(Gerald Estrada) The
exploration of gender roles in American literature is a major theme, especially
because it addresses society’s complex way of setting expectations and norms.
In this setting, the writings of Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell become the
first voices that question the rigid imprisonment of women in the era of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through their literary pieces, Chopin in “Désirée’s
Baby” and Glaspell in “A Jury of her Peers” drill into the emotional
disturbances and the societal marginalization of female characters seeking
their way out from submissive roles. In their dreams, Kate Chopin and Susan
Glaspell use female characters like an emotional conflict and problem of social
minority women, concluding that women should be freed from their subservient
status in society. Women’s writings reflect what they are expected to be, and
the limits put upon them, thus bringing up the multilayered nature of their
experiences. Chopin and Glaspell’s representations show the female characters’
persistence and autonomy, contradicting traditional female societal roles. The
representations ensure that, through time, a woman can make up her way in life
without the restrictions of the stereotypical and expected female behavioral
traits. This paper will consider how Chopin and Glaspell use their female
characters as devices for exploring women’s multifaceted experiences and will establish
that women’s autonomy and freedom from societal restrictions are paramount. Kate
Chopin in “Désirée’s Baby” and Susan Glaspell in “A Jury of her Peers” use
female characters like an emotional conflict and problem of social minority
women, concluding that women should be freed from their subservient status in
society.
The female characters’ status in “Désirée’s Baby”
and “A Jury of Her Peers” is subservient and controlled, emphasized
through the consequences they suffer when they fail to adhere to society’s
expectations. Désirée’s stand as a person of color
deviating from the standard set by society results in a devastating erosion of
her value and high social standing in the eyes of her husband and society as a
whole (Chopin). Désirée’s possibility to have ties to blackness was a rejection
from the dominant white patriarchy, which made her subject to pity due to
the power of invalidation and subjugation. Armand’s act of rejecting and
avoiding Désirée and their child, represents the great
outcomes that women used to face if they transgressed societal
constraints. Désirée’s very being becomes
something to be ashamed of; there is very little choice but to flee in shame,
an outcome that can only be described as tragic, establishing that the society
is oppressive simply because it insists stringently on race purity and the
narrow definition of womanhood.
In “A Jury of her Peers,” non-conformity with
societal expectations and the deprecating attitude of men lead to the
consequences of the female characters’ failure. The opinions of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who have
different ideas based on their independent views, are ignored and sidelined by
a judicial system that males primarily dominate. The Sheriff’s mocking comment,
“And keep your eye out, Mrs. Peters, for anything that might be of use. No
telling: you women might come upon a clue to the motive” (Glaspell),
reflects the dominant perspectives that women are intrinsic inferiors and are unable
to make useful contributions. This lack of respect goes as far as Mr. Hale’s
mocking comment, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon
it” (Glaspell). Such comments not only make the women appear low in
intelligence and observational skills, but also serve to maintain the systemic
domination and restriction that they get within a society that undervalues
their experiences and thoughts. Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell portray the
bitter price women pay when they differ from societal norms, such as being
treated as inferior or ignored and unheard of.
(Deion
Grace Liong) Désirée and Minnie Wright’s subservient role is established
though society’s restricting expectations, resulting in them being outcast when
they do not meet the requirements. Désirée’s reduced role in society is presented
through the limiting expectations and her diminished status when she cannot
meet the criteria. When her husband, Armand Aubigny, discovers that she and
their baby are possibly Black, he avoids and shuns them. He presents his
negative viewpoint of Désirée, “When he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes,
from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out. He absented himself from
home; and when there, avoided her presence” (Chopin). Armand views Désirée as
inferior and avoids her when she does not meet his expectations. Due to her
inability to meet Armand’s societal standards, Désirée is lessened in status. She
is diminished in her status as she is both female and perhaps Black. Adisa Ahmetspahić
and Damir Kahrić state that, “In the case of women, one either complies with
the expectations and earns the title of a good woman or fails to meet the
requirements thus earning the status of an outcast” (Ahmetspahić and Kahrić
27). In Désirée’s society, women are expected to follow the traditional role of
women. As Désirée is revealed to possibly be Black, she fails to meet Armand’s
criteria, resulting in her being of little value to him. She is degraded by her
society and by Armand’s limiting expectations of women. Désirée’s restricting
expectations of her and her degrading status present her subservient role.
Désirée’s
lessened role in society is demonstrated by her reduced and diminishing status.
As she is female and possibly Black, she is lessened in status. Ellen Peel
explains her reduced role, “Here the stress on feminine vulnerability combines
with the acceptance of black slavery, as if it were a pity for a person such as
Desiree to suffer” (Peel 231). Désirée is placed in a diminishing status by the
expectations of society that favor obedient White females. She is seen as
lesser in status due her role as a women and being possibly Black. As she fails
to meet the standards of society, Désirée is reduced in her status. Désirée’s diminished
status in society is established through the restricting expectations of her
role as a woman, causing her to be further lessened when she cannot meet the
usual requirements.
Minnie
Wright’s subservient status is established as well through her society’s
limiting expectations that work against women when they fail to meet the
standard. As Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale inspect the kitchen, they consider
the situation of the males’ investigation of the Wright’s home. Mrs. Hale notices
that, “It seems kind of sneaking: locking her up in town and coming out here to
get her own house to turn against her!” (Glaspell). While Minnie is locked
up in jail, the authoritative male characters examine her house for clues that
would prove her as her husband’s killer. The town’s society has restricting
expectations of women and undermines their viewpoints. Minnie’s lessened status
is presented as she is limited by society’s expectations and shunned when she
cannot meet the criteria. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale discover that their
society’s system diminishes women. Orit Kamir states that, “It is a system of
power that is bluntly and blatantly set against them, one that is inherently
unjust and dangerous to them as women” (Kamir 362). The system in the female
characters’ society is established against them and other women. It is biased
towards men and is dangerous as it degrades the status of females. Besides Désirée,
Minnie Wright’s lessened status is also demonstrated through the restricting
expectations of society that diminish women and further degrade them when they
fail to meet the criteria.
In conclusion,
Kate Chopin’s “Désirée’s Baby” and Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of her Peers” can
be seen as formidable critiques of the social restrictions that existed against
women during those periods. Through their literary manifestations, Chopin and
Glaspell propagate the independence and emancipation of women from subordinate
roles and patriarchal dominance. Through the portrayal of the emotional grief
and societal alienation of their female characters, these authors make visible
all the dimensions of women’s lives and shake the readers’ belief in the
justice of the status quo and male domination. With Chopin and Glaspell’s works
guiding them, readers are confronted with the shortcomings of conventional
gender roles and start to open their viewpoint to new stories of women authors,
which contributes to the broader conversation about gender justice and equality
in literature.
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