In our American society, females in a marriage or relationship are portrayed through the

stereotypical 'submissive role,' which has become so common that is has often been
expected of the female. In juncture with this subservient role, the male's dominance
originates back to the beginning of the human race, and relations between a man and a
woman. These roles were thus formed by the physical ability of the male dominating over
the female in most situations. Even in today's era, with the improvements and developments
in equal rights and women's right, this passivity of women is still presently seen through
society, as depicted through "The Hand" written by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette by literary
techniques such as mood, imagery, conflict, symbolism, and other elements. It seems well
enough that these roles are inbred into our society; a male is raised to take charge and
dominate, and a female is taught to conform, and that their place is behind a man, and not
alongside of him. In "The Hand," the author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette conveys the
submissive role of women and how it is so expected that from fear of changing the situation
due to societal views, women often conform to a male's dominance.
As the young bride's husband sleeps, the wife remains awake, supporting his head proudly
so that he may rest in comfort. In western society during this time, women were taught to
provide support and be soothing towards their husbands in order to ease their live. Yet, as
the husband sleeps, Colette makes sure to display that he still holds the power between the
two beings. The young bride, meanwhile fears of moving and disrupting his sleep,
illustrating to readers that society has unconsciously forced a sense of authority over her,
even if the young man did not force it upon her. When the husband twitches, the bride
blames herself and states in paragraph 8, "I'm so heavy I wish I could get up and turn
the light off. But he is sleeping so well." With all that the young bride has learned through
the teachings of society, she, as a submissive female, must do all that she can to satisfy her
husband, even if it entails sacrificing her own comfort for his. In the following paragraph
(paragraph 9), Colette writes, "the arm twisted again, feebly, and she arched her back to
make herself lighter." Unconsciously, whether the young bride is aware of it or not, she is
displaying obedient and passive behavior towards her husband, succumbing to his ever
want and need, and eventually resulting in her unfulfilled life as a young woman.
As time progresses, and the newlywed couple continue to lay together, the young wife
begins to notice small features of her husband's hand. She states, in paragraph 15, "The
thumb stiffened itself out, horribly long and spatulate, and pressed tightly against the index
finger, so that the hand suddenly took on a vile, apelike appearance." In this hand, that she
once regarded with fondness, she now sees a disturbing image, and through the use of
words exclaims that the thumb and index finger, now pressed together, took on a sexual
form, a sight that unnerved her immensely. With newly found astonishment, she becomes
disgusted by the sight of her husband's hand, and due to her naivety because of society's
limitations and expectations, she exclaims in paragraph 16, "Oh!" Her exclamation of "Oh!"
demonstrates that her fears pronounce her awareness about his hand: strong and in a
disconnect way; it belongs to a man who exercises authority, possibly unjustly and
oppressively. She, overwhelmed by the lack of position in this relationship becomes
frightened, and sees her fears, in herself and in her marriage. In this hand, she discovers
that the true disgust lies not in the marriage, but within her own internal self.
Sidonie Colette continues to tell the story of the young bride and her husband and
throughout it, uses character description to emphasize the unbalance of power. In their
relationship (as well as in many others during this time) the husband overpowers the wife,
both physically and emotionally. The young wife was describe in paragraph 1 as "slim and

