VEDA’S

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.7 Issue 3

An International Peer Reviewed(Refereed) Journal 2020
Impact Factor (SJIF) 4.092 http://www.joell.in

RESEARCH ARTICLE

CELEBRATION OF FEMALE SOLIDARITY IN ANNE TYLER’S CLOCK DANCE

Nikita Gandotra
( PhD scholar, Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.)
Email: [email protected]
DOI:10.33329/joell.7.3.20.93
ABSTRACT
Anne Tyler, a well-acclaimed ‘Southern’ writer, strongly influenced by Eudora
Welty, living in Baltimore and known for her fiction dealing with family
relationships and marital ties paints a remarkable image of women's unity
and empathy among themselves in her novel Clock Dance (2018). In order to
pursue a reason and break free from the monotonous clutches of her
everyday life, the protagonist Willa, in her early sixties takes the biggest
decision as soon as she gets a call for help from son’s ex-girlfriend’s neighbor.
She is asked to come for assistance because Denise witnessed an accident
and her daughter and dog need to be looked after. Without knowing anything
about the family, Willa sets out immediately for Baltimore to help. Her stay
with Denise and Cheryl shows an impeccable bond that is formed among the
women showing solidarity and gleeful enjoyment forgetting the patriarchal
framework for the while.

Keywords: Anne Tyler, Clock Dance, Female bonding, Patriarchy.

Author(s) retain the copyright of this article Copyright© 2020VEDAPublications

Author(s) agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 International License .

93 Nikita Gandotra
 VEDA’S
JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.7 Issue 3
An International Peer Reviewed(Refereed) Journal 2020
Impact Factor (SJIF) 4.092 http://www.joell.in

1. INTRODUCTION marriage. These protagonists accept the ways of the

contemporary woman they meet on their journey
The life of a woman upon marriage changes
and for the time being bunch together shoulder to
drastically when compared with that of a man. A man
shoulder creating an environment secure from
gets the privilege of staying with his kin and
oppressive control. The bond may be the final result
maintaining the relations as he was doing before. Yet
of the association and its effects or it may develop its
for a woman the case involves a shift with her move
own strength even as the association itself evolves.
from one family into another. The woman's entry
The resulting female solidarity in Anne Tyler’s fiction
into a territory where the man already exerts his
is an affirmation of liberation from patriarchal
power leaves her in a submissive role. Socio
conventions. As Beauvoir argues, “women’s
economic research in the United States, for instance
exploitation is historical .... Liberation must be
indicates that “women represent nearly half of the
women’s work. It is not a matter of appealing to men
U.S. workforce…[yet] they still devote more time
to give women their freedom… a matter of women
than men on average to housework and child care
discovering their solidarity...” (Bergoffen and Burke).
and fewer hours to paid work, although the gap has
In the novel Clock Dance, through the lead character
narrowed significantly over time” (Parker). This
Willa and her link with Denise and Cheryl, Tyler
dominant social structure ensures that men and
develops such solidarity; with Willa involving herself
women occupy distinct spaces in the public and the
in their routine while overlooking her husband Peter-
private spheres.
- emancipating herself from the prosaic everyday
Anne Tyler, an acclaimed and prolific concerns.
American novelist deals with the ways in which
2. MAJOR TRANSITION AFTER MARRIAGE
women function in the public and private spheres
within an overall patriarchal system. Tyler produces AND ABSORPTION INTO GENDER ROLES
strong images of characters that seem to be life like At the age of twenty-one, with a scholarship and a
and so open in their emotions that the reader feels bright future ahead, Willa decides to accept her
deeply engrossed in their stories. Baltimore, the main boyfriend Derek's proposal and gets married. She
setting for Tyler’s novels, despite being real seems then travels to California sets aside all her
like a fictional town. Life here appears to be aspirations. Her decision seemed relevant to her
monopolized by certain characters who are barely depending upon the “structure [to which she
concerned with the civil structure that exists around belonged that] lasted from 1830s to 1980, when the
them. Belonging to the Quaker community, Tyler’s US Census no longer automatically denominated the
accentuation of the ubiquitous influence of the male as head of the household…[but he was
“aesthetic of simplicity” and “impulse towards presumed as the head naturally]” (Bernard, 1981).
democracy and egalitarianism” gets unveiled through Derek assumes the role of the provider and Willa,
her works (Bail 15). This feature of subtlety can be who had intended to finish her degree after
discerned in her novels especially in the female marriage, shifts from this thought after her first
characters that remain bound to the homely setting pregnancy is declared. For twenty years Willa
and look for their freedom while confined to the continues to lead a routine patriarchal life that she
familiar milieu. Her novels are home based where conveniently adopts to be a good mother to her
money matters are usually not discussed and children and an obedient wife.
household life is depicted consistent with the
Derek's untimely death in his forties leaves
contemporary realities.
Willa bereft and anxious about the future including
Tyler describes sympathetically how her her graduating sons. Marriage had put her under
female protagonists within the oppressive structure, some bonds that forced her to be a conventionally
at some stage gain the ability to break free of the ties ‘good’ housewife, whilst as a mother she forgot
and look for a meaning in life that stood absent after about her ‘real’ self. The bereavement, and the

