Gossip

The theme of gossip transcends time. In class we have found a comedic angle to view gossip. The Silence Dogood Letters were merely gossip in print. In this class, I can now recall three instances of female authors using the theme of gossip. The first was from the Frances Whitcher selections at the beginning of the year. The women in this sewing society gather every so often to “sew,” when they actually just gossip. The sewing is so insignificant, but the women don’t think twice about just having a tea party instead, they insist on sewing. On top of all the absurdity, they ever have a president. My first instinct is that Ms. Whitcher is attacking the ideals of women in order to draw a laugh. I found the humor in this sewing society wasting yarn and gossiping for the time being. This episode concerning gossip was more appealing to me than the passage we read today from Edith Wharton. While Whitcher’s piece was more of a loose slapstick between fair ladies, “Xingu” associates with rich New York women who indirectly gossip about each other behind their backs. Mrs. Ballinger leads the herd to make fun of Mrs. Roby while she is the only one with opinions of her own. The rest of the crew say the least they can in order to satisfy their own personal intelligence. The women merely try to keep the conversation going by doing the minimal amount of work. Similar to the sewing society this is a lunch club. In conjecture with these settings, Eudora Welty writes in a hair salon. All three of these situations are perfect places for women to dabble in their gossip. In the Welty reading, the gossip spreads through the characters. It all starts when the hairdresser, Mrs. Fletcher tell Leota that your hair falls out when you become “p-r-e-g.” Leota, startled, gives her pregnant position away and Mrs. Fletcher instantly becomes interested. This piece reminds me about old high school drama. Scandals spread like wildfire through the halls, and the same goes for this situation.
Gossip is an interesting theme used by female comedians. We have yet to read a male piece regarding gossip (unless you count Ms. Dogood) and for that reason I think women use this humor to poke fun at their own social lives.