Alternate title for Girl

The story Girl is about a girl who is being taught different life skills she will need as a housewife. For example, she is taught how to wash clothes, salt fish, sweep the house, and iron clothes. She is also taught proper etiquette and behavior, such as how to "walk like a lady" and "behave in the presence of men." Intermixed between these teachings, there is also talk of not becoming "the slut I have warned against you becoming." However, it is never directly stated who is speaking to the girl and telling her these things. A reasonable assumption for who this character is could be that its the girl's mother. For this reason, I think that an alternate title for the story Girl is Mother. 

It is a reasonable assumption to assume that the person speaking to the girl is her mother because of what specifically they talk about. The chores that this person teaches the girl how to do are all traditionally done by a housewife or a female member of the household. They also specifically talk about the father, such as in how to "iron father's khaki pants," but they never do that about the mother, which could be an indication she is the one talking. Another thing they talk about is how to act in front of boys. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for the girl's father to be telling her how to this as he is a male. The best person to do this would be her mother because she had to learn how to do that as well. Also, they talk about how to love a man which seems to be something a mother would know best how to do. Overall, there is a lot of evidence and subtext backing up the idea that the mother is the one speaking to the girl. 

The reason I feel that Mother is an appropriate, alternate title for the story Girl is that, with a shift of focus, one can frame the story so that it focuses on the mother's directions to her daughter instead of how her daughter hears her mother's instructions. It is very subtle, as it just changes the point of view a little bit. This is still an accurate reading of the story because the story solely consists of the mother's commands, which means you can read it from either perspective. This new title also shifts the story from how the daughter views the expectations of her mother to what the mother expects of her daughter, such as how the mother expects her daughter to be a married woman instead of a woman who only wants sex. I like both title's and both have an effect on who's point of view we see the story from.