Gender Roles In Farmer Finch, And Tom's Husband

Throughout history, men and women have had different expectations placed on them by the society in which they live. A traditional idea that can still be found in the modern world is that men are supposed to be strong and assertive, able to protect and provide for their families, while women should be mild in temperament and content with taking care of the home and raising children. Although these archaic notions of masculinity and femininity are slowly but surely on their way out, their demise did not begin until relatively recently. During the latter part of the 19th century, the time that author Sarah Orne Jewett lived, these social constructs still dominated American society. Jewett was a woman ahead of her time; writing stories such as “A White Heron,” “Farmer Finch,” and “Tom’s Husband” that expressed her disagreement with these constructs of stereotypical gender roles. In Jewett’s short story “A White Heron,” the main character of the story, Sylvia, can be construed as an exemplification of typical femininity. Sylvia is quiet and demure, and incredibly

Even when Mary was young, she showed a talent for business. Her father, who was a manufacturer, would say that “it had been a mistake that she was a girl instead of a boy. Such executive ability as hers is often wasted in the more contracted sphere of women, and is apt to be more a disadvantage than a help”