As a mother, Eva is also shown to have an estranged relationship with Clara, the oldest child in the family. At first, Eva does her job as a mother without
affection involved at first. As she becomes more comfortable with becoming a mother, the connection with her other children also grows naturally. However,
Clara has become the victim as she receives the least care from her mother. Now one by one the children came, those that were able. Hannah, Paul,
Sammy. Too late to ask: and did you learn with your living, Mother, and what do we do now?
Clara the eldest clenched: Pay me back, Mother, pay me back for all you took from me. Those others
you crowded into your heart. The hands I needed to be for you, the heaviness, the responsibility.
Is this she? Noises the dying make, the crablike hands crawling over the covers. The ethereal singing.
She hears that music, that singing from the childhood; forgotten sound
– not heard since, since… And the darkness breaks like a cry: Where did we
lose each other, first mother, singing mother? Annulled: The quarrels, the gibing, the harshness between; the fall into
silence and the withdrawal. I do not know you, Mother. Mother, I never knew you.
Olsen, 1976: 116 On the
day Eva dies, Clara is one of Eva’s children who happen to be able to come. Upon seeing her mother lying down lifeless, she recalls her old days
being the oldest child in the family. Clara sees Eva as a mother who cherishes the other siblings better than her as the oldest child, even though it is not really the
case. A part of Clara wants her mother to pay back all the times she has lost, when she needs Eva the most. Another part of her, however, also regrets it. Clara is even
curious on how they become estranged as a mother and a daughter themselves. This big question itself is the riddle, the main problem, in the short story.
In conclusion, Eva is seen as the epitome of how a “good” mother should
be by her children. She goes along with what the society wants her to be. She always does her best despite the fact that she does her job out of obligation in the
beginning. She shows cares to her children and she does not want her daughters to experience the same stereotype
s related to women’s roles.
3. Eva in the Context of Gender Hierarchy
As explained in the previous part, gender hierarchy focuses on how cultures in a society influenced the view of gender in a hierarchical manner. Men
may dominate over women in some societies. In others, women may dominate over men. In the case of patriarchal society, the men dominate over the women.
Patriarchal society commonly takes place in 1960s. Liberal feminists describe it as a systemic bias against women. The society perceives women in relation to their
role in society. Later, liberal feminists conclude that oppression of women came from the underlying bias of a patriarchal society.
It is mentioned earlier that there is a certain structure in the patriarchal society. The structure is gender itself. Gender denotes the social phenomenon of
distinguishing males and females based on a set of identity traits. Men and women are constructed to behave and interact in ways that reflect their gendered identities.
The gendering process then produces socially constructed differences. As the result, the relationship between men and women also comes in
a hierarchical manner.
Since the story of “Tell Me a Riddle” takes set in the 1960s, the story
portrays the current situation set during the era. Eva, as a woman is receiving the unfair treatment from the society based on her gender. She is expected to act like
how a woman should act in the society. The women during the era are supposed to live a highly restrictive life with their life centered round their husband and
subsequently their children. As explained in the second chapter that there is a categorization of women, the roles of these women remain unchanged. The only
duty cast upon a woman is to keep her husband happy and raise her children for which they are trained right from their childhood days
. The rights which the women enjoyed were similar to those which were enjoyed by young children
whereby they were not allowed to vote, sue or even own property .
Out of the four category explained in the second chapter, the researcher concludes that Eva belongs to the Upper Working Class. The reason is because
she is married to David. She also has the duty to raise her children. Eva comes from a family with poverty as the background and has to do the house chores
which require physical works. However, she is different from the Lower Working Class women as these women come from poverty and took up low jobs like
prostitution, laborers, or any activity which involves physical exertion. These women also remain single all their lives, mostly. As a woman of Upper Working
Class, Eva cannot enjoy a life of luxuries. She is also not expected to take education and help in the family business. She receives just enough and it can be
seen from her ability to read and speak English as she is of Russian descent. As
mentioned earlier, she sings Russian songs towards the end of the story as Russian is her mother language.
In relation to the theory of gender hierarchy, categorization can unintentionally and intentionally happen in a society. Physically speaking, men
and women are different, which is natural for Eva and David to fall under a certain structure in the society. However, the standard of how both women and
men should act in a society is socially constructed. As the result, men and women are bound to fall under cultural stereotypes. In categorizing the differences
between men and women, one is automatically participating in the process of judgment and stereotyping.
The same thing also happens to David and Eva. In the story, the structure does not stop there. Other than being divided as female and male biologically,
they are also expected to be a woman and a man. This is due to the cultural background and traditional traits of masculinity and femininity in the society they
live in. This caused David to be able to out and play cards and socialize with other people and Eva has to stay home and take care of the children, doing house chores
as well. The society believes that David is the masculine one as he is a man and Eva is the feminine one as she is the woman. Specifically, Eva is expected to be a
“good” housewife by pleasing David and doing whatever he orders. Then, she is also expected to be a
“good” mother to her children by doing whatever possible to make sure they grow up well. The proof can be seen from how she David never
provides enough money and Eva ends up borrowing some money from people and she also has to manage the family finance.
On top of that, it can also be seen from the previous part that David never appreciates Eva as his wife. Despite the fact that Eva selflessly gives her best to
keep the family together, David acts like it is very common thing and Eva is indeed meant to do all the works. This also reveals the characteristic of gender
stereotype in the story. Even if a woman does all her might for the family, it does not need to be complimented as it is her duties to do so. This then leads to a
gender inequality in the society. Gender binary is also shown in this part as women are associated to the feminine duties in the society.
Researcher also tries to connect the story “Tell Me a Riddle” to Tillie
Olsen’s background. Researcher finds that there are a lot of similarities between the character Eva and the author Tillie
Olsen. Some of the most essential ones include the fact that they both are in a sense Russian. They also cannot have high
level of education because they are women, and they both lose their freedom upon marriage. Based on these facts, researcher concludes that the character Eva
represents Tillie Olsen and women in general. Olsen’s biography also provides
better idea about gender stereotypes addressed towards women that time. To conclude, Eva is a woman oppressed by the traditional view in society.
The society wants her to act in certain manners and fulfill certain standards as well. In order to be considered as a
“good” woman in the society, she has to fill these standards. Also,
there is a structure in the society and men have the advantages as they are higher in position compared to women. This is the
unspoken rule of patriarchal society. In Eva’s case, she plays along with the roles
assigned to her as she feels responsible for her husband and children.
B. Eva’s Reaction: Eva as “Angels” and “Monsters”
Eva and David are married for forty seven years long. Being a housewife and a mother, Eva has endured hardships for a long time while raising her kids on
her own. Now that the kids are all grown up, they have their own family and Eva is used to being alone in the house already. From being a busy mother and a
housewife, she becomes a less active woman. Eva spends much of her time simply sitting around, resting in the house. All she wants now is solitude and silence.
Different with the previous part, researcher highlights
Eva’s side as a woman of her own in this subchapter. She is bound to the roles of being
David’s wife and the mother of her children. However, the way she handles problems and
the way she reacts as a woman, without the influence of the society, becomes the main point.
This part also analyzes Eva as a woman according to the theory of Angels and Monsters by Gilbert and Gubar.
Later, Eva’s character development throughout the story can be seen through this theory.
1. Eva as a Woman
As their latest conflict is on how to spend their retirement days, David asks Eva to move to a place called Haven. It is a Florida retirement community
managed by his lodge. From the beginning, Eva refuses by saying that she feels more comfortable being in the house rather than anywhere else. She spends her
days as a mother of the children in house, it is natural that the house becomes her comfort zone and she wants to rest there in her old days.
