Women’s Voice
As the title suggests the narrative charts the history of women from five different generations of Dorothy’s family tree. In Victorian England, Dorothy Trevor Townsend witnesses the subjugation of women and the female voice in the political realm. She takes upon herself to take drastic measures for women's suffrage by starving herself leaving behind her two children. Dorothy’s action for the cause seems to trickle down her lineage in one way or another as the women try to find their voice in a male-dominated society. All the women in her lineage have to struggle with their own versions of the ‘woman question’ through different generations. All the women quest for fairness and empowerment even though they face their own challenges according to the times. For instance, Dorothy’s; daughter Evelyn makes strides in the education realm and becoming an educator at a higher education institution. Furthermore, the narrative jumps to the 21st century and shows Dora a descendant of Dorothy affirming strong political stances.
A Woman’s Place in Society
While the narrative showcases how the women make strides in reinforcing the female voice in a patriarchal society they also struggle to find their place in it. The senseless act of the first Dorothy while noble still haunts and embarrasses her immediate descendants and have to live with it. She also leaves her husband after many years of marriage which raises the question if she indeed found autonomy or just disarrayed about her place in society. In 1950s, Dorothy Barrett falls into the conformity and roles expected of her during the times while trying hard to maintain her female autonomy. In 2007, her descendant has a wine-drinking session during a play date with the other kid’s mother discussing the anxieties of a modern woman. It highlights how women have a hard time defining their place in society even with the changing times and different eras.
Cost of Warfare
Various events in the narrative take place when there is a historical war happening in the background. When Dorothy Townsend takes on the cause of women suffrage, the beginning of the First World War is at the cusp. Therefore shows how the war had an impact upon the suffrage movement. Initially, it shadowed the efforts made by the movement before it would later contribute to giving women voting rights. When the oldest Dorothy makes her political stance the war is just starting therefore it costs the women in various ways. Specifically taking their male children from them to defend the honor of a nation that does not consider their rights. Fast-forward into the 21st century, Dorothy Barrett now an old woman challenges the American government on the Middle East wars. By consistently taking photographs of dead soldiers at a restricted area even though it gets her arrested time after time. It shows how wars cost society despite the times from the First World War in Britain to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in the modern era.
