The oppressive gender roles in our century # 2

" Then she trailed her fingers through the flour, parting, separating small hills and ridges of it, looking for mites. Finding none, she poured soda and salt into the crease of her folded hand and tossed both into the flour. Then she reached into a can and scooped half a handful of lard. Deftly she squeezed the flour through it, then with her left hand sprinkling water, she formed the dough."

In this passage, we see a clear example of women stereotypes. The book puts the fact, that women are not only oppressed but assigned gender roles. In a time period such as 1874, women were still oppressed. This passage, by showing a woman cooking, shows us that women are still today assigned gender roles. Even though there's legislation that attempts to stop discrimination, we still see women being pushed down. From this passage, we see Toni Morrison as a clear feminist. She wants to show her audience that females are (and might continue to be) oppressed. Why didn't Toni Morrison depict Sethe chopping firewood? Because it wouldn't show a clear path of feminism. This book, through several passages, makes use of imagery and scenes to impress a theme of feminism. On a bigger lens, we see this passage connecting to the post-colonial lens, where the time period relates to the stereotypes. The idea of a woman "assigned" to a role in the kitchen, while the man goes to play golf, is truly horrifying. However, in Beloved, we see several examples of female oppression, allowing the audience to foreshadow towards a climax. Maybe, in Beloved, Sethe will "overcome" her inner pain and fear, to overpower and surpass the men in her life, like Paul D. Lastly, I believe Sethe feels oppressed, not only because of the pain of her baby that passed away, but also because of her experiences and what she saw at Sweet Home.  Moreover, this passage can allow us to see Sethe's motherly character. If she didn't care for Denver or Paul D, she didn't have to make the bread. But, like all mothers, there's a sense of duty for her, towards her family. This "motherly perspective" helped me see Sethe, not only as a unique mother (which some argue, is crazy and rots her daughter), but also as a support system for emotionally distant Paul D. Sethe is not only a mother, but a concrete bridge, that doesn't wither when against  the world.