And Women Must Weep by Henry Handel Richardson

Key insights
 The story highlights the unfairness and disillusionment experienced by women in
society, as Dolly's emotions evolve from excitement to dejection, anger,
bitterness, and disillusionment.
 The use of the name "Dolly" symbolizes how society views women as pretty toys
to be dressed up and discarded by men.
 The dance in the story symbolizes the strict societal rules and expectations
placed on women, where they are passive and dependent on men for validation
and attention.
 The emphasis on attracting men and the constant need to please them reinforces
the oppressive gender norms and the limited agency given to women in the
society depicted in the story.
 The poem's refrain "but men must work and women must weep" reinforces rigid
gender roles and portrays women as weak and helpless.
 The debut at the ball is a reminder that a woman's attractiveness is judged by
others, not by herself, highlighting the societal pressure on women's appearance
and validation.
 The damage to her dress symbolizes the damage to her self-esteem, as she is
judged against harsh adult standards and found wanting.
 Dolly's agency is completely removed as she is objectified and offered up to
several gentlemen who reject her, highlighting the oppressive and undermining
nature of societal expectations.

Analysis
In “And Women Must Weep” by Henry Handel Richardson we have the theme of
confidence, acceptance, innocence, appearance, insecurity, control, rejection and
failure. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after
reading the story that Richardson may be exploring the theme of confidence. Dolly prior
to going to the ball feels confident within herself. Helped by the fact that she believes
she is wearing a dress that compliments her. However, when she arrives at the ball her
confidence soon fades to a sense of insecurity when she notices the dresses that the
other girls are wearing. This may be important as Richardson may be using Dolly’s
thoughts on her appearance as foreshadowing to the ultimate failure she feels later on
in the story when she is rejected by the gentlemen and she spends most of the evening
sitting in her chair rather than being asked to dance. It is also noticeable that Dolly gets
apprehensive and loses confidence the longer she is sitting in the chair looking at others
dancing. As a defence mechanism she hides her programme to suggest to others that
she is unavailable to dance with anyone.
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What is also interesting about the story is the fact that Dolly appears to be under the
control of her Auntie Cha. It is she who directs Dolly throughout the evening which may
leave some readers to suspect that Dolly is somewhat innocent of the way things are
supposed to be. All Dolly knows is that nobody is asking her to dance and those who
do; Dolly deems them to be unsuitable dance partners. Forced by others to dance with
Dolly. This may be important as Richardson may be suggesting that nobody at the ball
(apart from the schoolboy) is prepared through their own free will to dance with Dolly.
Something that is surprising considering that Richardson does not portray an
unflattering image of Dolly. It might also be important that Dolly lacks the confidence to
ask one of the gentlemen to dance when the leap dance arrives. It is possible that
Richardson may be suggesting that Dolly feels not only deflated by her experience at
the ball but defeated too. In reality Dolly is attempting to fit in with societies ideals and
she is clearly not succeeding. That is if success is based on a gentleman asking a lady
to dance. As it is Dolly’s first real ball the reader can assume that Dolly is still relatively
young. So the ball takes on a significance or importance that it may not necessarily
merit. Which may be the point that Richardson is attempting to make. She may be
suggesting that society and its priorities only lead to a sense of pressure for the
individual. Where prior to going to the ball Dolly was full of confidence. Yet this
confidence soon disappears when Dolly arrives at the ball. The ball symbolically
representing societal values and tradition. Another noticeable tradition that is carried out
throughout the story is the fact that except for the leap dance it is the gentleman’s
responsibility to ask the lady to dance. It is as though the choices of the lady (and Dolly)
are limited. Also any sense of freewill is taken away from the lady. Though this may not
necessarily affect Dolly in light of the fact that her confidence is low due to the fact that
the gentlemen at the ball are rejecting her.

