-39). Fighting words? Really? Whether I refer to God’s Word as the Torah, the Bible, the Word, God’s revelation of His mind to man, or Jesus has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the intimacy of my relationship with Him. Coincidentally, He answers when I call whether I refer to Him as Yeshua, Wonderful, Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, God in Three Persons, Messiah, YHVH, Yahweh, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, Ancient of Days, El Shaddai , or Jehovah. While people devoid of the mind of Christ are busy pointing fingers and arguing over divisive cultural facts and denominational insecurities which are entirely insignificant in the schema of God’s redemptive work, Satan, the author and finisher of the works-based salvation concept, is laughing his way all the way to hell with the souls of many and having his way in the world. When will we wake up and begin to participate in an answer to the prayer Jesus prayed in the seventeenth chapter of John’s gospel (John 17:1-26)? God’s people are one people. “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Galatians 5:1 NLT) Selah.

 
Note: I admonish true disciples not to be enslaved by translations. "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do." (1 Timothy 1:4) This initial post has been a response to http://www.logosapostolic.org/bible_study/RP506JehovahYahweh.htm Please remember that we cannot believe everything we read on the Internet. :)

© 2013 Brian L Hunter