Fellowship Point

Agnes and Polly represent two differing paths for women in the mid-20th century. Because they’re born into wealthy families, propriety and adherence to social norms are expectations, but only Polly fulfills these expectations. Her marriage to Dick, though Polly insists that it’s meaningful, is decidedly a one-sided partnership. Dick not only expects that they’ll maintain traditional gender roles but also makes it clear that he doesn’t find Polly capable of the kind of intellectual thought that he is. Polly insists that she doesn’t feel belittled by her service role, yet she longs for emotional intimacy that Dick doesn’t provide. Similarly, Polly is a loving mother to her three sons but finds herself left out of their lives as they grow from infants to children. Her longing for a daughter suggests a desire for companionship that the males in her house don’t provide.

Agnes, on the other hand, unapologetically violates many of the social norms established for her gender. Although she’s briefly engaged as a young woman, she ends this relationship and instead chooses to remain unmarried and never become a mother. She speaks explicitly of the way her mother, Grace Lee, upheld societal expectations and disapproved of the life Agnes was leading. Likewise, Agnes is frustrated by women who, like Polly, exist only as glorified servants to their husbands. Agnes frequently emphasizes that Polly is just as intelligent (if not more, in Agnes’s estimation) as Dick, recognizing the ways that his belittlement injures Polly’s ego. As Agnes ages and discovers that her financial security may be somewhat in jeopardy, she’s determined to fully support herself by her own means. By authoring the When Nan and Franklin Square series, she accomplishes this. Agnes’s view that women should be free to be themselves is evident, too, in her treatment of Nan. Agnes often comments on the ways that her mother, Grace Lee, chastised Nan for being uncouth and ill-mannered. Instead, Agnes encouraged Nan to cultivate these traits because they made her unique. Agnes admired Nan’s wildness and free-spiritedness, likely seeing some of herself in the young girl.

Maud Silver, coming into adulthood in the early 21st century, experiences fewer pressures to comply with traditional gender norms. She doesn’t hesitate to raise her child alone, despite the responsibility she bears in caring for her mentally ill mother. In her career, Maud is confident and determined, as is evident in the way she goes about convincing Agnes to write a memoir. Additionally, she loves her daughter wholeheartedly, representing a kind of middle ground between Agnes and Polly—and demonstrating how a woman can choose to be both a mother and professional.