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adolescent," while the husband on the other hand was described (also in paragraph 1) as
having physical and mental prowess, being a "handsome, blond young man, recently
widowed, good at tennis and rowing" Through these words, Colette depicts to the
readers the evident roles of the sexes. The author then proceeds to develop the image of
the husband's arms and claims that he has hands that are larger than the young wife's head
and "powerful knuckles and the veins engorged by the pressure on his arm," as seen in
paragraph 13. By using these words to depict a character, Colette demonstrates imagery-
illustrating a man that is almost an animal of sorts. This is supported through the young
wife's exclamation in paragraph 10, where she states, "It's as if I were lying on some
animal." In this notion, the animal is something that takes control, and can been seen as
offering no mercy. This hand of the young wife's husband, has begun to take on a whole
new form, which worries her, and shows to readers all of the troubles she faces, as a
submissive part in this relationship.
Through characterization, Colette expresses features of the husband as a tool that
exemplifies the imbalance of power between the man and the woman. Pronouncing that the
husband has a hand that "took on a vile, apelike appearance," and "lowered its claws, and
became a pliant beast," (as seen in paragraphs 15 and 17) bears the image of a dominate
male who controls the relationship, and shows the submissive female fearing the authority
that is imposed upon her. In all aspects of the relationship, the male uses his physical
supremacy to augment his position. The feeble wife remains in her position, too terrified of
what the dominance may do to her if she were to wake him. Disregarding the fact that the
young wife is discomforted by the light in her room, and she desperately wants to turn it off,
she relinquished the need, in order to not bother her husband.
The imagery of the room as well as the characters support the notion of sexual roles in
society, and depict how a woman must do the accepted thing, as asked by her, in the
presence of men. Sidonie Colette points out the young wife's room in paragraph 3 as
"apricot-pink through which the first light of day filtered into the room where she had slept as
a little girl." Through this she states that the young wife was associated with light colors that
resemble femininity: pink, red, apricot, yellow, etc- while her husband is related to colors of
blues and greens, colors of masculinity. In this bedroom that the young couple share, the
curtains are a shade of "periwinkle," a mixture of blue and purple, which resembles that the
blue is more dominant in this color, and essentially, in the marriage. By making the
statement that the young bride had slept in a room that was previously the color of pink is
necessary in supporting the notion that she has conformed and accepted the ways of the
male, taking on his natural color as her own. It is not as though the couple room was
painted the color of red or dark pink, rather, it is now a color that resembles a male, and his
authority, his dominance over her own meek person.
As the story develops, the young bride notices a darker side to her husband. Prior to her
epiphany of her marriage, (one in which she feels overwhelmed and claustrophobic, as
though she has simply been passed on from man to man) the young bride did not realize
that she was unconsciously succumbing to her husband's desires (although they were not
prominent) and did not notice that he had any power over her. Upon coming to the
understanding of the hand, the wife realizes his physical potential to inflict harm. Although, it
seems as though the husband is anything but abusive towards his wife; it is not stated that
he actually torments his wife purposely and he seems to be quite the gentleman, especially
in paragraph 22 where the husband says, "Do you want this slice, darling? I'll butter it for
you." Metaphorically, Colette shows the readers that through the young wife's thoughts and

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beliefs, the hand could cause explicit damage. In this story, the hand is one of the greatest
symbols used to demonstrate the roles of sexes. Through the wife's imagination, the hand
takes on the characteristics of an animal. This is quite similar to the barbaric-life role of a
dominating male in a relationship.
In paragraph 17, Colette writes, that the hand is "offended, reared back and tensed up in
the shape of a crab and waited, ready for battle." When the wife becomes disgusted with
her husband's hand, it begins to take on animal-like qualities, as if it were offended and now
takes a defensive stance. Not only does the hand impose symbolism, but this type of
behavior is a metaphor for the two roles in many relationships. During this century, the male
is often the controlling one in a dominant-submissive marriage. If the wife does not comply
and follow specific orders and requests, the husband may lash out and strike, whether
through physical or verbal, or even emotional matters. In most cases, upon the hurt
emotions of the wife, the male, (due to such dominating and proud qualities) denies any sort
of behavior on his part. There is support in this notion, found in paragraph 19, where Colette
writes that the hand "appeared to respond to this startling discovery, this disgust. It
regrouped its forces" Through the use of diction, Colette symbolizes the hand as a male
who becomes defensive upon knowing that he is guilty of an act he may have preformed,
but by "regrouping its forces" the male does not accept any form of responsibility. So, in a
sense, the hand is both a symbol and a metaphor for the couple's dominating and
submissive marriage.
By the time the short story begins to come to a conclusion, the young wife has realized the
power her husband holds over her. Ironically, as it seems that society would not deem this
plausible, Colette signifies that the young wife has the ability to free herself from this
unfulfilling destiny in which she will always be displeased and feel as though her husband's
hand is choking her. After all, the young woman is extremely feeble and hopeless when it
comes to the grueling effects of a male, especially in such a marriage. Through diction,
Colette demonstrates that the hand is encompassing everything that has to do with the
young wife's life, including her fear of men and intimacy. Colette shows that the wife fears
intimacy by stating in paragraph 15 that the hand "spatulated," which refers to a sexual
symbol that worries the young woman. Regardless of what society may allow, the young
woman chooses to succumb in this relationship. The final line in paragraph 25, "Then she
concealed her fear, bravely subdued herself, and, beginning her life of duplicity, of
resignation, and of a lowly, delicate diplomacy, she leaned over and humbly kissed the
monstrous hand" expresses to the readers that not only did the young woman decide not to
change her situation (though it seemed a feeble matter to try for society had instilled a set of
rules to following, the ability to conform being one of them) but she also accepted her role
as a submissive partner in her marriage.
To readers, one may believe that the young woman chose security in the dominate role, as
opposed to her independence, because it was easier for her. In these sorts of relationships,
women are comfortable knowing that they do not have to make any decisions on their own,
and are assured that it is normal to uphold such a submissive and passive role in the
marriage. As it is probably the case with this newlywed bride, most women are too nave
to even make their own decisions, as they have never done so before, being controlled by a
dominate male in their adolescent life (often their father or uncle) or their husband. Being an
adolescent, the young wife did not know of any other love and was experiencing a new life,
something that to her, was scandalous and exciting, similar to a "kidnapping," as she states

