Gender Roles In Cold Mountain

Men have seemingly been the dominant force when it comes to jobs. However, in 1861, specific gender roles for men and women diminished due to the Civil War. As males traveled to the battlefront, women undertook masculine roles in order for society to continually thrive. Charles Frazier, the author of Cold Mountain, includes the tales women and men during the Civil War era, along with how the society's viewpoint evolved throughout the years. In this time frame, heroes, cowards, and casualties categorize men. Inman, the male protagonist of the novel, encounters men fit and unfit for the masculine roles expected by society. Due to the vast amount of soldier casualties, men were required to enlist in the war in 1863. As a result, some headed

Neither knows the true length of the war, but as the novel continues, Frazier alludes to the necessity of a relationship. Even though men are taught to hide their emotions and express masculinity through sources such as violence, Inman would portray both sides of the male spectrum. With encounters of enemy forces, such as Junior, testosterone and revenge overwhelmingly caused Inman to fight back. Frazier includes, “Inman stepped to Junior and struck him across the ear with the barrel of the LeMat's and then clubbed at him with the butt until he lay flat on his back” (234). Violence has been engraved into Inman from the time he set foot on a battlefield. At Fredericksburg and Petersburg, Inman witnesses casualties, inflicts wounds, and receives injuries. Not only was close combat immensely painful, but one could distinguish the characteristics of the enemy. Men fought with, and against, young boys. Emotions brew, but since it was unmasculine to display those of weakness, some men struggle with inner thoughts provoked by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

When first characterized, she is surprisingly complex. Frazier describes her feminine traits as “... a girl of sorts, a short one, thin as a chicken neck except across the points of her sharp hip-bones, where she was of substantial width” (66) and her masculine traits as, “... she was stable as a drag sled, low in her center of gravity but knobby and slight in all extremities” (67). By incorporating features of both sexes, Ruby is able to perform tasks that men and women alike have to accomplish. Once acquainted with Ada, Ruby explains her upbringing which has influenced and educated her along the path through life. Her mother, similar to Ada, is nonexistent, and her father, Stobrod, is in-and-out of her life. Generally, Ruby has to fend for her survival as a hunter and gatherer. Instead of learning in school, she educates herself through trial and error which is shown in her knowledge on how to efficiently run a farm. Black Cove ultimately thrives through the time dedicated to improving it carried out by women who were seen as outsiders to farm labor. Although Ada and Ruby were motherless, they portray motherly traits. Women typically have wider hips, which signify their fertility and ability to give birth to a child. As included in the epilogue, Ruby eventually gives birth to “... all boys, with full scalps of black hair and shiny