Gail Godwin was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She was educated at the
university of North Carolina and Iowa, where she received her Ph.D in English.
She is a full time writer with eleven acclaimed novels and two collections of
short stories. Among the honors she has received in addition to her three National Book
Award nominations are a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment grants for both
fiction and libretto writing, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy and
Godwin is a great writer to learn about because her works are inspired by the era she
was writing in. She began writing in the '70s which was around the time of womens
liberation. Gail used that "woman power" type of role in a lot of her works. Women
in her stories were usually outspoken or unstatisfied with marriage. Godwin had a real
problem with marriage in her real life too. She was married twice and each marriage was
very short lived. It was almost as though she felt women weren't supposed to be tied
down with marriage and kids. One story of hers that reflects on her views of how
some woman are just not made for marriage and children is "A Sorrowful Woman."
"A Sorrowful Woman" is centered around a wife and mother who becomes
overwhelmed with her husband and child, and withdraws from them. Gradually, she
completely shuts them out of her life. Dissatisfied with being in and her ability to fulfill
the role as dutiful mother and wife, she tries on different approaches,but finds that none
of them satisfies her. She is accustomed to a traditionally specific role, and has a difficult
time coping with a more extensive array of choices when presented to her.
Set in a time when women had already established themselves as a mighty
force within the arena of equal rights. Godwin's protagonist is not so much dissatisfied
...