Gender Roles Portrayed In The Short Story Of Ann Ross

Some people are naturally homewreckers. The gender roles portrayed in the short story is quite prominent; men were the works, always providing for their families, whereas the women would cook and clean. It is sad to see how these gender roles have come to tear a family apart as if did for the main characters Ann and John. Living on a secluded farm in the prairies is know to be daunting for everyone, especially when you only have your husband to rely on for company. Ann has proclaimed her loneliness to John multiple times but he never seems to clue in because he is too busy with maintaining the farm and checking in on his father who lives up the way. When John left one winter day to check on his father, like he always does, Ann is left to worry

When Steven began to realize he was losing Ann’s attention he stated, “...stop worrying and pay a little attention to me” (Ross 238). Steven knew that Ann was a married woman, and that it was against the church’s and society’s views for a man to go after a married woman for that it was incredibly rude, but he never showed any care for honouring John in that sense and to be a respectable man. Ann on the other hand constantly thought of John because she loved him and she was loyal towards him. There is no excuse for Steven actions; he acted selfishly and poorly because he was taking advantage of a woman’s weaknesses and a husband’s absence. Being a man during that period of time meant that Steven would of been a respectable man, who honoured a woman’s body and soul, and never would dream about coming in between the holy sacrament of marriage. Steven was ultimately the sole reason for the death of John, for that is he were not in bed with Ann John would not have left the comfort of his own home to go and freeze to