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 VEDA’S
JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.7 Issue 3
An International Peer Reviewed(Refereed) Journal 2020
Impact Factor (SJIF) 4.092 http://www.joell.in

departure of her children to whom she dedicated half service of men, not receiving anything from the other
of her life, led her to confusion about what her end. This is extensively discussed in The Second Sex
existence meant. While playing the role of a good by Simone De Beauvoir, where she cites Balzac in the
mother, "she was the only woman she met whose chapter "The Woman in Love" and says,
primary purpose was to be taken for granted" (93).
Among the first rate, the man’s life is fame,
Initially, having a family gives a woman an identity;
woman’s life is love. Woman is man’s equal
she feels she has built her world and no one else is
only when she makes her life a perpetual
needed. Yet much later the revelation comes to a
offering, as that of man is perpetual action.
halt as what happens to Willa when she discovers she
(632)
was in fact robbed off her identity.
Willa sticks to this trend without ever questioning the
3. REMARRIAGE AND DOMINANCE BY MEN dominant role of patriarchy in her life that had never
THROUGHOUT LIFE allowed her to feel and live freely. When she receives
In her work The Widows' Might: Widowhood and a call at the age of sixty-one and is asked for help as
Gender in Early British America, Vivian Bruce Conger her son's ex-girlfriend Denise was shot and her
builds on the Anglo-American perspective which daughter Cheryl and dog need to be looked after.
notes that a widow loses "half of her life" after her Here onwards we witness change in the character of
husband's death and remains the sole caretaker of Willa and her willingness to be the master of her own
herself and her children (28). She claims it is this life for once. She begins to plan her travel but Peter
widow's remarriage that can "restore order" in her maintains his power on all important issues and
life again (28). For a woman, her husband is a pillar of claims it as his right to take all decisions related to his
strength and a key decision-maker of the family. His wife. It's a journey for Willa in which she needs to be
death leads to ill effects on the physical and mental independent for once in her lifetime and find her
health of the wife. Willa’s predicament after Derek’s worth and here too Peter tags along with her.
passing is observed in her condition as she feels that 4. INDEPENDENCE FROM PATRIARCHAL
“with a husband you could turn and fling an arm
CLUTCHES AND BUILDING UP OF FEMALE
across him, set your cheek against his back, and
SOLIDARITY
nestle into sleep again. Alone she could only reflect,
and worry, and wince at something she said In her autobiographical work, The Prime of Life,
yesterday and dread something she had to do Beauvoir mentions an incident during which she was
tomorrow” (93-94). strolling in a park with Sarte and says

At first, the lack of a husband seems like an There was a kind of balustrade which
opportunity for Willa, as she presupposes that she served as a back-rest, a little way out from
has freedom and time to pursue her dreams that she the wall; and in the cagelike space behind it
had left behind, but these she lets go of this idea. The a cat was miaowing…. a woman came up to
sudden absence of emotional support and the fear of the bench, a paper in one hand, and
living an isolated life were haunting for Willa and produced some scraps of meat. These she
could have been one of the major reasons why she fed to the cat, stroking it tenderly the while.
remarried, and this time to a man eleven years elder It was at this moment that Sartre said: 'Let's
to her. Peter, just like Derek had dominance in the sign a two-year lease.' (23)
relationship and lived on his conditions but Willa
There is no connection between the woman who
again dissolved in the similar pattern where she had
came to feed the cat and Beauvoir, but she still feels
to move along with him “[leaving] behind an ESL
an inner connection with the lady when she sees the
teaching job that she loved” (110).
affection she showed for the cat. At the other hand,
The age-old traditions still remain where Sartre remains incompetent in this context, and all he
women were believed to devote themselves in utters is his tinkering decision about their

