The conflict exhibited in Fisher's short story is self versus society. Thus, Mehetabel needs to reconcile how society values a woman of her age and how she should value herself.
In the story, Mehetabel is sixty-eight years old, living during a time in New England in which "an unmarried woman was an old maid at twenty" and by "forty was everyone's servant." Because of Mehetabel's advanced years and her spinster status, she is treated as...
The conflict exhibited in Fisher's short story is self versus society. Thus, Mehetabel needs to reconcile how society values a woman of her age and how she should value herself.
In the story, Mehetabel is sixty-eight years old, living during a time in New England in which "an unmarried woman was an old maid at twenty" and by "forty was everyone's servant." Because of Mehetabel's advanced years and her spinster status, she is treated as an extraneous member of her family and society.
Everyone in Mehetabel's household thinks of her as a servant, and she is given the worst chores to perform. Mehetabel has little choice but to accept her family's indifference toward her. In her era, an elderly spinster's position in society was a tenuous one, dependent upon the goodwill of all.
However, there is one thing that distinguishes Mehetabel from the rest of the family: she is a genius at patchwork. It is this ability that finally elevates her in the eyes of her family and her community. The story ends with Mehetabel finally receiving the recognition she deserves, after winning a blue ribbon at the county fair for her work.
Mehetabel comes to realize that she is a valuable member of her society and that her sense of worth need not be determined by arbitrary societal norms.
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