Yonnondio: From the Thirties by Tillie Olsen

Yonnondio: From the Thirties by Tillie Olsen is one of my new favorite books. I just finished reading it for my Social Protest Literature class. Although it is an unfinished novel, it is worth the read because the author focuses more on depicting the realities from different perspectives than she does on where the story is going. In fact, I never found myself wishing something more exciting would happen because the descriptions and minute everyday tasks needed for survival written in a way that gave them so much depth and revealed the weight of capitalism and exploitaton. Actually, in some ways, it is more interesting becuase it is unfinished because it requires me to ask questions: Why did Tillie Olsen stop writing the novel? What made her decide to piece it together 30-40 years after not touching it? There are also scraps and drafts of parts that are not published with the full story. I have not read them yet but I hope to soon!

The book is different from the other proletarian literature that I've read so far because it is written with an experimental style. Different passages are written in different voices and Olsen uses flowery and poetic language to describe the the evils of capitalism and corporations. It is interesting to me that the book seems to become less experimental and more realistic toward the second half. I'm not sure why Olsen does this. 

The following are my comments on Olsen's depiction of the structure of the family in the novel, based on Barbara Foley's talk that she gave my class:

A central theme in Yonnondio by Tillie Olson is how the institution of the family coerces the exploited into adhering to capitalism. According to Barbara Foley, the family institution consists of the following: the father, who on the micro level represents the boss at home while producing paid labor to materially support the family; and the mother, who is responsible for the reproduction of labor both by taking care of food and home and by raising the next generation of laborers. Of course, the mother's labor is unpaid, and therefore not thought of as valuable by society and usually her own family--she is essentially a slave.

This structure of the family is seen in several passages in Yonnondio. The opening passage of the book shows how Jim believes women are inherently made for the home (2). Jim's behavior not only limits the collectivity and solidarity of his family and society on a larger scale, but also, according to Barbara Foley, hurts himself. This is evident in his strained relationship with his wife and children shown throughout the book.

Another passage where the structure of the family benefits capitalism is the scene where Jim rapes Anna, who is clearly sick (75). This shows that, in a patriarchal system, men believe that women should be their property, like a slave. In this passage, the structure of the family benefits capitalism because it reproduces the hierarchy of exploitation and prevents Jim from seeing Anna as his equal in terms of class and potential. If everyone in the town could understand how patriarchy divides the family and society, they would work together and have cooperative collective that would no longer require the meat packing plant and the corporations.

A final passage is at the end of the book, when Anna is working all day in the heat. Jim comes home and falls asleep, while Anna continues working. This shows how her labor goes unrecognized and is seen more as a duty. Meanwhile, Jim's hours are set. An interesting aspect of this passage that I noticed is how, if Anna does not take care of the house, food or children, then her children will die. Meanwhile, Jim's labor can be easily replaced, and his coercion to work is more overt. Also, Anna is required to multi-task and use her own intellect to solve any problems and obstacles; Jim's work is mindless and the tasks and tools are laid out to him. This shows that Anna's unrecognized and unpaid labor requires tremendous amounts of skill, endurance, and intellect--something that Tillie Olsen depicts well that other authors, such as Thomas Bell gloss over.