Gender Flashcards
Absence of male characters
Both Mr Johnstone and Mr Lyons are suggested to be absent. In particular it’s said that Mr J has essentially abandoned his family after his wife falls pregnant with the twins, leaving her to provide for all of her children independently.
Mr Lyons is also absent but his absence is a result of his busy work schedule which we could argue he values above his family, leaving his wife and Edward mid story because he’s been called into work. However he does provide for them financially.
“The house is your domain”
This complies to typical gender roles as Mrs Lyons decorates the house and hires maids to maintain it’s state. Mr Lyons seems to care very little about it’s state, acting at his wife’s personal bank every time she claims to need money for something around the house, usually disappearing shortly afterwards.
“…not someone else’s”
Mrs Lyons reveals to Mrs J that her husband has put pressure o her having children, saying that she’d suggested adoption but he refuses as he wants a child of his own. Despite her efforts it seems that Mrs L is unable to give him this and she seems disappointed in herself as a result. However when she does become ‘pregnant’ he still isn’t present during the child’s life this could suggest that his need for a child was more for validation and societal expectations than his personal happiness.
Linda and Mrs J
This shows how women of this social class experience life, just like Mrs J Linda rushes into marriage after becoming pregnant and will eventually have to raise the child by herself after Mickey’s imprisonment and then his death- mirroring Mrs Johnstone’s situation after her husband leaves her.
