There are several ways that one can use in observing or studying the position of women in a society. Literature has in recent times emerged as a favorite avenue for this form of investigation because most of the materials presented are usually done in a candid manner and as a result, depictions of women can be done intentionally or unintentionally thus providing an individual who is analyzing the publication a wide range of possible angles and illustrations of how women are treated by a given society. In the event that the literary material features dialogue, a researcher can also get to share the introspective look that women have of themselves in the society. In this exercise, three stories namely The sacrificial egg, A Mad Mans Diary and Storm in a Teacup will be analyzed with respect to their depiction of women. .
In the first story A Sacrificial Egg, the story is about a town that owes its wealth, success and growth to its position as a trade center where merchants from a host of neighboring communities come to exchange their commodities. The villagers however have a belief that the towns success is the result of a female goddess who blesses them each morning with a ritual. This goddess is said to take on the form of an old woman who casts a spell that brings good fortunes to the traders by attracting business to the village from distant lands in the different directions. What this means is that the villagers view women with high regard and as divine beings in nature. The fact that the goddess is a nondescript old woman probably forces them to treat each and every old woman in the village with respect lest they offend this deity. At the same time, the villagers also believe that extremely beautiful ladies are likely to be supernatural beings from the river. This is likely to indicate a similar theme of reverence for women since the river caries water which is associated with life.
