Independent women
An important image appears in the fourth chapter, when Garp and Jenny are in Vienna. There, they see many prostitutes as prostitution was legal in the country. Jenny becomes fascinated by the prostitutes, especially by the way they chose to dress and she tries to emulate their style of fashion. This image is important because for Jenny, the prostitutes were not a group of people that needed to be isolated from the rest of the community but rather women who achieved financial independence and who did not need a man in their lives to take care of them.
Child-man
An important image that appears in the novel is Senior Garp suckling on Jenny’s breasts. While Garp was a grown man, he was extremely child-like and unable to take care of himself as a result of his injury. Because of this, Jenny took care of him just as a mother would take care of her infant child. The image invoked here is both innocent and sexual as it is pointed out that Senior Garp had a constant erection, thus implying that he was not a child at all.
Running child
An important image is that of the young girl who was molested in the park. When Garp found her, she was naked and covered in blood. The image affected Garp as he was not used seeing young girls in such a vulnerable position. The image is important however because it shows that for a woman, the world can be a dangerous place.
Strong woman
While some women are portrayed in the novel as being week and innocent, other women are portrayed as having strong characters and as knowing what they want from life. One such character is Garp’s mother. Jenny is not afraid to go against the social norms and she is not afraid to take risks. Because of this, she is sometimes portrayed in a negative way as the women in that time were expected to behave in a certain manner.
