Journal #12 Sarah Winnemucca

Shirly Ong
English 48B
1 February, 2008
Journal #12 Sarah Winnemucca

Quote:
“Marriage is a sweet thing when people love each other.”

Summary:
Sarah Winnemucca is revealing the status of Piute women and describing how they work with their husbands under any circumstances. As a short conclusion, he uses this quote to show her view on marriage.

Response:
Sarah Winnemucca claims that the Piute women have equal status as the Piutes men. They do everything with their husbands. Taking care of the children is not only the women’s duties. They take care of their children together. They take good care of one another when they grow blind. The women even went to the wars and helped the men. According to Sarah Winnemucca, the Piute women “faithfully keep with [their husband] in all the danger they can share”. These traditions demonstrate the Piute belief in marriage. Unlike many other cultures, Piute wives and husband have the same responsibilities in their marriage. This is an evidence of how the Piute couples love on another. I agree with Sarah Winnemucca’s idea that marriage is sweet when people love each other as if the Piute couples do. Nowadays, many people find their marriage “not sweet” and decide to divorce. I think the transition from the old perception to the new perception is one of the major reasons. People used to perceive that men and women have different responsibilities in a marriage. However, women tend to fight for their rights and independence now. Unlike women in the past, women might now divorce and support themselves by working. On the other hand, many couples do not actually love one another. Marriage is not sweet to many of them. This leads to the high divorce rates, which are creating many problems in the society.