A Sorrowful Woman

Tracey Ariza

Writing About Literature

Dr. Green

12, March 2011

Considerations for Critical Thinking and Writing

A Sorrowful Woman

1. My initial response to A Secret Sorrow was one of anger. I have no patience for that type of story line. Faye bugged me, with her annoying game of pity me I can’t have children. But then again Harlequin romances are not typically books I would read.

A Sorrowful Woman intrigued me to continue to read. I read it three times. For several reasons, first because the ending perplexed me and I wanted to see if I missed something. At first I didn’t like the woman; I thought she was horrible with the child. I was trying to figure out if she was depressed, sick or mentally ill. In the end I felt sorry for her, but I felt worse for the child. I have a four year old, and I kept thinking of him as I read it. I could never do that to him, not in good conscious.

Although I did not like Faye, I can see how she would be the more likable character of the two. You have a tendency to feel sorry for her as she cannot bear children. Whereas the unnamed woman appears to be neglectful of her child. My reaction was completely emotional. As a mother it made me think of my children and or bearing children and I couldn’t separate myself.

2. I used to read all the romance novels in my early twenties, so I can see how readers are sucked in to romantic story lines. Faye and Kai had all the makings of a happily ever after. So there isn’t much not to like about it. For me the story was predictable and I did not care for Faye. In contrast, I was unable to follow A Sorrowful Woman. It was confusing and sad. I read it several times. The storyline was overwhelming to me to look at the skills of the author objectively.

3. Faye wants to have a family. The fact she unable to bear children has her very distraught. This issue is the core of her problem. She feels it isn’t fair to Kai to not have children of his own. She also...