Gender Role Reevaluation in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro...

Gender Role Reevaluation in Boys and Girls Recent history boldly notes the protests and political unrest surrounding the Vietnam Conflict during the 1960s and 70s. However, equally important in this era are the women who pushed for gender role reevaluation and publicly rebelled against the established social norm of a womans place. Although Alice Munro may not have been burning her bra on the courthouse steps, threads of a feminist influence can be found in Boys and Girls. Munros main character, a girl probably modeled after Munros own childhood experiences on an Ontario farm, faces her awakening body and the challenge of developing her social identity in a mans world. The girl, an unnamed character, acts as†¦show more content†¦The girl distrusts her mother and believes her to be out of touch, while helping her father in his real work (468). Surprisingly, the girls desire to avoid the manifestation of her femininity in womanly tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, influences her into feeling that her mot her is plotting now to get [her] to stay in the house [. . ]. and keep [her] from working for [her] father (469). The girl chooses to dismiss her mother, thereby dismissing her own future role as a housewife. In an attempt to reflect the girls changing awareness of her social identity and femininity, Munro weaves in a young sorrel mare, Flora. As the expectations of the girls pending role in society grow, Flora takes up residence in the stable and adds an air of gallantry and abandon (470) to the girls sheltered life. Just as the girl experiences confusion and angst, Flora [is] given to fits of violent alarm (470) of more of tangible nature. An approaching crossroad in Floras life, namely her death, parallels the crossroad of identity the girl is facing. With the realization of Floras death, the girl adopts a new wariness, a sense of holding-off, in [her] attitude to [her] father and his work (473), causing her to question the very foundation of her social opinions up to that point. By allowing Flora to escape through the gate, the girl symbolically opens the passageway to her feminine side. Even in its futility, this act sets the