Fehrenbacher1
Melanie Fehrenbacher
Andrew Leiter
English 170-K
October 21, 2004
The Role of Women in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn
A realist writer both praised and chided for addressing social issues, Mark Twain overtly underscores the hypocrisy of human society in the 19th-century novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Narrated from young protagonist Huck’s point of view, this novel reveals numerous scenes of domestic abuse, racism, senseless violence, and religious corruption—all of which clearly demonstrate to the reader how “human begins can be awful cruel to one another” (208). Although Twain’s disdain for mankind is evinced by the novel’s scenes of cruelty and satirical tone, what is not as clear is Twain’s opinion specifically of women. At times the female characters in the novel appear to be victims restrained by the feminine and domestic stereotypes of the 19th century, and yet many scenes demonstrate how these women are capable of being just as judgmental and hypocritical as their male counterparts. What ultimately emerges is Twain’s subtle and somewhat paradoxical critique of women; while he demonstrates how women were unjustly prejudiced against during the 19th century,he is also criticizing them for being perpetuators of thesociety that keeps them suppressed.
The first two female characters introduced in the novel are the sisters Widow Douglas (Huck’s legal guardian) and Miss Watson. Both are defined to the reader by their relationships with men: Widow Douglas’s name is never given beyond the fact that her husband died, and Miss Watson is referred to as “a tolerable slim old maid” (10) whose brusque personality seems to be a reflection of her single marital status.Both of these women exemplifythe conventional domestic stereotypes of the 19th century; they are “in the house all the time” cooking meals, praying, and striving to disseminate moral decency (1). It is evident by the way Twain has constructed these characters that they arethe unfortunateproducts of a gender-biased society.
However, Twainalso seems to criticize them for their hypocrisy, particularly in their instructions to Huck on rectitude. For example, the widow forbids Huck to smoke for its indecency, but makes an allowance for tobacco snuff because “she done it herself” (2). Similarly, Miss Watson threatens eternal damnation when Huck will not “set up straight” (2), butmeanwhile, she is a slave owner who plans to separate Jim from his family for a price tag. Thus, although these women are living within the limitations set by society, their hypocritical attempts to indoctrinate Huck--and in particular, Miss Watson’s disregard for other human beings--revealhow theyactually are championing society’s double standards instead of challenging them.
Mrs. Judith Loftus’s character is similarly paradoxical. When Huck enters her home dressed like a girl, she is depicted as a domestic housewife “knitting by a candle,” eager to feed Huck and patiently awaiting her husband’s return (49). However, when the two engage in conversation, Mrs. Loftus proves to be perceptive and intelligent. For one, in her suspicion of Huck’s true identity, she keenly asks him to repeat his name, which he gets wrong the second time. To determine if he is actually from the country, she asks him a series of questions about cows, horses, and trees—questions to which she obviously knows the answers. Further, she provides him instructions on how to be more apt at embodying a girl, telling him “you do a girl tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe” (55). With this comment, she suggests that men can be duped more easily than women, reflecting a nascent understanding that men are not necessarily superior.
However, by providing instructions to Huck on how to feign to be female in the first place, Mrs. Loftusis succumbing to society’s gender-biased stereotypes. In addition to asking his name again, she tests him on stereotypical feminine tasks,such as how well he can thread a needle or throw a ball of lead. With the latter,she exacerbates the stereotype that females are less apt at athletics, instructing Huck: “hitch yourself up a-tiptoe and fetch your hand up over your head as awkward as you can, and miss… about six or seven foot” (55). These assumptions serve to propagate the notion that women are inferior to men. By instructing and evaluating Huck on the basis of stereotypes, Mrs. Loftus is, in effect, reinforcing sexism in society.
After Huck learns he is an unconvincing female, he dons the persona of George Jackson for the next family he visits, the Grangerfords. Through the sisters Emmeline and Sophia Grangerford, the reader is introduced to two extremes of female characterization. The former, who is deceased, had been in her lifetime an overly sentimental and morose child.Just before her death, Emmeline composed lachrymose portraits with black crayons of herself in a cemetery “crying into a handkerchief” or “tears running down her cheeks” (91). In addition to these overly romantic and somewhat grotesque pictures, Huck sees Emmeline’sscrapbook ofnumerouspoems about dead people. Althoughher work is melodramatic and morbid, Huck finds himself impressedby her fecundity, particularly that “she could rattle off poetry like nothing. She didn’t ever have to stop to think” (93). Through Emmeline, Twain seems to be critiquing female sentimental writing that proliferated during the 19th century. Like Twain, many male writers scoffed at this popular trend in literature; Nathaniel Hawthorne coined the phrase “damned mob of scribbling women” in condemnation of the female writers who were outselling him in bookstores across America. Ultimately, Emmeline’s work comes across as maudlin and insincere, but much like the “damned mob,” she prolifically fulfills the role the society expected of her.
