What ideals of femininity and womanhood does the mother in “Girl” impart to her daughter? How does the mother’s past and her own life experiences likely influence the advice she gives to the girl? To what extent is this advice protective and to what extent is it restrictive to the girl’s future?

In “Girl,” the mother instills values of femininity that emphasize respect for influence, domesticity, and reputation. She stresses the need to prevent promiscuity as well as actions like cooking, cleaning, and maintaining a decent appearance. The mother instructs her to do her best as a dutiful woman instead of as just a woman. Pushing her ideals on her due to that being how she was raised. Due to that being all she knew to maybe help her daughter live a better life than her. But to push your ideals on your youth is to allow them to believe you want the to do exactly as you wish being that I’ve been in “Girl’s” shoes. As a fellow Caribbean and rebellious teen, those same pressures were somewhat up upon me and that influenced me to listen yet be my own person and figure out the world for what I envisioned it to be. 

The mother’s advice emphasizes the pressures women have to live up to stereotypes of what it means for women to be respectable and fulfill traditional responsibilities. But this is in times in which it was imperative for women to be the house doers and task accomplishments. Kincaid probably saw the world in a different lense due to the year she was born and what was going on where she lived. 

This advice to me is protective 40% and restrictive 60%. As a mother I envision all you can do is honestly give the life you’ve lived and the advice you have from that to your young. You can only give what you know, not what you anticipate someone to receive. That’s who she is. That 10% is the percentage that is fully her in my opinion. It accounts for everything she is saying she truly believes. But the rest is what she’s been programmed to know as anyone else. She’s only human. 60% restrictive because you can’t put limits on a growing human adolescent and think they will adhere to everything you’re saying without questions and wanting answers. As a child, I questioned everything and my family was so annoyed by this. Yet, if you don’t ask questions, how will you know the true answer? You won’t. So restrictive 60% because Girl didn’t even have the chance to get the answer she desired. Probably resented it and it went downhill from there. Yes, she may have obtained some of those attributes that were forced upon her but at what cost? The cost of not truly knowing what it was really wort.