Rachel Craven

Fran Voltz
UWRT 1101
November 10, 2014
Gender Roles in Kincaids Culture
Under the law, women and men have equal rights, but is that really the case? If you look
into history or at the real world today, youll see a different story. Jamaica Kincaids short fiction
Girl portrays a story of a mother taking control of her daughters life and teaching a hard
lesson of obedience. The only character speaking is the narrator which is the mother, with only
two interjections from her daughter. Throughout the story, the mother is passing down to her
daughter knowledge on what to do and how to act as a woman in her Antigua, poverty- stricken,
society. With her commands to her daughter in Girl, there are also implications on gender roles
of the women. Lost identities, tension, and unhappy domesticity are all apart of Jamaica
Kincaids life because of the impact of gender roles in her society.
Gender roles are sets of social and behavioral norms that are generally considered
appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship (Luhaorg). At a
certain age in childs life these social and behavioral norms are passed down, and thats what we
read about in Girl. The mother is providing advice, commands, and a little bit of criticism to
her young daughter. As Kincaid writes, wash the colored clothes on Tuesday and put them on a
clothesline to dry (163) and cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil (163), the reader can
tell the mother is giving the daughter advice since she is now of age to do the chores. Looking
more in depth at the duties given by the mother, it is obvious that they are only obligations a

woman should have such as cooking and cleaning. This is how you iron your fathers khaki
shirt so that it doesnt have a crease (163), is another sentence that states only doing a
womans work. These implications of gender roles of a woman take away the identity from the
young girl. Women who have no other option but to live by gender roles give up their true
expression, emotions, and feelings to make sure they manage the role of a woman (Sagrestano).
The daughter in Girl will have a rare chance to express herself or explore any other way to live
her life. Her daily life is written and spoken to her by her mother and that is all she will ever
know. Undergoing specific gender roles in a culture will cause a womans identity only to be
known as female (Sagrestano). The mother even lets her daughter know quickly that there are
hardly to be any questions asked when she ignored her daughters interjections. But I dont sing
benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school, said the daughter, to be completely
ignored by her mother who continues to talk about sewing. Because she is a girl, the gender roles
in her society will cause the daughter to lose her voice and what could be the uniqueness of her
identity.
Another topic that is an effect of gender roles and is found throughout the story of Girl
is tension. Diane Simmons, the author of Jamaica Kincaid, praised her work for being
controlled and unsparing in its criticism. Despite the mixed reviews Kincaid, who is frequently
asked to justify the anger that infuses her writing, makes no apologies for her strongly held
beliefs and willfully voiced opinions. When reading the short story, one can tell that the mother
isnt kind and warm-hearted; she is more straightforward and intense. Along with the example of
the mother ignoring the daughters remarks, Kincaid sets a tone when she uses certain language
and punctuation. Through Girl there is hardly any periods, just semi colons, to show that the
mother is being tense and ongoing with her demands to her daughter. The gender roles she is

implementing on her daughter are so significant to her culture and society that the mother has to
present them in a stern way so they become effective. It is said by Janice Lee, in the article
Gender Roles, that a woman who doesnt follow her cultures rules and duties then she will be
shunned. There are places all over the world that still have major inequality, but men and women
do not want to stray away from their cultures. The mother of the daughter in Girl did not want
her to face the consequences if she did not follow service as a woman, so she chose to be tense
and firm. The mother even repeated the word slut and said, this way they wont recognize the
immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming (Kincaid 163). Because of the gender
roles that are crucial to follow in her society, the mother responds to her daughter in harsh,
intense way.
A third example of negative effects of gender roles on women is a hopeless domesticity.
Domesticity is family life; outside influences can cause an atmosphere of an unhappy
domesticity (Morgan). Jamaica Kincaid writes, This is how to bully a man; this is how a man
bullies you; this is how to love a man, and if this doesnt work there are other ways, and if they
dont work dont feel too bad about giving up (163). Within her family, the mother is
comparing the same attitude toward hate (bullying) with the same attitude towards love. As a
mother, she is use to listening to the regulations and following her role as a woman, it would be
normal for her to think of love as another role she has to abide by. It is also said by Kincaid
[T]his is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it becomes a child; this is
how to catch a fish; this is how to throw back a fish you dont like (163). The mother is living
in a family that treats an unwanted fish and a child the same. Usually in strict cultures that follow
gender roles the husband is in charge, he even has all the power over the women and can
determine when its allowed for a woman to give birth (Morgan). How can a family have hope of

a happy life if the man and woman arent seen as having equal power? As read in Girl, a
womans role, given by a man, is in control of her life and is creating a hopeless domesticity.
In conclusion, my argument is against female gender roles, especially because of the toll
they take on women. Gender roles within a society can leave a woman with no identity, it can
cause tension between generations, and it can make for a hopeless family life. The negative
effects of the gender roles can be read and described in Jamaica Kincaids story Girl. It may be
a short story but it has compelling meaning to women and their role in society. People today
should make sure not to take a simple life for granted, when there are individuals and cultures
out there still fighting for equality.
Works Cited
Lee, Janice W., and Amie M. Ashcraft. Gender Roles. New York: Nova Biomedical, 2005. N. pag. Print.
Luhaorg, Helen, and Marilyn T. Zivian. "Gender Role Conflict: The Interaction of Gender, Gender Role,
and Occupation." Sex Roles 33.9-10 (1995): 607-20. Print.
Morgan, Simon. "Between Public And Private: Gender, Domesticity, And Authority In The Long
Nineteenth Century." The Historical Journal 54.04 (2011): 1197-210. Print.
Sagrestano, L. "Gender: Stereotypes and Roles." Psychology of Women Quarterly 17.3 (1993): 358-60.
Print.
Simmons, Diane. "The Rhythm of Reality in the Works of Jamaica Kincaid. " World Literature Today. v68,
Summer 1994: 466