59 pages • 1 hour read
Jayne AllenA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Through her main characters, Allen explores external and internal pressures that women, particularly Black women, must face when considering whether to have children. Tabby’s diagnosis of premature ovarian failure exacerbates the existing struggles that women face; she experiences her most fertile period in tandem with her crucial career-building years and must come to terms with the fact that her window for having a child is much smaller than she supposed. Tabby acknowledges that modern men are put off by women who are more focused on building families than on building their careers. Simultaneously, Tabby’s mother asserts that Marc would be better prepared for a more substantial commitment if Tabby “put less focus on [her] career for a second and more focus on him” (57). These interactions prove that the society in which Tabby lives does not support her journey to become a mother, even though she is still expected to become one. At 33 years old, Tabby feels shamed and belittled—even sometimes by the people closest to her—for not having children.
African American Literature
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Equality
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Friendship
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection