Gender Roles

2 Pages 548 Words

In today’s growing population, gender roles are always playing major parts in our way of life. Through observation and general knowledge I think that certain gender roles are absent in single parented families. For instance, if there is a single mother who is the primary care taker, then a father figure is not always present and vice versus. I think this leaves the parent under a lot of pressure to provide their children with both a motherly figure and fatherly figure.
For instance, in the story written by Tillie Olsen, a young girl is being described as being somber, depressed, thin, frail, and troubled due to lack of attention from both a mother and a father as a child. In this story there is evidence of absence of both parental figures. Emily the young girl being discussed in this story had a mother who is described as being young and distracted for most of Emily’s early stages of childhood, who also had a father that left the family when Emily wasn’t even a year old. Emily was neglected, put in day care, nursery school, sent off with relatives, and sent away to a convalescent home. Thus, leaving her confused and depressed about her life. I think Olsen is trying to send a message through this story that motherhood is important in all childrens' lives. Children need a nurturing figure in their lives. Although Olsen is defining motherhood in this story as a negative aspect in Emily’s life, I think she is really trying to indirectly convey the message that because this mother was absent for her daughter’s childhood she not acting like the normal adolescent female that she should be. Therefore, motherhood should be defined as a female parent who holds authority, maternal tenderness or affection towards children. A mother should also be impressive or contemptible and have role model qualities for her children to follow. Emily’s mother holds none of these traits for poor Emily, and Emily sees that. She is jealou...