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in paragraph 3. In the young bride's perspective, the submissive role is much easier to
attend to as it is more familiar than an independent role, similar to a man's.
Sidonie Colette depicts many of the reasons for the reasons of the roles of dominance and
submission. Beginning quite a long time ago with the domineering male role, the female
was naturally obliged to take up the assumed passive role in the relationship. Forced to
obey the rules, physically and emotionally, the women complied with the expected behavior
and were only given the opportunity to escape from these roles during the advancements in
women's rights of the early 1920s. In "The Hand," the young wife draws in her mind a
symbol of her marriage to the handsome young man, and through her fears of reality,
readers learn that her marriage to the young man is, in reality, a misguided justification for
love. The newlywed bride is strangled by the marriage, and is choked by her husband's
power; she is forced to be happy, when she certainly is not. Through the disgust the young
bride has for the hand and the abhorrence of her marriage, Colette creates a theme of a
love that is forced and what the roles of the sexes entail. Women continue to accept the
roles imposed upon them as they have for thousands of years before. Neither man nor
woman want to set out to change these roles, and society plays a great degree in ensuring
that these roles are taught to the younger generation at an early age, ensuring that a
woman knows her place in the future- behind a man, and never completely equal to him.

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 Sidonie-Gabrielle
Colottw (1873_1954)
"The Hand"

*Introduction:
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was born in Burgundy, in France in 1873 and dead
in 1954. She lived a long and remarkably diverse life and during her career
she supported herself as a novelist music hall performer, and journalist. One
of her best known work was "The Hand" signals a telling moment in the life of
a young bride.

*Theme:
-The gender role in marriage during 1920.
-Marriage

*Characters:
-The wife is the protagonist in this story , she is the central character.
-Husband.

*Sitting:
-House "The bedroom"
-20 century.

*Narrator:
-3rd person.

1-What is the plot in the story?

2-What is symbolism?
3-What is the strongest symbol in the story?

The Hand of Symbolism (On The Hand, 9/9/08)

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18

MAY

2011

Leave a comment

by Pop Culture Literary in Literature-based essays Tags: Colette, essay, Literature, short story, Sidonie-
Gabrielle Colette, symbolism, The Hand

(I do not have a works cited page for this essay, but all quotes from Gabrielle [for those wanting
confirmation] were taken directly from the story itself.)

Carla Vangrove

Amber Paulson

E 140

9 September 2008

The Hand of Symbolism

In Sidonie-Gabrielle Colettes short story The Hand, symbolism is crucial to understanding the exploration
of femininity and masculinity. The husbands hand represents masculinity, and the pink mentioned in
different shades represents femininity. Without understanding the concept of symbolism, the reader
merely sees a story about a woman who picks out peculiar things to be embarrassed about. What the
story truly focuses on is the wifes exploration and discovery of the masculinity which she finds in her
husband versus the femininity in herself.

The pink symbol is established in the first three paragraphs, before the wife has really started her
exploration of masculinity. Their bed is a periwinkle, a color that can either refer to a purple-blue or a
soft pink-purple. This familiar object is periwinkle because femininity is familiar to her. Her mouth,
another familiarity to her, is also described as being pink.

She leaves this familiarity of pink when the curtains are mentioned. Here, her exploration begins. Every
detail counts in a short story, and yet Colette describes that curtains as blue, and brand new instead of
the apricot-pink (Colette 283) that used to hang in the room. Blue is typically associated with being
male. The change from pink curtains to blue represents her transition from only knowing about females

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to finding out more about males. She is a newlywed and never had to pay attention to, or acknowledge,
the male aspect of life.