The end of the story is also interesting as despite following tradition and doing as she
had been instructed by Auntie Cha. Dolly sees the evening as being a complete failure.
How upset Dolly actually is can be seen by the fact that she locks her bedroom door
and isolates herself from others before she starts to cry. Dolly has no understanding as
to why she should have been alienated by others at the ball. It probably doesn’t help
Dolly that she takes what happened at the ball so personal. There are sure to be other
balls that Dolly can attend. Should her confidence be restored but for the moment the
events of the evening are too much for her. It is as though Dolly is a victim of the
pressure that society can impose on the individual - having not been chosen by a
suitable gentleman to dance. Dolly has internalized how she feels rather than being
confident enough to consider that the loss was on the gentleman’s side and not hers.
Dolly who is still innocent when it comes to life experiences is a victim of societal
values. Values that are dictated by the male and not by the woman. If anything the
reader hopes that Dolly’s confidence grows and that she has learnt a lesson. Even if it is
a cruel and harsh lesson

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 Ethel Florence Robertson, an Australian woman, had to masquerade as a male
writer to get her voice heard. In the 19th Century it is apparent that there was
inequality for women literature writers as to men writers. This is evident through
many aspects of the short story and but also that Ethel Richardson uses a male
pen name to become noticed and intentionally be read.
 Sexist attitude prevailed within 1930s Australia. A woman’s main objective was to
find a man who would look after her. Socially the context depicts the story of how
women and men met and the pressure that was placed on women in order to
'gain' a husband.
 The Title is a quotation from a poem by Victorian poet Charles Kingsley “but men
must work and women must weep”
 It features a reference to western culture, where, when she comes of age, is
presented to suitors in her debut dance
 The repeat of ‘last’ symbolises that this is the end of an era and the beginning of
a new age in Dolly’s life
 Her aunts are preparing her, physically by dressing her up and mentally
 She stresses over the cloth of the material, observing how this new attire
changed her appearance
 The importance of appearances and optics is very clearly depicted ~ she’s happy
that she fits into the description of a pretty girl, pitying those who don’t, showing
the importance of beauty standards
 Importance in the ball seen in her physical reaction to it, the dress-up in
anticipation of it
 “Dolly” suggestion of how she’s being manipulated as a doll
 She’s supposed to fake her emotions, reflecting how she must amend herself for
her future partner
 The slightest imperfection attracted so much attention (the attention the tear
received)
 Even though it wasn’t even that large of a tear, it still caused all references to her
dress to be negative
 She must do so much to attract the men ~change her appearance ~change her
emotions ~put herself on display
 On the other hand, the men have their choice of women
 One doesn’t even have to ask, saying ‘the pleasure’ rather than asking ‘may I..’
 Even men are forced to dance, too, even if they have a fiancé – this facade
benefits no one except those who are good at the game
 Again, mistakes (in dancing) receive more attention than any positivity seen
 When the man messes up the dance, he doesn’t have to apologize, it is only her
induced mistake that needs an apology
 Smile holding back tears in the aftermath of the embarrassment
 Desperation – she wants a dance with every fibre of her being, willing anyone to
take her
 Also shown in how she chokes on a sandwich – her disgust with the pressure to
fit in
 It was thought to be shameful not to be attractive enough to draw in suitors
 The aftermath of this failure shows how rejected females who don’t jump at the
opportunity to serve men become
 She is treated like a fish taking a bite, not a woman finding a lover. Being a
woman, she must always accept, and never show the pain of rejection
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  For no fault of her own, she is deemed a failure to society despite all her efforts
 The jealousy shows in how she feels insulted by those who did manage to get a
dance
 Ends on an extremely sorrowful note

Title:
 It is taken from a Victorian poem “But men must work and women must week”
 Tells the reader that there is going to be a feminist streak in the story
 It is emotive (“weep”), creating an instant connection with the reader
 Makes you question your own beliefs by presenting the mentality without any
fluff, making you analyse your beliefs on the position of women in society

Setting:
 The extravagant ball
 It is symbolic of society’s values and expectations, the most obvious being that
men are the ones who choose and dominate
 There is also irony in this that despite being in a stereotypically feminine place
(the ball is supposed to be elegant and romantic), they are oppressed perhaps
even more here

Narrator and Perspectives:

It is given from a third-person perspective, which is good as:

 Unbiased view
 In order to get a holistic sense of a society of the time, one cannot portray just
one point of view. This allows the writer to portray a variety of mindsets of people
from all aspects of society, putting multiple lenses on the same face
 This holistic view allows the reader to see how social norms negatively affect not
only women (being forced to put themselves on display etc.) but also men (the
man forced to dance even though he had a fiancé
Themes:
Control

