Slave to the Man
Xavier Dry, Year 9
The police officer held Elizabeth in a vice grip.
“Please Officer,” yelped Elizabeth, “I have to get home to my loving husband.”
Elizabeth choked when she uttered those words, for she knew she was lying. Elizabeth could not stand the thought of returning back to that wretched household with that despicable man.
“I’m sorry Ma’am,” bellowed the police officer authoritatively, “You may not return to your husband; you are under arrest.”
Tears welled up in Elizabeth’s eyes. “How did I manage to end up in this predicament?” she thought to herself.
On the morning of Elizabeth’s arrest, she awoke at 6:30am to make her husband, Henry, a hearty breakfast. She made sure she included all his favourite food in that meal to satisfy all of her husband’s desires. Elizabeth was a fantastic wife. She cooked, she cleaned and she was compliant to her patriarch. However, Elizabeth was so much more than a pretty face, yet Henry failed to acknowledge this. She would always think to herself in a serious, albeit humorous way, pondering whether or not Henry would ever acknowledge the traits that she was most proud of; after all, women are now allowed to vote. After that fateful day when it was announced that women were now allowed to vote, Elizabeth thought that maybe, just maybe, Henry would treat her as an equal. Every day, Elizabeth now has less and less faith that her husband will ever see her as equal to him.
“Good morning, dear!” chirped Elizabeth, garnering no response from Henry. “I’ve made your favourite foods to give you enough energy to sustain you throughout the day.”
Once again Henry did not offer any sort of response. He dug his fork into his bacon and eggs, elevated it to his mouth, and bit down. Elizabeth always hated the way he ate his food, not closing his mouth and making incredibly obnoxious chewing noises. Despite all this, Elizabeth was able to suppress her thoughts and continue as this ‘dream wife’ to Henry.
“Done,” shouted Henry, startling Elizabeth a little bit. “Clean up after me, woman.”
Elizabeth clenched her fist, “Sure dear. Do you want anything else?”
Henry ignored this question, stood up and walked out the door to make his way to work.
Elizabeth sat at home all day with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. She had already cleaned the house twice, washed all Henry’s clothes and prepared what she was going to make for dinner.
“It is 1925, why can’t he treat me like a human being?” thought Elizabeth.
This thought kept dwelling in her mind, plaguing every thought she had. She tried to distract herself by listening to some tunes on the radio, but all she could think about was how miserable she was. She could not believe how stupid she must have been to have ever loved this man.
“I can’t believe myself,” said Elizabeth to herself. “I have been stuck in this marriage for only five years now, and I already want to break free from these chains.”
Elizabeth was now almost shouting, as if she was arguing with someone. “Nothing is ever going to change that man. He will always be rude, he will always be disrespectful, he …. he ….” Elizabeth was now choking up. She had never expressed this much emotion in her life. She coughed up her last few words. “He will always be a pig.”
Elizabeth could not believe what she had just said. Did she really think this way of her husband? She sat back down in her chair and started sobbing to herself, hoping the time would pass more quickly.
The clock’s unforgettable bell started to chime. It was 5 o’clock and Henry would almost be home. Elizabeth leapt up from her seat so she could greet her husband at the door. As if this manoeuvre were rehearsed, when Elizabeth arrived at the door, so did Henry.
“Good afternoon dear! How was your day at work?” questioned Elizabeth, not expecting any sort of response.
Henry looked Elizabeth dead in the eye, tensed up his body and began to shout, “I had a horrible day at work! Your horrible breakfast gave me a stomach ache, you stupid woman! Learn how to cook or else there’s absolutely no reason for you to even exist! I’m the one who has to do everything around here! I am the reason that we even have a roof over our head! The least you can do is cook a good meal, yet you still manage to bugger up that simple task! All you are is a good-for-nothing stupid woman!”
Elizabeth was shocked. She had taken verbal abuse from her husband before, but nothing like this!
“I don’t know how to respond,” replied Elizabeth in a shaky voice. “You’ve never expressed this sort of discontent with me, but the fact that you had the nerve to even think that you do everything around here seems ludicrous to me.” Elizabeth wanted to stop talking right there and then. She was so scared of what her husband was capable of, but she had so much bottled up rage that she could not stop those lips of hers from moving. “You’ve treated me with so much disrespect over the last five years and, quite frankly, I am done with it. I have been subservient to you, fulfilling all your requests and desires, yet you have not reciprocated that at all.” Elizabeth took a step back, “Take a good look at my face, memorise all its features, because this is the last time you’ll ever see it.”
With that Elizabeth was out the door and walking down the street. She walked nearly a mile from her house until she was stopped by a policeman.
“Ma’am,” I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop walking right there,” said the officer.
Elizabeth realised she was out walking in the streets without the assistance of a male. The police officer took her by the arm and dragged her to the station. At this point, Elizabeth could not care that she was being arrested. She was already so fed up with this day and the life she led.
“Take me away, Sir,” she cackled. “Take me away from all this oppression and hatred. I’m not even acknowledged in my own house by my own husband. In prison, I’ll be amongst my equals, amongst people who are like me. In prison, I’ll no longer be a slave to the man.”