~ SPACE:
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE ~
Once we have studied the internal space
narrated in Adrienne’s hypertext, it’s time for us to study thoroughly this analysis by talking about
the external space of the narration in order to find a relation between the
author and her work.
As it had
been explained before (see internal section)
the action occurs in common places that exist through all
over the world (a bathroom, a bedroom, a maternity store,…) Nevertheless, we
also said that some details are found which can concrete more specifically that
the action occurs in a wider space, such as the United States of America. The
author, Adrienne Eisen, was born and still lives in the States. She works in
New York City, where she has her busy woman life plus her motherhood tasks. Do
you think that the fact that she lives in the States affects the narration? Obviously yes.
If
we take the same structure as I followed in my first reading, we will find
several factors which will help us to understand what I am trying to say. (You
can read the summary of those chapters by going to the sumary section) I’m
going to pick some statements said by the author as examples for all of us to
see the relation said before. I am also going to use my knowledge about the
United States as I had the chance to study abroad there last year. To be honest
this helps me a lot to understand some points which the author doesn’t pay any
attention to but that I think we definitely should.
Month one: “Your
finances”: The author names the kid’s
college tuition. This needs to be explained first. College tuition refers to fees which students have to pay to
Colleges in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_tuition).
Usually those tuitions vary from $5,000 to
$40,000 per year, depending on the quality of the school. As we can see,
college is a very expensive institution and therefore, most of the parents save
money from the time the baby is born to account for the “kid’s college
tuition”. We have seen that in many movies, but we never realize when we hear
that. This fact is true, though, and we can see how the author plays around
with language giving us some personal information about her original country.
Month two: “Your
friends”: The author talks about the book What to expect when you are expecting. That is a real book written
by Arlene Eisenberg. It has been called as “America's pregnancy bible” by the
website Alibris. There are over 9.1
million copies in print and it was the winner of the Parent's Choice
Foundation's 1991 Parenting Shelf Award (if you want more info about this book
click here). It is an extremely well-known book
throughout the United States and that is why the author chooses it for her
commentary. A foreign person like me would definitely understand what the book
is about, but wouldn’t pay much importance to it if he/she doesn’t know how
trully famous it is.
At the same time I would like to comment another funny factor which called my attention. It is interesting how she says “Then you will eat sushi.” In Spain eating sushi is not that usual as it is in other places like for example the States. While I was there I realized everybody there ate sushi. All the people like it and you can find it anywhere. In the grocery store, in restaurants as starters or meals, and even in the colleges’ cafeteria! Here we see the importance of the space of the author, compared to the hypertext.
Month three: “Your
naps”: In this part there are two things which I find interesting to
comment. Firstly, it is the recognition of the magazine People. This magazine is internationally known all over the world.
That is why there is no problem for us to understand what the author is trying
to say. But at the same time, it is published in the United States and it’s
about American celebrities and human interest stories, which states once again
my main point about the origin of the author in relation with her work.
Also
she names Hugh Hefner, and some
people might be wondering who is he? Well, according to wikipedia Hugh Hefner is an
American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy
Enterprises. Here we
go again. An American person, maybe known for some people or maybe not, who
doesn’t really need to be explained who is he, as the whole commentary is
talking about millionaires, but for an American it is clear what she is trying
to point out.
Month four: “Your
clothes”:
This time the author doesn’t give us any extra information. But there is
still one little detail that uncovers the nationality of Adrienne Eisen. At the
end of her commentary she says “drop a
hundred bucks for a pair of stretch panel jeans”. Can you find the clue I
am talking about? Bucks. That is it. What is a buck? I never knew until I came
to the States. A buck is a dollar. It’s the colloquial way to say it, though.
Maybe that means nothing to you, but it does to me. Once again Adrienne is
talking about where the space is, but we need to read more carefully to find
the clues to “resolve the puzzle”.
Month five:
“Your
model”: In this part the author names the magazine People again; but, we
already know its importance so I will comment the new extra information found
in the hypertext. The name of two international models are said: Cindy Crawford
and Liz Hurley. What can we learn from this information? Those women have
appeared in People’s magazine while they were pregnant. Adrienne says “You
will tell your friend who will not stop looking at your thighs that Liz Hurley
got huge”. Does a Spanish woman know that? Not really. She can talk about
Leticia’s big belly and compare it with hers but noone would use Liz Hurley, because
we hardly have seen any picture of her pregnant. That is part of the different
cultural knowledge that we have from the United States.