Juxtaposed to Emmeline is her sisterSophia, a vivacious young woman who is “gentle and sweet” and alsointelligent and independent-minded for going against her family and their enduring feud with the Shepherdsons (95). One Sunday afternoon, she incisively has Huck go back to church to get her New Testament book, and inside is a note from Harney, her boyfriend who is also a Shepherdson, telling her when the two will meet to elope. Upon reading the note, she turns “mighty red…her eyes lighted up, and it made her powerful pretty” (99). This description is the only one in the novel that demonstrates that passioncan exist for a woman. Even though it was grossly immoral for women to maintain secret affairs in the 19th century, Twain appears to laud Miss Sophia for her bravery and independence from her family, providing the couple with a safe escape from the violence that subsequently erupts between the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords. Thus, in directcontrast to the overly sentimental Emmeline who ends up dead, Sophia sincerely follows her heart, diverges from what is expected of her in society, and ends up safe.
As Huck and Jim continue their journey down the Mississippi River, they encounter the two con men who, in the peak of their swindling, pretend to be the brothers of a deceased man to steal his inheritance. As the lying gets out of control, Huck begins to feel guilty; however, it takes the influence of a special female character, Mary Jane, for him to draw the line between right and wrong and put a stop to the fleecing. The last female character that Huck encounters while on his journey, Mary Jane can be compared to each of the women who precede her in the novel. Although she is not as intelligent as Mrs. Loftus, incapable of seeing through the con men’s act and believing virtually anything she is told, Mary Janeis genuine and sincere, much like Sophia. For example, when the Wilks’ slaves (a mother and her children) are auctioned off on account of the will, Mary Jane cries “to think they ain’t ever going to see each other any more!” (167). Through these tears, and the tears she sheds for her dead uncle, Mary Jane contrasts the overly sentimental Emmeline for her sincerity. Further,Mary Jane embodies the pious element of the feminine stereotype with her diligent prayer and good will; however, she differs from the hypocritical Widow Douglas and Miss Watson because her actions are consistent with her beliefs. When she tells Huck “I’ll pray for you,” he knows she is sincere and thinks to himself, “when it comes to beauty—and goodness, too---she lays over them all” (172).
Mary Jane’s positive influence over Huck is a turning point in the novel for many reasons. For one, she emanates compassion, particularly when she defends Huck to her scrutinizing sister by telling her “the thing is for you to treat him kind” (157). As a result of Mary Jane giving Huck the benefit of the doubt, Huck’s compassionate side similarly blossoms. He determines to risk his life in order to ensure her family gets their righteous inheritance: “I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself…I’ll hive that money for them or bust” (158). Furthermore, Mary Jane represents a turning point in Twain’s depiction of women. While Sophia successfully escapes from her oppressive society, Mary Jane takes the next step: she stays and allows her goodness to be an influence over the society that Twain despises.
Unfortunately, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn does not end after Huck leaves Mary Jane. Instead, Huck rejoins society and reverts back to his devious ways with the negative influence of Tom Sawyer. In terms of Twain’s depiction of women, the last female character of the novel, Aunt Sally, resumes his tinge of criticism. A superficial character with little empathy or understanding, she echoes Miss Watson and Widow Douglas from the beginning of the novel. Huck acknowledges this with his concluding lines:
But I reckon I got to light out of the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize [sic]me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before. (263)
Although the role of women is not a prominent feature in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the appearances of supporting female characters such as Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Mrs. Judith Loftus, Emmeline and Sophia Grangerford, Mary Jane, and Aunt Sally are fundamental to the novel’s action and moral development of Huck Finn. These women are indelible to Twain’s representation of human society, and while some echo the hypocrisy of the 19th-century American life through their conformance to stereotypes, others break free from Twain’s condemnation for their genuine sincerity. However, in considering Twain’s controversial and ambiguous portrayal of more explicit social issues, such as Jim and slavery, it is possible that Twain was not supporting a chauvinistic perspective of women in society but rather challenging it in pursuit of something better.
Works Cited
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, N.Y., Amsco School Publications, Inc. 1884.