Response to Emily Feagin's "The Marriage of Ruth and Isaac"

Emily -

“The Marriage of Ruth and Isaac” is about the mother of a young girl, Ruth. The woman is upset because her daughter is getting married at the age of twenty-two, which the mother considers to young for marriage. The whole story is basically about the mother coming to terms with the fact that her baby girl is getting married and will no longer belong solely to her.

First of all, I really liked the overall plot of the story. I thought it was an interesting plot and something that lends itself to exploration. I also really liked the mother’s voice; it was very clear and distinct and I thought you did a good job conveying how she feels about her daughter’s impending nuptials.

That being said, I wanted more. Not only more story, but more explanation and exploration. The main area I want to see this in is the mother and her motivations. Right now, I’m not one hundred percent sure why she is the way she is. I understand that she is upset that her daughter is getting married so young, but I couldn’t help but feel that, the entire time I was reading, there was something more to her feelings. Maybe she married young, and it wasn’t exactly everything she wanted it to be, so she wants to save her daughter from making the same mistake. I just didn’t understand exactly why she was so resentful of her daughter. I get the resentment, but I think she would also be happy that her daughter has found the love of her life.

Also, I’d like to see more showing through scenes. With the scenes you have, you do a good job of characterizing your characters, especially the mother. However, I also felt like there was a lot of summary that could be made into scenes. I’d like to see more interaction between the mother and Ruth. I’d also like to see interaction between Ruth and Isaac and how the mother perceives it.

Lastly, I wasn’t really sure about the change. It felt kind of weak, especially in terms of what it has the potential to be. It just kind felt like the mother was like “Oh, my daughter’s getting married and she’s beautiful so I shouldn’t be mad anymore.” I just wanted more of an emotional impact from the ending.