How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
He looked so forever dead, so defenseless, so much like their men that the first furrows of tears opened in their hearts. (7)
At first, the women were attracted to the drowned man because of his differences from – and superiority to – their own men. But now they realize how similar he is to their husbands.
Quote #2
While the men went to find out if anyone was missing in neighboring villages, the women stayed behind to care for the drowned man. (3)
There are clear gender divisions in this story; the women have certain gender-specific duties, as do the men.
Quote #3
Fascinated by his huge size and his beauty, the women then decided to make him some pants from a large piece of sail. (4)
The associations of the drowned man with the sea seem to make him seem all the more majestic and masculine.
Quote #4
They secretly compared him to their own men, thinking that for all their lives theirs were incapable of doing what he could do in one night, and they ended up dismissing them deep in their hearts as the weakest, meanest, and most useless creatures on earth. (4)
There is some tension here. We wonder if the drowned man might drive the women and men apart later in the story.