The story contrasts the lives and ideologies of two sisters, Marlene and Joyce, and the resultant conflicts between them. Marlene is portrayed as a woman who chooses to sacrifice her family (and more importantly her daughter) to get to the upper echelons of the employment agency where she works. ... It is noteworthy that the fathers of Isabella and Lady Nijo are architects of their repression, as well as their husbands (particularly the Emperor in Lady Nijo's story and Griselda's Marquis Walter, whom she had to obey in all things, even to the point of giving up her two children at hi...

• Word Count: 3095
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate