I’ve read the story “Too Soon a Woman” in school and I have a question about it (it’s NOT my hmwk I’m just curious and obviously am afraid to ask my teacher). Was the character Mary implied to be a prostitute?
I am not familiar with the story, but I don’t see why you should be afraid to ask your teacher if the character was a prostitute. S/he’ll probably be glad you were thinking about underlying layers of the story, if it’s not spelled out.
Just my opinion, but I would say no. There is some negative implication about what will happen if she takes up with teamsters, as opposed to a family (I’d rather take care of kids, she says) then she will be their whore. This is a measure of her determination to get away from where ever they whipped her, and a bit of guilt she uses to get the family to take her along, but it isn’t implied she actually was a prostitute. BTW, they never mention race, or what year it was, Mary might be an escaped slave.
As in all ultrashort stories, most is left unsaid, so you can’t really know for sure.
If someone would like to read it, its online here:
http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/Holt-EOL2/Collection%207/toosoonpg1.htm
Thanks for the link. I read the story. I don’t see anything written to directly imply that Mary had worked as a whore. We are told that she had been beaten and that she was running away from something and was determined to never go back. What that something was is left deliberately vague, beyond the fact that it was abusive.
I’d say that speculating about working as a whore is something that a reader would have to bring to the story, but the way her background is only hinted at invites speculation. So it’s perfectly reasonable for a reader to speculate that she may have worked as a whore, but we can never know. Heck, she may have been leaving an abusive husband.
The story mentioned Mary had blue eyes so I don’t think she’s a slave.
Perhaps, if not a blue-eyed runaway slave, a blue-eyed runaway indentured servant?
There were many slaves who could pass for white.
[Samples from this page of runaway advertisements:]
This late in the nation’s history (the story takes place in the 1840s or thereabouts) it would have been rare for a bondwoman to have been beaten in such a way that it would leave marks. Also there were so many immigrants streaming in and failed farmers that few people had indentured servants anymore; it was a lot cheaper just to hire a poor woman.
Also, a young attractive prostitute would probably not have beaten by her pimp or madam in such a way to leave marks. If she were older or unattractive then maybe, but for the young and fresh ones- there are plenty of ways you can administer physical pain without leaving scars. If a customer had done so her pimp would probably have killed or badly beaten him; it’s not compassion but commerce. Also a prostitute, even one with a pimp, would likely not be penniless.
For a runaway slave however there would be few places better to go than a wagon train on the Great Plains. Assuming she’s from St. Louis or even from down river in Memphis or New Orleans (none of which had a shortage of white looking slaves) it’d be a very good move, especially if you could find a widower to marry you who by the time he found you were a slave IF he found out you were a slave would probably not care and be willing to fight for you.
Good points, Sampiro. I hadn’t paid that close attention to the time period involved.