In Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits,” she features a young couple, Joe and Missie May Banks. Joe and Missie May’s relationship is completely idealistic until a Chicago native named Otis Slemmons enters their world. Rich, well-dressed, and beloved by women, Otis Slemmons is everything Joe is not, creating a sense of admiration in Joe. Having witnessed Joe’s idolization of Otis, Missie May cheats on her husband with Otis in return for some of his gold. Joe and Missie May’s relationship is then strained for months, but they eventually have a child together and return to their peaceful life. “The Gilded Six-Bits,” a story rich in commentary on gender, expectations, and relationships, reveals a strong feminist viewpoint caused in part by
…show more content…
Missie May, while physically accountable for her affair, was driven to act due to male influence. In their criticism of “The Gilded Six-Bits,” Nancy Chinn and Elizabeth E. Dunn assert that “Knowing his wife to be innocent and inexperienced, Joe seeks to persuade her of Slemmons's attractiveness” (775). Therefore, Joe is somewhat to blame for the affair, yet Missie May is the one who endures the guilt and animosity that plagues their marriage. Joe “shoulders little responsibility for the near destruction of the Bankses’ marriage” (Chinn and Dunn 775), whereas “Missie is taunted and tortured by her conscience and her husband for almost a year” (Howard 71). The idea that Missie May and her abilities as a woman were needed to get the couple through their shared struggles is further reinforced by the birth of their child. Missie May is the only person capable of providing the fresh start that the child represents, so the damaged marriage was repaired by an action that only a woman could perform. In the words of Hardy, “harmony is fully restored in the house only when [Missie May] gives Joe a son—the ultimate symbol of her wifely value” (51). Ultimately, Missie May’s affair can be partially attributed to Joe, but due to the patriarchy’s structure, he neglected to share …show more content…
Marian Smith Holmes stated that Hurston’s life was pleasant until mid-adolescence when her mother died suddenly and her father remarried. With a new wife and a subsequently shifted focus, Hurston’s father withdrew financial and emotional support (96). Hurston then “took various domestic jobs and attended school only sporadically but pined for the classroom” (Holmes 96). In order to achieve her goal of continuing her education, Hurston had to take control of her situation without succumbing to the restrictions that society placed on her gender. In this time, Hurston didn’t rely on a man to support her financially, so it can be inferred that the many years she spent working menial jobs out of necessity taught her the importance of independence as a woman, contributing to her strong feminist views. In her recount of Hurston’s life, Valerie Boyd mentions that years later Hurston followed a divorce with a failed relationship with a younger man who wanted Hurston to quit writing and become his wife (8). Hurston’s relationship not only reversed traditional gender interactions by consisting of an older woman pursuing a much younger man, but also possibly showed Hurston that even in love a woman can do exactly what a man can. By continuing her career instead of getting married, Hurston asserted her belief that she could follow the
Missie May, while physically accountable for her affair, was driven to act due to male influence. In their criticism of “The Gilded Six-Bits,” Nancy Chinn and Elizabeth E. Dunn assert that “Knowing his wife to be innocent and inexperienced, Joe seeks to persuade her of Slemmons's attractiveness” (775). Therefore, Joe is somewhat to blame for the affair, yet Missie May is the one who endures the guilt and animosity that plagues their marriage. Joe “shoulders little responsibility for the near destruction of the Bankses’ marriage” (Chinn and Dunn 775), whereas “Missie is taunted and tortured by her conscience and her husband for almost a year” (Howard 71). The idea that Missie May and her abilities as a woman were needed to get the couple through their shared struggles is further reinforced by the birth of their child. Missie May is the only person capable of providing the fresh start that the child represents, so the damaged marriage was repaired by an action that only a woman could perform. In the words of Hardy, “harmony is fully restored in the house only when [Missie May] gives Joe a son—the ultimate symbol of her wifely value” (51). Ultimately, Missie May’s affair can be partially attributed to Joe, but due to the patriarchy’s structure, he neglected to share …show more content…
Marian Smith Holmes stated that Hurston’s life was pleasant until mid-adolescence when her mother died suddenly and her father remarried. With a new wife and a subsequently shifted focus, Hurston’s father withdrew financial and emotional support (96). Hurston then “took various domestic jobs and attended school only sporadically but pined for the classroom” (Holmes 96). In order to achieve her goal of continuing her education, Hurston had to take control of her situation without succumbing to the restrictions that society placed on her gender. In this time, Hurston didn’t rely on a man to support her financially, so it can be inferred that the many years she spent working menial jobs out of necessity taught her the importance of independence as a woman, contributing to her strong feminist views. In her recount of Hurston’s life, Valerie Boyd mentions that years later Hurston followed a divorce with a failed relationship with a younger man who wanted Hurston to quit writing and become his wife (8). Hurston’s relationship not only reversed traditional gender interactions by consisting of an older woman pursuing a much younger man, but also possibly showed Hurston that even in love a woman can do exactly what a man can. By continuing her career instead of getting married, Hurston asserted her belief that she could follow the