Sylvia Feminist Criticism.

Sylvia is the most dynamic character in The Flowers to me. I noticed a dichotomy between Sylvia as Sylvia and Sylvia with Clloyd. Sylvia still has many issues and insecurities, but less than the other women in the novel. For one, Sylvia knows she is beautiful. She was struggling supporting a family, but she was confident in herself. Just like Cindy, men made her feel appreciated, and the amount of attention she received from men definitely boosted her ego. Until financial stability became a more pressing issue, and she married Clloyd; who could provide for her and her family. As soon as she married Clloyd, her independence fell drastically. She was being objectified, and more stereotypically subjected by her husband. Clloyd desires control, but Sylvia desires freedom, and the once happy marriage starts to dissolve because of the mistrust and treatment of themselves. Sylvia who once started out fairly capable and strong, now is a trophy wife and desires the life she once had. Even though difficult, she realizes that Clloyd's control issues branch out to everyone around him.
Fear comes in to play as well. Before Clloyd, Sylvia didn't fear much about her own life. Granted, she wasn't the best mother, Sylvia didn't worry about her own well-being. Post Clloyd, fear has driven Sylvia into more of a reserved woman. She's definitely under the reigns of Clloyd, not just because of his demands, but because she now feels she needs him to live and be happy. Yet she's not happy at all and sneaks off from him. Yet, Clloyd feels like the big strong hero, the man of the house, but his insecurities on how important he really was to Sylvia begins to break him down. Typically in fragile relationships, we think of the woman as being the groveling one. Begging the man to come back into her life, being pushed around for not "doing the right thing," but clearly this is beginning to show in Clloyd. Clloyd realizes his demeanor around Sylvia is weaker. He tries to play up his manliness, but you can see him expressing worry and concern  when he is unaware of Sylvia's location. He is out of control, and will easily grovel back to her. More in an angry controlling matter, but still, Sylvia has an effect on Clloyd that she doesn't seem to see. The other women are basically weaker than Sylvia, which is why I like Sylvia as the female model. Sure, she isn't the best example of a dignified woman, but she has respect for herself. Her gender, status, and culture work against her however. She is a Mexican housewife by definition, but clearly she has no desire or capability to be one. And although her status effects her, we see that she can clearly be equal to her male counterpart by the way she chooses to harness that status and in turn, spin it around on him.