Close_Reading_ Daniel_Romero

Question: How does Sethe and Paul D uphold gender stereotypes?

“Denver picked up her plate and left the table but not before adding a chicken back and more bread to the heap she was carrying away. Paul D to wipe the spilled coffee with his blue handkerchief.

“‘ I’ll get that.’” Sethe jumped up and went to the stove. Behind it various cloths hung, each in some stage of dying. In silence she wiped the floor and retrieved the cup. Then she poured him another cupful, and set it carefully before him…

...Sethe resumed her chair and the silence continued. Finally she realized that if it was going to be broken she would have to do it.

“I didn't train her like that.”

Paul D stroked the rim of the cup.

“And I’m as surprised by her manners as you are hurt by em.”

...“‘Jesus! I said Jesus! All I did was sit down for supper! and I get cussed out twice. Once for being here and once for asking why I was cussed in the first place!’” (52-53).

Reading a text through the Feminist/Gender Lens, it's important to identify that the reader/audiences has to understand how the characters in the text are portrayed and how female characters are portrayed in the novel- Beloved. If the reader is able to do so, its importance will help the reader put themselves in someone else's shoes as they read. Through the dynamic of Paul D and Sethe, Toni Morrison relates a theme of gender equality in American Society by showing how Sethe, the woman, serves her man, Paul D, in all manners of work that constitutes a ‘woman's’ duty.  

It's noticed throughout the scene that Sethe was defending her daughter -Denver -from Paul D about the actions that Denver had against Paul D. It's noticed that Paul D does not understand or like the way that Denver is treating him at the dinner table, during supper. It's seen throughout the text that Paul D is upset/irritated that Sethe does not see the way that Denver acts when he says, “I’m surprised by her manners.” As he mentions, ‘her’- referencing Denver- it's implied that he is disappointed and upset that Sethe does not take control of her children and raise them right.

On the other hand, it's noticed that Sethe has the gender stereotype, of mothers protecting their children more than a step-father would. As Sethe is in the middle of the argument with Paul D, she states, “I didn't train her like that.” As we read the scene throughout the argument, it's creates a picture in the reader's mind of Sethe using specific word choice and emphasizing on words to make her argument much more clear. As she is conducting this argument she is protecting her children before her husband/boyfriend. As Sethe is doing so, it's related to a modern stereotype of mothers putting their children first before any husband.

In addition, the scene also brings up the stereotype of women cleaning up the house as a normal routine. It's noticed that Sethe, “I’ll get that… In silence she wiped the floor and retrieved the cup.” Within the quote, it's noticed that Sethe is cleaning the spill that Paul D caused at a consistent rate. It's implied that she cleans up more that men would do. In further research, it's seen that men are the workers that help the family stay stable, which, the wife's or the women in the house have to clean and make food. This is a stereotype that is seen in our current state, which should be changed. As with the racism and slavery shown in the society of “Beloved”, gender inequality is another social atrocity that has been somewhat fixed over time. As contemporary society has revealed with the open minded approach to other social inequalities with deep rooted sentiment in american culture, sexism has been mostly frowned upon due to more moral sympathy for the feminist movement in recent years.

~DANIEL ROMERO~