Gender, Race and Social Class

¶ … gender, race and social class determines the roles of women in a period and social and cultural context which are best described in two stories. These stories are "When women love men" by Rosario Ferre and "The duties of womanhood" by Mirta Yanez. Right from the beginning however it must be mentioned that both authors under analysis are well-known feminists.

In addition, Ferre is considered to be a magical realist. One of the themes which she demonstrates to be fond of is the manner in which the woman is depicted in the western cultural paradigm. The most important factor she seems to argue, is the relationship between gender and class. One of the most controversial stories which she wrote is represented by "When women love men." The plot of the story describes the relationship between two women and a man.

What makes the story provocative is that one of the women is a highly esteemed widow, while the other one is a black prostitute. They both love the same man and they will both get equal parts of his properties when he dies. Naturally the author wishes to make a point about the manner in which class influences the construction of the social persona. Through the choice of naming both the women "Isabel" however she underlines the fact that people (in this case, women) are equal despite their social status or the colour of their skin. It is not only the name which suggests the reader the great similarity between them, but also, and mainly the fact that they both loved the same man.

But these are not the only themes addressed by the author in the story. She also attempts to make a portrait of the social conditions in Puerto Rico at that time, with a special interest for the status of women. The balance power between men and women is presented as being completely unjust. While upper class women are presented as being frigid, the lower class ones are depicted in the portrait of the prostitute. Both statuses imply a tragic dimension. The author wishes to underline the social injustice which derives from the unmotivated superiority of men.

On one hand we have carnal love suggested by the position of Isabel as a prostitute. On the other, we have sacred love, which is symbolized by Isabel the wife. However it is interesting to notice that both figures are incomplete and they need each other in order to reach a full and fulfilled hypostasis. The relationship which they share with the same man also contributes to the creation of their portrait. When he dies they both reconstruct their lives with him, but the very existence of the other in his life (and their life even if they did not know it) changes their perspectives.

Ferre succeeds in making a very subtle point that is every woman who in society is a lady, thanks to her social background, can also become a prostitute. Reversely any woman who is a prostitute because the social conditions have pushed her in this direction can become a lady if given the proper opportunities.

The relation between gender, class and race is extremely powerful and people tend to judge the result of this combination. The author underlines that the result is a mere social persona and that there is so much more to discover beyond that. The fact that the man was sentimentally involved with both women is a suggestion regarding the complexity of the dynamics which are at the basis of human relationships.

One might argue that despite the affection of the man, the status of the women remained the same. In other words he may have appreciated both of the, but one remained the wife while the other one remained the mistress and the prostitute. From this point-of-view it could be stated that love does not have the power to alter the dynamics between gender, race and social class. While this point-of-view is realistic, it is also quite limited. The truth is that he needed both women equally (as the equally divided properties demonstrate). This implies that they completed each other.

The deep level of interpretation which we can grasp is the very complexity of the woman- who can not be defined solely through her social position (determined by coordinates which she can not control such as gender, race and social position). Taking the analysis further the reader might understand that just like a woman is more than her social persona, it is the same thing with men. Under the circumstances in which society is characterized by the hegemony of the male species, one could understand that Ferre is actually contesting the present hierarchy.

Race is another important factor which constructs the social identity of women. It is not by chance that the virginal wife is white while the mistress is black an works as a prostitute. While the white woman is considered to be fragile and in need of the protection of her husband, the black woman is strong enough in order to take care of herself.

And it is through her sexual powers that she succeeds to achieve power. reading between the lines we might understand that while the white woman has the privileges of richness and protection, she is also a sort of property of the man who protects her. The black woman on the other hand, being on her own, is also freer.

In addition it is interesting to notice that each of the women wishes to have what the other has. The black woman wishes to have the social status of the wife, to be respected and to have to defend herself less in front of the social attacks. The wife on the other hand wishes she had the sexual potential and sensuality of the black woman.

The idea of property is also important. Man, being the superior being in this social context is also the owner of all properties. He has social power because he was born a man. he is white and rich, therefore being a symbol of power, perfection and superiority par excellence.

The fact that he needs two women however demonstrates that he is not so perfect. Criticizing the man, Ferre is actually criticizing the society which produced him. Both women are his property since they depend on his financial resources. In this equation the women are the weak link. Ironically, when he goes out of the equation both women become stronger because they are not only richer, but also free.

The manner in which the women position themselves as well as their feelings and ultimately their destinies can also be considered a means through which the author suggests that while skin colour may be different, race is nothing but a social construct. People belonging to different races lead exactly the same lives, guided by the same values, desires and aspirations.

The fact that both women become stronger only after the man is no longer part of their lives is a subtle manner through which she demonstrates that women do not need men in order to be strong and happy (on the contrary they are tied and limited by men who will not accept that both men and women are people and ought to be treated equally).

Mirta Yanez in "The duties of womanhood," although not a magic realist attempts to demonstrate the same thing. The role of the woman in life is a socially constructed one. The social class that she belongs to and the race contribute to shaping her identity in a fundamental manner, even if this is not always just.

While Ferre was highly concerned with the impact of gender upon the construction of social identity as far as women are concerned, Yanez attempts to underline the importance of the implications of race. While she as well believes that race is nothing more than a social construct, she draws the attention to the unjust manner in which society divides people into categories and treats them differently just because they have a different skin colour.

The situation is of course extremely difficult in the case of both black men and women. but, if for black men the hardships refer to finding a job and earning respect and a god social position, women must also face the advances of white men who think that just because they are white and "men" have a right to own them. Womanhood is defined through mechanisms which society imposes.

Reading between the lines we also understand that womanhood is defined by duties. Therefore a woman is perceived and judged through what she does. However there is little freedom in that, since all her tasks and duties are imposed based upon coordinates such as race, belonging to a certain social class and naturally having been born with the female sex in a society in which the superiority of a gender is determined by the belonging to a certain sexual biologic conformation.

All in all, both the feminist writers which the present paper has taken into consideration make a very interesting point in their works regarding the status of the woman. Not only do they manage to present a situation which is unfair, making the reader empathize with the female characters under discussion, but they also demonstrate the complex mechanisms through which the social identity of the woman is constructed.