Thus far in Pudd'nhead Wilson, the only female character we have had the opportunity to meet and see some character development. And what an interesting character she is. But the rest of the characters are men, of all ages, who talk to each other about manly things. This novel is so clearly about men and their relationships to each other (centered around inheritance, honor, and masculine dominance) that had Twain not liked Roxy for plot, he could have just done away with women characters entirely. Roxy too, is an interesting mix of masculine and feminine characteristics. Her conniving and dominance of Tom are distinctly masculine and are traits present in the male characters. The only time we are reminded that she is in fact a she, is in Twain's remarks about motherhood: "her motherhood rose up strong" (85). It is only in her role as a caregiver (though she does not inspire feelings of warmth and comfort) that we see feminine characteristics.
Though the entire novel so far seems disjointed, the absence of women makes it decidedly more so. There are a strange absence of wives, mothers, sisters, nieces, aunts, or grandmothers that are given more than a word or two mention. The effect is a town where women seem very scarce and men loose without anything to temper their destructive tendencies (like dueling, which Twain describes very nonchalantly: "He had heard several distant gun shots, but that sort of thing was not uncommon" (74). The lack of women seems to permeate the novel with continuous general lawlessness.
The only other real woman in the novel is Rowena, and she seems to entirely lack character depth. In fact, she reinforces the male-centric world in which the novel takes place through her role as an observer of men. Delighted by the Italian twins' stay in her home, she remarks to herself, "And to think, they are ours--all ours" (32). The sense of ownership she feels is ironic because she merely watches the men without really interacting with them; they are hardly "her" men. She also "recognized with a pang that this most splendid episode of her life was almost over, that nothing quite its equal could ever fall to her fortune again" (33). This statement suggesting that hosting these men in her home is the most exciting event that will occur in her lifetime further reveals Twain's irony, but it's also a sad statement about Rowena's mundane and secluded life in a town in which she has no real authority to involve herself in men's activity.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you brought this up in class today. I think it's really interesting to question the gender dynamics in all of the literature we've been reading this semester.
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