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She has also been forced to accept a job given to her by Papa-Daddy, which might be hampering her self-esteem further. Faced with the prospect of living out her life as a spinster, it is understandable why Sister might feel as angry and jealous as she does. Eudora Welty wrote "Why I Live at the P.O." At a time at which women were not expected to have children out of wedlock. Similarly, women who did not marry were scorned as spinsters. The motif of spinsterhood is symbolized in one scene when Sister describes, "I marched in where they were all playing Old Maid." The card game bears the euphemistic name for a spinster.
Sister and Stella Rondo also compete for the attention of one of the story's most ambiguous characters: Uncle Rondo. Uncle Rondo is a cross-dresser, evident especially in his flamboyant donning of Stella-Rondo's pink kimono. The play on Uncle Rondo's sexuality is tangential to the story. However, the relationship between Uncle Rondo and Sister is central. Sister notes that Uncle Rondo was one of the few family members that she felt she could trust. "I must say that Uncle Rondo has been marvelous to me at various times in the past and I was completely unprepared to be made to jump out of my skin, the way it turned out."
"Why I Live at the P.O." details the breakdown of family trust and family ties due to jealousy and resentment. The narrator has felt unloved throughout much of her life, and has been living in the shadow of...
Much of what Sister experiences is genuine. For example, both Papa-Daddy and even Uncle Rondo believe Stella-Rondo when she tells lies. Her family does seem to favor Stella-Rondo, the sister who can do no wrong. On the other hand, Sister is viewed as a loser. She had to rely on the charity of her family for work, whereas Stella-Rondo made her own life in Illinois. The paternal identity of Shirley-T makes no difference, even though the notion consumes Sister throughout the story. Regardless of whether or not the child was conceived out of wedlock, the family would have welcomed Stella-Rondo back with open arms. This bothers Sister to no end, which is why she chooses to leave home and spend her days alone in the post office. The final sentence of the story shows that Sister is as much to blame for her being ostracized: "if Stella-Rondo should come to me this minute, on bended knees, and attempt to explain the incidents of her life with Mr. Whitaker, I'd simply put my fingers in both my ears and refuse to listen." Welty shows that family love depends directly on trust, love, and honesty.
References
Coulehan, J. (2004). The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harvest, 1982.
Pritchett, D.K. (n.d.). Eudora Welty's 'Why I Live at the P.O.'" Retrieved online: http://www.southernmuse.com/literature/wilpo_01.html
Welty, E. (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://art-bin.com/art/or_weltypostoff.html
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