It appears that no matter the generation society will always be completely transfixed by societal gender roles and what it means to be a man or woman. Ron Rash understands this phenomenon and seems to be captivated by the societal craze. He brings light to the subject through an interesting novel, Serena, a tale of a hard-headed woman during the great depression who gets married to a business owner and eventually lets her clout get the best of her. For the time though, women were not supposed to show off dominance or prowess for the common people are still stuck in the mindset of early nineteenth century stereotypical gender roles. This causes mania throughout the community and readers get to witness the destruction of the societal norms and
…show more content…
In Serena it seems that most the people in the novel also seem to be still stuck in that nineteenth century mindset. When Pemberton’s men first meet Serena they are dumbfounded by the way she holds herself and the way she dresses. “Serena stood taller than either man, but Pemberton knew other aspects of Serena’s appearance helped foster Buchanan and Wilkie’s obvious surprise...distinctly feminine yet also austere.” (16). This quote is on the second page of the novel so readers can already get a sense of themes of feminization and gender inequality that Rash implements throughout the novel. The Forerunner released an article by, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, writing about her short story The Yellow Wallpaper which was titled accordingly, Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper. In this article Gilman writes upon how society and professionals can implant horrific stereotypes into ones brain that can drive them utterly insane. Which is great to refer back to when reading Serena, these stereotypical gender roles placed on people can drive one insane, and that seems to be one main aspect that leads to Serena’s
In Serena it seems that most the people in the novel also seem to be still stuck in that nineteenth century mindset. When Pemberton’s men first meet Serena they are dumbfounded by the way she holds herself and the way she dresses. “Serena stood taller than either man, but Pemberton knew other aspects of Serena’s appearance helped foster Buchanan and Wilkie’s obvious surprise...distinctly feminine yet also austere.” (16). This quote is on the second page of the novel so readers can already get a sense of themes of feminization and gender inequality that Rash implements throughout the novel. The Forerunner released an article by, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, writing about her short story The Yellow Wallpaper which was titled accordingly, Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper. In this article Gilman writes upon how society and professionals can implant horrific stereotypes into ones brain that can drive them utterly insane. Which is great to refer back to when reading Serena, these stereotypical gender roles placed on people can drive one insane, and that seems to be one main aspect that leads to Serena’s