 Dolly is controlled by Aunty Cha, the men are told to dance even if they don’t
want to, showing the mould everyone has to fit in
 The only person who does what he wants – the young boy, is criticized, showing
how individualism is punished
 Those who fail the game are meant to feel as if they are not good enough, just as
Dolly’s first rejection came when she realized her dress was not as pretty as the
others’
 This and the other rejections culminated in the aforementioned destruction of
self-confidence

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The Patriarchy:
 The women are objectified and put on sale, the men are forced to fulfil the role of
prospectors
 Those who don’t fit in have to live on an apologetic note, having to swim against
the current for their whole lives
 Even the author herself has to change her apparent gender to be taken seriously
 Difference in the roles of men and women as society dictates a patriarchal set up
 Young girls must be likeable to their male counterparts
 Females can be rejected whereas males can’t
 “While she had to say ‘Certainly’ and pretend to be very pleased, though she
didn’t feel it, and really didn’t want to dance with him.”
 In both genders, people who don’t accept their place in society set by the “Aunt
Cha”s of the world have an uphill task to establish their own identities
 Dollies, and other females, have to fill the standards of money and beauty, in
order to be approached. On the other hand, a man could have whoever he wants
despite his appearance
 If men do something wrong, they have to do nothing. In fact, it is women who
have to bear the consequences and apologize, as seen by her initial dance

Rejection
 Those who don’t fit in have to live on an apologetic note, having to swim against
the current for their whole lives
 Dolly does not fill the standards of money and beauty, due to which she is not
approached

A Loss of Innocence:
 In what was supposed to be her most coveted youthful experience, she is instead
given a reality check

Insecurity:

 When Dolly is rejected, her self-esteem is crumpled completely

 We see how she turns from a confident young girl, who, in the beginning, even
stood straight in front of the window (as if presenting herself to the world)
whereas in the end, she is so fed up that she locks herself in her room
Literary Devices:
Symbolism:

 The characters and what they represent

 Dolly’s pale blue dress and the flowers in her hair represent her innocence
 The ball symbolizes the patriarchy
 Her banging her door is symbolic of her cutting herself off from society
 Tearing off the dress symbolizes how little value she attaches to it now
 The dress wasn’t the only thing crushed – so was her soul

Irony:
 Dolly has to make a mould for herself without expressing any individualism

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Characterization:
Dolly:

 Dolly is the young and impressionable protagonist, who is thrown into this sea of
absolute strangers and told to win their approval by fulfilling values which she
had no roles in created
 While not expressing individualism, she is still somehow told to carve a mold for
herself
 She does not fill the standards of money and beauty, due to which she is not
approached
 Even her name reflects how Aunty Cha manipulates her

Aunty Cha:
 Aunty Cha symbolizes society, its expectations, and its oppressive role
 She controls Dolly and eventually breaks her confidence when with her cruel
remarks when she wasn’t able to fulfill her expectations perfectly
 This control can be seen in how she tells her to modify her appearance: “Now,
Dolly, remember not to look too serious. Or you’ll frighten the gentlemen off”

The Schoolboy:
 The schoolboy symbolizes a carefree, nonchalant attitude
 Doesn’t care about clammy palms, goes on the dance floor despite being young,
trying to maximize fun by going after someone obviously not meant for him
 The antithesis to Aunty Cha and how she has made Dolly be
 He has the guts to accept who he is
 In a sadistic sense, he gives Dolly confidence as she knows that there is at least
someone who fits in even less than her
 Society has not yet sunk its long talons into his soft flesh

Style of Writing:

 Detailed accounts of Dolly’s thoughts – highlights her distress

 Lots of exclamations
 Detailed descriptions of the character’s behaviours, gestures and expressions –
intensifies feelings towards the central protagonist
 Reference of temperature to show the stress of the moment
 Long paragraphs and sentences to draw out the agony of the moment
 Description of Dolly’s clothes – the condition of her dress shows how she feels
 The title links to the final moment in the story

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