Maycomb Gender Roles

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Set the stage for 1933, in the sleepy little town of Maycomb, when gender roles were very different from today. In a time where women were thought to be hyper feminine, explored in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, emphasis is placed on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which utilizes the motif of feminine and masculine boundaries to characterize Maycomb as traditional (secluded), and Jem as opinionated—(controlling?). Maycomb's gender roles are influenced by the societal standards of the time. The town has more traditional values, and since the majority of the women are older, it leads elderly women such as Mrs. Dubose to find Scout unfeminine. And she proceeds to call her out on it, as she thinks that Scout needs to be “in a dress and camisole, [or she’ll] grow up waiting at tables if …show more content…
This also gives an insight to the time period, because it is commonly thought that everyone “ want[s] to grow up to be a lady” (Lee, 90). Except for the exception of Scout, who feels different because she does “not particularly” (Lee, 90) want to become a lady. So from the influence of Scout Peers, she can’t be who she is meant to be. Jem views women as overly talkative and apprehensive. He thinks negatively of feminine traits since he finds that “acting [too] much like a girl is mortifying” (Lee 42). This proves the thought of him finding feminine traits to be unappealing. Which therefore shows that he is willing to control Scout only for his appeal and he expects her to act according to what will make him comfortable. He has this idea that in order to be feminine, it means acting suitable to the societal standards of Maycomb. Which he has a blurry grasp on, due to the fact that he has mostly grown up without a motherly figure. So therefore he has tried to piece together his own idea of femininity, just from the seemingly “traditional” women around his

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