95 Nikita Gandotra
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JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.7 Issue 3
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relationship. Beauvoir’s conscious observation of the don’t” (187). She was living according to her wishes
woman shows “herself as the other who perceives for the first time and she had no intention of going
the response of another to need, and in so doing, she back to Peter any time soon.
participates in that same response to the other…
She finds a daughter in Denise that she
contrast to the self absorbed presence of Sartre”
longed for after seeing her sons' wavering
(Ward 37). Beauvoir believes herself to be the ‘other’
disposition, and Denise too sees a mother figure in
in contrast to the male counterpart. She feels a sense
her and says "Why, Willa, I'll be your daughter any
of empathy shared along with another woman. This
old time" (256). When Denise says that “you’re just
creates an imperceptible bond which develops the
going to… keep on being my chauffeur a while
concept of female solidarity among the ladies.
longer” (262), this idea regales Willa and she’s glad to
Willa wished to have grandchildren but the be counted as a worthy person in the life of someone
fact that her sons may never have been going to during their hard times. She helps Denise walk with
settle made her sorrowful. When she travels to her cast, prepares food, and enjoys daily hours of
Baltimore, her experience with Cheryl and Denise Cheryl’s favourite show. She hadn't changed her
instantly creates a deep connection between them. attitude and repeated the everyday tasks of life but
Cheryl mixes up with Willa and considers her as here the feeling was one of fulfilment and joy, her
grandmother. Willa also feels a strong sense of definition of adventure was the warmth she found in
responsibility towards her. For a nine-year-old, Cheryl the company of these two ladies.
was a smart child capable of being by herself but
5. CONCLUSION
Willa treated her as a kid and wanted to protect her.
When planning for supper with Sean, her only Margaret Fuller suggests in her work Woman in the
concern remains that she may have to take Cheryl Nineteenth Century, a woman should not rely on men
along “if Denise is not home by then” (148). for their permission and stop “being influenced by
them” (108). They should…
A wife is not supported by her husband
when it comes to pursuing her independence and retire within themselves, and explore the
self-development, while in effect she is absolutely ground work of life till they find their
vigilant in helping him in his goals. Willa was aware peculiar secret. Then…come forth again,
that “marriage was often a matter of dexterity” renovated and baptized… (108)
(162). She felt that “she’d spent half her life
When a woman moves beyond her limits, she is more
apologizing for some man’s behaviour” (187).
likely to embrace her identity, putting current
Arriving to Baltimore and living by her choice welled
relationships behind to enter a world where she feels
up a new courage in Willa. Watching Cheryl's
fit. And she can step back into those relationships
favourite series "Space Junk" with her, Willa finds a
after knowing what suits her best, as a stronger
perpetuating resemblance between the two women
personality without immersing herself in them.
that distinguishes them from the male partner as
Peter continues to receive texts and is indulged in When Willa prepares to leave Baltimore,
work. Cheryl responds with a passing remark “I hate “she begins to look at everyone here with an eye to
when people get texts” and Willa identifies with her losing them…. Denise’s dark—blond hair, shining like
easily saying “me too” (159). She lets Peter leave bands of satin… Cheryl’s dear, soft, pudgy cheeks…
Baltimore alone and feels “…very light hearted…it she dwelt on them, committing them to memory”
seemed strange without [him], but at least she could (263). Denise never thought she would leave them
stay out as long as she liked without worrying she one day, and had even planned for her to “go on
was neglecting him” (204). She gets so engaged with living in the guest room forever…. you and Cheryl all
Denise and Cheryl that when Denise says she has a lovey-dovey, with your private secrets” (281). Willa
life of her own and is going to be unable to take care wants to stay longer but she knows she has to return
of her for too long, Willa responds “not really…I to her real life where she belongs. As Delia in Ladder

96 Nikita Gandotra
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JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL) Vol.7 Issue 3
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of Years, after getting her retirement for a while and

realizing her actual place is her husband’s house,
returns to her hometown Baltimore. Similarly, Willa
also returns to Peter having found her redemption
among strangers. During this time she realized her
significance and learned to value herself above all
and ideally in any male-controlled world she will
continue to do so too.

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(1981): 1-12. Print.
Conger, Vivian Bruce. The Widows' Might:
Widowhood and Gender in Early British
America. New York: New York UP, 2009.
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De Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. Ed. H.M.
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De Beauvoir, Simone and Peter Green. The Prime

of Life. Translated by Peter Green.
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1845. Print.

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Their Careers for Family Life." Pew
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Beauvoir's Thought.” Hypatia, vol. 14,
no. 4, 1999, pp. 36–49. JSTOR.

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