Summary Of The Book 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'

Words: 490
Pages: 2

Imagination is a form of wandering. It is what we do to escape common situations when we do not want to be there. Author Patricia Spacks of the novel: Boredom the Literary History of the Mind, understands that young women “desires to wander in a world increasingly explored”, but too much imagination is never a good practice. In the book “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie is not content with her life, but imagination only leads her to danger.
Connie’s mother is aware of Connie’s imagination and she warns her to “Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty”? She is pleased that her daughter knows she is pretty, but she does not want it to go to her head. Connie’s mother wishes she would be more like her eldest sister Jane “She’s a secretary at Connie’s high school and lives at home with her parents”. Connie’s mother wants to keep her grounded, because she knows the world is not a safe place to venture. “Women risk the miserable state of being lost if they try to avoid the miserable state of being bored” (Spacks 66). Women should have some sense of exposure to the real world. They should not be entrapped by the darkest of the world.
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In Spacks’ novel she talks about a young women name Frances Burney. She would explore forbidden fantasies through books to escape her daily task of needlework. “A women even as minimally rebellious as the young Frances Burney –could feel a need for more excitement” (Spacks 64). Humans where not created to do the same job over and over. So when Connie is away from home she does not hesitate to inhabit her imagination. The way she walked and smirk would make people think she was listening to music in her head. She was free and receive pleasure from escaping boredom from her daily lives. After all, if you do not venture a bit do you truly