In today’s reading of The Awakening, I found Léonce’s scolding Edna for not caring for her children and painting instead to be what stood out to me most. I was really upset reading that because women at the time didn’t have any other choice but to be a housewife, despite whatever interests they may have had outside of the home. It reminded me a lot of the story of Ballerina Farms that was getting a lot of attention around this time last year. Hannah, the main front of the social media pages, was a stay at home mother and social media influencer, and gained a lot of attention when her husband bought her an egg apron for her birthday instead of the trip to Rome she had asked for. Around this time, she had done an interview with a journalist, and the journalist noted the creepy story of how Hannah and her husband started dating. Hannah was a ballerina at Juilliard, and was taking a trip when Daniel, whose father founded five airlines, convinced his father to get him the plane ticket next to hers. He pressured her into going out with him, and eventually, she fell pregnant. Being a ballerina, getting pregnant was the end of her career. Being pushed to keep the baby, she dropped out of Juilliard and got married. The pair are Mormon, which contributed heavily to their entire story. Hannah became a stay at home mom, helping her husband out around the farm they run, and caring for their eight children. The only part of her old life she keeps around is a framed photo of her doing ballet in the kitchen, next to where she folds her picture perfect sourdough loafs, and a barre for her to maintain her skills. The building that was meant to be her ballet studio got turned into the children’s schooling building. Experiences like Edna’s and Hannah’s are part of my big fears around pregnancy at a young age. I get scared that the rest of my life will get thrown off if I get pregnant before I’m ready, which is hopefully a decade away.
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