Children are more prone to be obedient towards their parental figures (heteronomous obedience) while growing up. In the short story “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro, life during the twentieth century is portrayed. The narrator, who has portrayed herself as a nameless young girl, struggles for freedom from inequality in her society. The disobedience in “Boys and Girls” is clarified in Erich Fromm’s essay, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem (DPMP).” The narrator of “Boys and Girls” goes through different phases of obedience due to her “authoritarian and humanistic conscience” (Fromm 10). Also, by being disobedient she has control of her own authorities. “Humanistic conscience” ...view middle of the document...
The girl is mannered to help around the house because she aware that it is her parents domain.
Nevertheless, when the little girl is alone, with no supervision of her parents, she is autonomous where she is obedient to herself, and disobedient towards mother and father. As Fromm argues “A person can become free through [the] acts of disobeying” (15), that demonstrates that it can open your eyes and rely on your own powers and have control over one’s own powers . She knew very well that she was forbidden to watch the horses get killed, instead expected to “play around the house” (Munro), like most “girls” are expected to do, due to society. “Do you want to see them shoot Mack” (Munro) said the little girl to her brother. Though she knew she was doing something wrong, and being rebellious she did not care. She did not hesitate to think and took her little brother along to sneakily watch Mack the horse get shot. The young girl does find a way to live by her own procedures and desires, and be disobedient behind her parent’s back, in a way where they will not find out.
Moreover, the little girl lets her “humanistic conscience” which is “the voice present in every human being” (Fromm 10). She lets Flora flee because her humanistic conscience tells her to. But she doesn’t realize that Flora has no place to run to, and will eventually be killed. The little girl “did not make any decision to [open the gate wide], it was just what [she] did” (Munro); it was an action without any knowledge. She went from showing heteronomous obedience to autonomous obedience by disobeying her father’s command to “shut the gate” (Munro). She just felt the need to let Flora free, because of her humanistic conscience. The little girl never deliberately opened the gate; it was inner voice that was telling her “what is human and inhumane” (Fromm 10)
Lastly, psychological comforts of obedience are safety, security, and to make one feel strong. The girl is aware that there is no home for her elsewhere. The girl herself has no place to run to. After Laird, her younger brother tells the mother and father “...It was her fault Flora got away” (Munro), she comes to reality that what her parents tell her to do is for her own and the good of the family. She will not be safe and protected. For example, when the narrator says: “To my shame, tears...
