Entry 68: Misunderstood Women

I’ve never been good about keeping a journal. It all boils down to consistency. There are days when I skip making an entry. Life can crowd out the time I need to write down my thoughts about a day’s events. I’ve also been reluctant to pose as an expert on the writing process. If I knew anything of value about writing, my work would already be in print. I went out on a skinny limb of a tall in 2022 when I shared my 365 days of thankfulness. The exercise forced me to put myself out there with my soft belly exposed. Thank you for joining me on my journey in the written word. Therefore, I plan to keep a journal in 2023 to document my progress. I will call entry 68: Misunderstood Women.

Note: I consider editing an important part of the writing process. Editing is where all the artistry happens.

My morning writing before I started Entry 68: Misunderstood Women

My morning pages went by fast. I am now working on chapter 42, but I should slow down and outline the next few chapters of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast since I decided to junk the last half of my NaNoWriMo book. The original is saved if I need to reach back for a part of the original story that I might want to include in this one.

I wrote two cascade poems yesterday, and I feel like these blog posts and the poetry I write sound redundant. Many complicated emotions are swirling around me, and I haven’t had time to process them. When things settle down, I’ll examine what it all means. I’m not too fond of drama unless I am the one creating it.

The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 68: Misunderstood Women

Dolly decides to visit Anna in this section of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Anna moved to the country with Vronsky. Dolly initially envies Anna, but she is glad to be going home by the time the visit ends. Veslovsky is also there visiting. Vronsky asks Dolly to talk to Anna about writing to Karenina to ask for a divorce.

Anna also tells Dolly that the doctor told her about a way not to have children after she gave birth to her daughter. This concept agrees with Dolly’s thoughts on the road as she traveled for a visit. Birth control was a revolutionary idea for women when Tolstoy wrote this book. Women had few rights, including the right to vote or hold office. Anna is in a very vulnerable position because she breaks many of the social norms of Russian society. She is starting to feel the pressure caused by leaving her husband for her lover.

What I’m listening to right now and Entry 68: Misunderstood Women

I put Amy Winehouse on the stereo this morning because I was sad. Her music always makes me think about how hopeless her life was. I listened to Back to Black and thought abouthow she was a woman who broke the rules.

The thing I am most thankful for at this moment.

I am thankful that women have more choices open to them today. It hasn’t been that long since we could cast a ballot for the person of our choice. I am so grateful I wasn’t born in the 1800s.

This old lady says

I remember the beginning of the Women’s Movement in the 1960s. There were bra burnings, and we dressed in miniskirts. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique. Today, I still feel like a misunderstood woman.

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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