Month six: “Your
mucus”: There is not much to comment on this commentary. One thing named
that I don’t think Spanish people do realize about is how she says “You will
say (to God, or to no one), "Please please don't let me be having a
miscarriage”. <You will say to
“God”>. God has been actually named earlier before too, in month five when
the author said “you realize that God
makes women fat so that they look forward to having the baby to tote around”.
Did the author use the word “God” as a normal phrase like we use in Spanish, as
for example “No quiero oir ni Dios”? I don’t think so. The USA is a very
religious and conservative country. God belongs to each person, and each person
belongs to God. I have lots of American friends who state to be in love with
Jesus. If I hear that I don’t freak out, because I know the feeling that they
have towards God, Jesus and the Holy Bible, but to any Spanish person that
would be really really awkward to hear. What I am trying to point out is the
fact that God is used several times, and I think the author’s aim is not to
make fun of it, but in a funny way to express her beliefs. I don’t know if this
statement is right, but that is the way it makes me feel, knowing she is
American and how American people are.
Month seven: “Your
husband”: When the author says “buying a DD bra”
I wondered… and what is a DD bra?? I was surfing online when I found that the
DD size is the biggest size made for a bra; and that was when the text made
sense to me. It is another little detail that doesn’t give much information
when you are reading. As you read “all your bras will be small and you will
have to buy a DD bra,” you assume it must be a big one, but only if you have a
relation with the American bra measure you can totally understand it. In the UK
the bra sizes vary from AA, A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, J, JJ, to
K; whereas in Spain we use numbers as a measure that vary from a 75 up to 115.
Another “American sign” right there for you, my friends!
Month
eight:
“Your instincts”: In this commentary there is an essential factor needed
to be commented. In the narration appears the name “Andrea Yates”. She is a
resident in Texas, USA, who killed her 5 children by drowning them in the
bathtub in her house. That was a very famous item of news in the United States
of America during 2001. I found a very interesting article about this story.
Apparently Andrea suffered severe
postpartum depression and psychosis. Her case placed the M'Naghten Rules, a
legal test for insanity, under close public scrutiny in the United States and
that was her “excuse” to kill her children. (If you would
like to read more about this case click here).
This story had been in the media for a long time, and any american person knows
it. In the text is supposed that everybody knows what she is talking about but
in reality, only people from her social environment know the subject with
perfect accuracy.
Month nine: “Your
labor”: Finally, the last month, I believe it’s kind of the most neutral
one. The way a woman has a baby is the same in Spain, in the States or any
other place in the world. It always hurts, and what she is trying to emphazise
about the pain but after forgetting about it, happens too everywhere. However;
I found another detail which we can talk about, and that is “You will
not be coo-coo-cooing when you see the baby”.
Isn’t it attention-grabbing how we say “cucu” in Spanish to a baby (as for
example cucu.. tras!) and in English they say coocoo too, but written in an
English mode? And what is even more interesting is how they make it into a verb
just by saying putting –ing at the end of the noun? That is just English in
general. I just found it interesting because, even though that could be written
by an English, American, Australian or Canadian person, that could never be
translated into a verb in Spanish. That is a smaller example, which just gives
us more information about the author without having to know her biography. That
would be a general detail, but always good to be mentioned.
With
all those examples taken from the nice options that i chose we can observe how
the external space of the narration is much more interesting than the internal
one. In the external space we find little information that give away the
identity of the author without even having to know who she is. Also, we can notice how where the author is
from influences his/her work. This might sound like an obvious observation as
it is obvious that the author uses his/her own knowledge to base his/her work on, but… isn’t it
stimulating to find out the relation between the author and his/her work,
without having to ask to him or her?
If
you would like to know a bit more about what the internal space structure
Adrienne Eisen uses in her work Considering
a baby?, just follow the next link which will take you to the internal
space analysis section:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Index] [Adrienne Website] [Biography] [Works]
[Considering a baby]
[Summary] [Internal analysis]
[External analysis]
[Conclusion] [My blog]