Being a Lady
A "lady"
In-keeping with the guiding themes of racism, prejudice and social structure, Lee explores the theme of gender equality whilst staying within the safe confines of literature. There are many occasions in the book that Harper Lee fights stereotypes set upon genders, these include:
There are also several occasions where Lee mocks the way in which we adhere to gender stereotypes in out society, these include:
'You mean women in Alabama can't -?' I was indignant.
'I do. I guess it's to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom's. Besides,' Atticus grinned, 'I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried - the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions.'
Jem and I laughed ... Perhaps our fore fathers were wise.'
Through Miss Dubose in the eleventh chapter, Lee shows that not all lady's need to be quiet and sweet. When Atticus says that Miss Dubose had real courage, it showed that a woman could be just as - if not more - courageous than a man could be.
- Mrs Maudie, who is opinionated and loud rather than shy and quiet
- Scout, who behaves like a boy, then as a girl then as a boy again
- Boo Radley is a very caring and shy person
- Atticus shows that a real man doesn't need to be a show-off
- Miss Dubose's courage
There are also several occasions where Lee mocks the way in which we adhere to gender stereotypes in out society, these include:
- The women's society group, who act very polite and well mannered, but are very interested in gossip while some want to make a real impact in the world (typically male thinking)
- The way Atticus talks about Miss Maudie not being able to serve on the jury:
'You mean women in Alabama can't -?' I was indignant.
'I do. I guess it's to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom's. Besides,' Atticus grinned, 'I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried - the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions.'
Jem and I laughed ... Perhaps our fore fathers were wise.'
Through Miss Dubose in the eleventh chapter, Lee shows that not all lady's need to be quiet and sweet. When Atticus says that Miss Dubose had real courage, it showed that a woman could be just as - if not more - courageous than a man could be.