When the wife is done acknowledging the familiar feminine side of life, her attention strays to the
unfamiliar. Her husbands hand takes her attention for the rest of the story, both disgusting her and
holding her interest. The first thing she notices is its size. Men are typically larger than women, both in
body and presence. She recognizes this right away when she says, It really is bigger than my whole
head (Colette 283). She notes its strong appearance and bulging veins, emphasizing that this is a mans
hand. When the screaming of a cars tires interrupts the silence, his hand closes, tensed up in the shape
of a crab (Colette 283) and waits for battle until the car tires are gone. Typically, men respond to danger
and disturbances with a display and preparation of their own strength, should it be needed.

The difference between femininity and masculinity in The Hand displays itself in the middle of the story
when both symbols meet for a mere instant. The wife notes that his nails are varnished with pink, and
makes a note that varnish and pink dont go with a hand so (Colette 283) masculine. Her realization
may not register in her newlywed mind, but as she says this, she reveals the plot to the readers. At first,
the masculinity she discovers frightens the wife and puts her off. By the end, however, she comes to
accept it. Kissing her husbands hand symbolizes her acceptance of the newest element in her life,
completing her journey between pink and hand.

SSRJ#2: Colette

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Personal reaction:

The Hand by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette made me feel sad about the idea of how easily someone can
fall out of love for a person. The element which Colette used the best to her abilities that seemed to the
most intriguing to me was the use of symbolism throughout the short story. It reminds me of my sister
who has also known a man for a month yet talking they are discussing marriage.

Literary element:

In the short story The Hand, Colette uses symbolism to her advantage by expressing the idea of being
opposed young people rushing into marriage with falsehood idea of what they think their lover is like
compared to who they really are. In the story The Hand Colette bases the story on a wife who has
married a man she has known for a month and through one night she begins to come with the terms
that she does not know who she married.In the beginning, the wife is smitten and admiring her husband
as he sleeps, as time progresses in the night, Colette makes the character no longer face her new found
lover, and the character begins to notice her husbands repulsive hands. Colette then makes the hand its
own individual entity as she uses it, to waking up to the sound of a screeching car. The idea of the hand
having its own entity symbolizes a side of the husband his new wife did not know about. Through out
the night, the hand takes shape two times the first one is an ape, apes usually symbolize falsehood,
Colette is revealing to her character the man she knows is not the man she loves, and may in fact not be
the man who she thinks him to be. Secondly the hand then takes in form of a crab claw, both animals
crab and ape are aggressive creatures this reveals the man is himself a very dominant and aggressive.
This aggression can also be shown when her husband is laying in bed and the hand has a bad dream it
dug into it (the sheets) with its curved fingers, squeezed, squeezed with the methodical pleasure of a
strangler. This startles the woman showing as she says Oh! the exclamation shows she has not seen this
behavior in her husband.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes? What interested me about Colette's story is the
symbolism of a husband's hand. Used in this way, it disguises the literal interpretation of marriage,

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possibly becoming a mockery. Colette allows for the broader interpretation of marriage. She brings
meaning beyond a conventional description of marriage, but not as a necessary institution. In the course
of being together, does love justify a marriage? Colette answers this in a great way by making the
husband's hand more of a symbolic instrument. Her story could be describing power and dominance,
becoming Colette's central theme to the meaning of the story.

'The Hand' describes a newlywed couple, mostly exploring what a very young woman is feeling as she
becomes aware of her new marriage. She lies beside her husband, in cozy but strangely different
surroundings than in what she grew up. While he sleeps, she draws in her mind the details that are
shaping and outlining their estranged marriage. There were details, missed or ignored; but now reveal
the real man she married and whom she knows little of. Her fears pronounce awareness about her
husband's hand: strong and in a disconnect way; it belongs to a man who exercises authority, possibly
unjustly and oppressively. Colette's subtle use of the hand is beyond anatomical: it is the terminal part of
the human arm used for holding and grasping, an instrument used for the good of humanity but also
used to act out harshly and cruelly.

Could Colette be disguising an accurate interpretation of love and marriage between two people:
intending to live together more for sexuality, forsaking principles of domestic partnership? First, comes
love, then comes marriage, and then comes a mockery? 'The Hand' will show you the way.