Log Of The Skippers Wife

Log of the Skipper’s Wife

A. Introduction

B. Topic of Discussion: Sexuality

1. Dorothea’s sex life with her husband

2. Fred’s view of sex & marriage

3. Baby Talk

A. Personal insight

C. Conclusion

The Log of the Skipper’s Wife,” by James W. Balano. This journal was

originally written during the early 1900’s by a young woman from Minnesota. It

was later on compiled by her son (James Balano), and published.

There are many topics that this book covers, the struggles of a young

woman with a man’s job in the early 1900’s, marital conflicts, unhappy with her

figure, eating habits, and the every day tortures of being a woman. Perhaps

the biggest issues in this book was Dorothea’s sex life. She was smart, quick

witted, and had an amazing sense of humor. Her husband was a lady’s man and

knew nothing besides being a captain, which he did well at. Dorothea and her

husband Fred were so different that it really caused a strain on their

marriage. At times the only thing they seemed to share in common was the bed.

Dorothea appeared to love sex, however her husband seemed like a bit of

a nymphomaniac from what I gathered. She noted several times how he acted

differently around other women, his collection of pornography, and how he was

continually boasting of his conquests of women. It was all very degrading to

Dorothea and she vented much of this in her journal. Fred also felt the need

to tell Dorothea that she was not up to par at sexual positions. He claimed

that other women he had been with were more flexible, and urged Dorothea to

become more like them. He treated Dora more like a slave then he did a wife. I

don’t think he ever really knew how to act around women.

In one entry, Dorothea was telling of how Fred ate a ton of scallops

and how she was worried of what she would be in for later on that night,

(Scallops being thought of as an aphrodisiac). She mentioned how scallops

bring out one’s sexual appetite, and that Fred certainly did not need it. The

way she speaks of Fred in this scene gives me the impression that she almost

feared him in some aspects. That he forced himself on her, and that it was not

up to her if they had sex at night or not. My impression was that if she did

not sleep with him, the next time they were in port he would find someone else

to.

When they came to port, there were a few times that Dorothea mentioned

Fred disappearing from the ship when he gave strict orders for no one to

leave. She said he would be gone for a couple hours and deny ever leaving the

ship, and yet he would come back with their mail. Dorothea obviously knew that

he was going out into town. Why did he lie to her? My guess is that there was

someone or something he did not want her finding out about.

Fred was just a man that did not impress me. He was selfish, self-

centered, arrogant, and a greedy lover who gave little to nothing back in

return. Dorothea was such a smart, young woman, what did she ever find in this

guy?

“When I refuse to play the part of sea-going concubine and assert my rights as

an individual who refuses to jump at his least whim, he dredges up the mud,

which he knows I despise and does his damnedest to get my goat.” (Feb. 15,

1912: page 118).

“Isn’t it strange that he shies away from the intelligent guests I have

on