Women have always had it worse than men but not worse than minorities. In the book “The Song Of Solomon” women were abandoned and used. The book had no shortage of women with problems. Women in this time period had it extremely rough. We will addresses these problems and how they came to be. Women were used by men, mistreated, and abandoned in “The Song of Solomon.
Some women who were used and abandoned were: Hagar and Reba. Hagar was Milkman’s lover who genuinely cared for him. Sadly the feelings weren’t mutual and Milkman constantly rejected her. Basically Milkman used her for sex and dumped her which was a bad idea. Hagar soon went hunting for Milkman and that didn’t end well. Reba was different in how she was used.
Reba was a lucky woman but not lucky when it came to her choice in men. She was attracted to abusive boyfriends who used her for money. Reba was Hagar’s mother but not much is known after Hagar dies. Reba was a good woman who was attracted to the wrong kind of man. Hagar even used Reba for money at one point. She wasn’t treated fairly except by her own luck.
Some women who were mistreated were and abandoned were: Hagar and Ruth. Hagar was mistreated by Milkman. Hagar was used for sex by the man she loved and then he broke her heart. Not long after that she went mad and tried to kill him. She didn’t succeed and she became sick. Then she died used and hurt by her lover.
Ruth was also mistreated by her lover Macon Jr. Macon Jr was so mean to Ruth he talked down or talked about her any and every chance he got. Ruth’s father the only man she believes truly loved loher died and that left a big mental scar. Ruth is constantly put down by her husband but doesn’t leave him. He also mistreats her by rarely or not making love to her since Milkman’s birth. Ruth had a hard life living with Macon Jr.
The woman who was just abandoned was Ryna. Ryna was left by Solomon aka Macon Sr’s father. The abandonment drove Ryna crazy. Ryna stopped caring for Macon Sr so a woman named Heddy cared for him. In a way she was abandoned by her husband, then she abandoned her son, which led to her son abandoning her. There is a legend saying you can still hear Ryan’s cries from insanity.
In conclusion, most women in “The Song of Solomon” were treated bad with few exceptions. The women like Ruth toughed it out and eventually stood up. Others like Ryna crumbled. Women are strong and a few women in the book represent that well. Women are strong deal with being used, mistreatment, and being abandoned.
