Femininity in There There
How is femininity depicted in There There? What roles do the female characters assume in their community? Within their families?
In There There author Tommy Orange offers an interesting depiction of feminism. The first section from the point of view of a female is Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield's. This one section sets the tone in terms of feminism for the rest of the novel. One of the first pieces of information that we learn about Opal is that her family consists of three women: her mother, her sister, and herself. Each of these three women have traits that differ from what is thought to be the classic woman who is kind, smart but not intelligent, not physically or mentally strong, and undoubtedly dependent on a man. Opal's mother was strong: she raised her two daughters alone with very little money and very little help. Opal's sister is independent: she sat away from her family on the bus ride to Alcatraz which proves her self-sufficiency and reserved nature. Opal is courageous as is shown later in the novel when protecting her pregnant sister and hitting Ronald with a baseball bat. Besides simply masculinizing these female characters, Orange also makes a great point through Opal's mother's dialogue: "We had our own way of naming before white people came over and spread all those dad names around in order to keep the power with the dads." I believe that this is Orange's commentary on the difference between Native American women and White women, but on a deeper level between Native American men and White men. Opal's mother believes that the power-craving White men restrain the potential of the women in their lives in order to stay on top. The Native American men, however, are far less focused on status and also trust the women more. I think that this theme of Native American women having the ability to rise to the occasion and prove their strengths will be prominent in the last part of this novel.
In There There author Tommy Orange offers an interesting depiction of feminism. The first section from the point of view of a female is Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield's. This one section sets the tone in terms of feminism for the rest of the novel. One of the first pieces of information that we learn about Opal is that her family consists of three women: her mother, her sister, and herself. Each of these three women have traits that differ from what is thought to be the classic woman who is kind, smart but not intelligent, not physically or mentally strong, and undoubtedly dependent on a man. Opal's mother was strong: she raised her two daughters alone with very little money and very little help. Opal's sister is independent: she sat away from her family on the bus ride to Alcatraz which proves her self-sufficiency and reserved nature. Opal is courageous as is shown later in the novel when protecting her pregnant sister and hitting Ronald with a baseball bat. Besides simply masculinizing these female characters, Orange also makes a great point through Opal's mother's dialogue: "We had our own way of naming before white people came over and spread all those dad names around in order to keep the power with the dads." I believe that this is Orange's commentary on the difference between Native American women and White women, but on a deeper level between Native American men and White men. Opal's mother believes that the power-craving White men restrain the potential of the women in their lives in order to stay on top. The Native American men, however, are far less focused on status and also trust the women more. I think that this theme of Native American women having the ability to rise to the occasion and prove their strengths will be prominent in the last part of this novel.
Very interesting argument, Claire. I agree with your point on how Opal, her mother, and her sister stray from the "classic" women in terms of their independence and resilience. However, we seem to disagree on the commentary of the white man versus the Native American man. You seem to imply that the Native American men are portrayed as more respectful of women, though it is Harvey and Ronald--both Native American men--who prey on Opal and her sister. I believe that the quote you brought up is talking more about white oppression than it is about a difference in respect for women between the races. Rather than attempting to highlight the difference between white and Native American men, I believe that Orange is trying to show that sexism exists with both groups of people.
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