The Role Of Female Characters In Who Would Have Thought It?

Throughout the novel “Who Would Have Thought It?” by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the variety of female characters perform a substantial amount of action in the core plots of the novel. Each female character serves to play a different role with their own motivations. For example, Lola serves as an example of a wealthy outsider that is being taken advantage of by the Northeasterners. On the other side, Ms. Norval is a hypocritical, critical character who cares mostly about money and image. Many of the female characters serve main roles and act within the domestic sphere, however, there are other times that these characters transcend their domestic boundaries. For example, Lavinia Sprig is often seen in terms outside of the house, impacting the …show more content…
During the Civil War, women were often allowed to participate in roles outside of their domestic sphere, such as nursing. Lavinia Sprig serves in this war effort, eventually becoming “quite an experienced nurse” (142). Her work experience in this way is unique because none of the other adult women in the novel have jobs, except those that are students. Additionally, Lavvy’s experience as a nurse gives her some validation as a character and helps her express herself outside of the house. Lavvy’s role within the hospital gives her a sense of participation in the community, as well as a way of freeing her from the domestic sphere of getting married and living at home. Lavvy feels quite passionately about her patients and this also helps her to engage outside of the home while also contributing to a greater issue in the war effort. Her care for these patients helps her break free of typical domestic restraints. For example, when Lavvy returns from a small absence from her hospital, “the first thing that met her eyes was one of her favorite patients lying in his bed dead” (128). Her personal connection to the patients is remarkable, but it also extends to her ability to care for them in the same manner. In fact, this tender relationship leads Lavvy even to feel as if her “conscience accused her of …show more content…
Lavvy’s experience at the Capitol is quite out of the typical domestic sphere for a woman and her presence there comes as a shock to many of the government workers, who look down upon her and consistently mistreat her as she tries to find more information about Isaac. To start with, she is ignored by a young man who works for the Secretary, which leads her to realize that “no matter how her heart may feel for her beloved, worshipped country, after all she is but an insignificant creature, whom a very young man may snub” (106). During this beginning experience in particular, Lavvy realizes how difficult her mission will be to help discover the truth about what happened to Isaac after he was captured. Lavvy’s experiences in the Capitol continue to worsen as she approaches other men who ignore and make fun of her search. The men in the Capitol, specifically Mr. Cackle, “felt at home there [in the rotunda], as if it had been erected for him especially” (109). On the other hand, Lavvy “felt more sick at heart than any of the patients at her hospital…very faint and lonely” (108). While the men feel at home in Capitol, Lavvy feels upset and alone by the way that she is treated in the government. This broad stepping out of her domestic sphere shocks many of