AOW Feb 19

     In the article entitled, The Nubile One, Lauren Slater discusses the confusing feelings of being a over weight middle-aged woman, watching her daughter on the cusp of her womanhood.  Slater describes what it's like to be nostalgic for her youth and how it can be difficult to deal with her growing daughter.
     Slater is a psycholoist and author.  She has written six books and is a contributer to the New York Times Magazine, Harper's Magazine, Elle Magazine and others. The article is found in Self Magazine which is a health magazine for woman, founded in 1979.
     The purpose of this article was to show that growing old is difficult.  Even though Slater believes she has lost some of her physical beauty, she sees that those losses have given her strength with great capacities.  She can guide her daughter in so many ways, because she is a strong person.The context of this article is: Slater is a 50 year old woman, ashamed of the weight she has become and confused at what she feels about her daughter's maturity. The audience intended for this article is readers of Self Magazine and middle aged women.
     The rhetorical devices used are: narration and dialogue.  Slater uses narration throughout the entire article, in addition to some reflection to give a more detailed look into her life.  She also uses dialogue between herself and her daughter to give a up close look at their discussions, therefore their relationship.  The author is successful in telling stories, but to me, she comes off as immature and silly.  I found it to be annoying to read of a grown woman's struggles with her aging body and jealousy with her daughter's! A mother never should be jealous of her daughter.  She's a good writer, but the whole context and purpose were very very strange in my opinion.