Glass Menagerie Stereotypes

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a gender role is defined as the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. In modern day America, gender roles have been slowly dissolving, but nonetheless is still very much relevant. In our society, women have the capability of doing everything a man can do, but, in the eyes of some, women are still seen as the inferior gender. In general, women are still associated with the responsibilities of taking care of the household and the children. They are also perceived as being fragile and submissive. On the other hand, men are associated with being the primary breadwinner and were viewed as being strong and brave. In most civilizations, these associations have been and

Connie plays the role of a pretty girl, the sister June plays a secretary a job suitable for woman, and the mother is a mere housewife. Kennelly said “measures of femininity are measures of deference and subordination (letting a man drive, working at a low-status job), and they reflect a traditional view of what a woman should be (a heterosexual wife and a mother of many children)” (602-603) The position these women are in due to the masculine desire is reflected upon Connie's fate and the lives of the other woman in the story. Connie's father masculinity can come into perspective because he shows a traditional value of commodity towards the woman in his home. He is rarely home and shows no interest in talking to the women when he's actually there. Connie has no use for him because of his lack of authorization due to her not being old enough to be able to exchange with another man as kinship property. She is freely to be taken by any man that has use to her. Arnold Friend is one of these men, yet she is useful to him as a sexual object, and a disposable one it seems. Wood argues that” it is a position; it is a social location; it provides a perspective on the social life” (62). This is seen as an exchange of men, although in actuality an appropriation, the substitute of a lover who pays attention to her for a father who does not, and the women of the story

Gender roles, also known as gender stereotypes, are things to be considered appropriate to certain men or women and we are constantly surrounded by them without even realizing it. Cultural gender roles in America have changed over time, from when Disney animated films were first released. Women were only housewives at those times, they were responsible for cooking, cleaning, taking care of their kids, and other housework while the husband took care of

This stigma has been true for many generations being that every male feels the need to somehow show that he is a man or an adult capable to care for his loved ones. Per request by the mother, Tom is to “overcome [his] selfishness” of wanting to go on an adventure for Laura is still young and dependent (942). Tom is held down to looking after Laura until she is “married, [has] a home of her own,” and is able to becoming independent although crippled (941). Being tied to look after the family may feel like a burden for Tom since his family is what is hindering him from going on an adventure similar to his father. The father absent from the picture is what could have gave Tom the perception that it is acceptable to be selfish and to abandon the family. Instead of living the life their mother was unable to have, both siblings need to find their passion or talent and be able to achieve it. By staying in the same location living in an apartment hoping for a gentleman caller, there will be no progress for either Tom and

Everyone in the family sticks to their societal role, Tom takes care of the Amanda and Laura, Amanda does some work, but she does do a lot of work in the house, and Laura is attempting to find someone to marry so she does not have to go to work. When Amanda was younger, she tells the reader that she always had gentleman callers, and she is always hoping that Laura will get gentleman callers. An example of Amanda projecting this belief onto Laura is when Amanda says “"Resume your seat, little sister – I want you to stay fresh and pretty – for gentlemen callers! (1.14)”. However, having to take care of his sister and living with Amanda causes tension in Tom’s life. Tom works in a factory, as most men did in the 30s, and this meant that he worked long hours for little pay. Tom wanted to be a poet, but he had to keep working because he had to support his family. Amanda puts a lot of pressure on Tom to be there for his sister, to be his older sister’s guardian, and she gets upset when Tom is out late drinking and going to the movies as his

Right off the bat, the readers can see how females are disregarded as actual people but rather in a concept of lesser value. Females, in general, are raised to be someone’s wives and mothers instead of being raised as a “career women” because the term itself is considered off-putting. Although being treated as a “housewife” or someone’s “girl” has become

Amanda is obsessed with her past, and uses it to escape reality, as she constantly reminds Tom and Laura of the time she received seventeen gentlemen callers. The reader cannot even be sure that this actually happened. However, it is clear despite its possible falseness, Amanda has come to believe it. She refuses to acknowledge that her daughter is crippled and refers to her handicap as "a little defect - hardly noticeable" (Williams 1648). Only for brief moments does she ever admit that her daughter is "crippled" and then resorts back to denial. Amanda doesn't perceive anything realistically. She believes that this gentleman caller, Jim is going to be the man to rescue Laura and she hasn't even met him yet. When Jim arrives, Amanda is dressed in a "girlish frock" she wore on the day that she met their father and she regresses to the childish, giddy days of entertaining gentleman callers. Amanda uses her past as a means to escape the reality she does not want to face.

Amanda on the other hand is doing this because she does not want him to be like his father. Most of all, she was doing this because she wanted him to become a better person.

Though many gender role advancements were achieved in past and future decades, gender roles were more segregated in the 1950’s than they were in even colonial times. In the 1950s, there were rigid gender roles represented in popular culture. To start off, women were expected to be as similar as they can to this propaganda.

Rebecca becomes a symbol of the multifaceted complex feminine sexuality and subjectivity. On a different level, Bertha is a live embodiment of the former, yet her bestial depiction objectifies her and denies

Through imposing this traditional gender role on Laura, Amanda is reinforcing the dependence that woman have on men, which is another major characteristic of the women in the forties. Beauvoir argues against arranged marriages like the one that Amanda wants to enforce on Laura, and claims that it is an “institution” that makes women become subordinate to men, and to depend entirely on them. Because of social impositions women take marriage as “career”. Contrarily, men are more independent, and for them getting married is an

The whole story is written from her perspective from start to finish and that changes the whole point of view of the story. You really get to know her as a character and you feel a deeper connection when it’s written from this point of view. One word, one person, or even one sentence can change the whole point of view of the

Essentially, the female stereotype exists in the media that we consume every day as well as in the novel of A Doll's House. The protagonist,

Throughout history, humans have always been expected to act a certain way depending on their sex. These societal expectations are called gender roles. (Rathus, 2010, p.447). These roles begin to develop even before a child is even out of the womb. A mother may decorate their nursery pink if they are having a daughter because “girls like pink,” and “boys like blue.” Gender roles should not be confused with gender stereotypes. A gender stereotype is a narrow way of thinking about how men and woman are obligated to behave. For example, men have always been considered to be the breadwinners of the family. Females, on the other hand, are seen more as the gentle homemakers that stay home to clean and take care of the children. (Rathus, 2010, p.447). These types of stereotypes have caused certain out-of-the-home jobs to be mainly categorized for either women or men, causing an even more distinct line between the genders.

The loss of her husband causes Amanda to develop a dependence on her children. She wants Tom and Laura to become successful. Amanda complains that Tom does not earn enough money at the shoe factory. She wants him to attend night school so he can attain a better career.