Gender Roles Half Breed And Anne Of Green Gables

Both Half-breed and Anne of Green Gables are two texts that inherently glorify gender specific roles. It is not to say that gender roles carry with them only the negative connotation that many of us have given them, but with them they also bring the ability for many of us to grow into our personal identities. Maria and Anne accepted some gender roles and fought others but either way it was the journey that helped them to get to their personal identities. Half-Breed, the autobiography of Maria Campbell indicates throughout the book how gender roles affected her personal identity. This autobiography is written in the times when gender roles were the norm for males and females. The first incidence of this is when Maria Campbell’s Mother passes away and the family automatically relies on her to act as the mother figure for her younger siblings and Maria, knowingly or unknowingly, takes on this new role. I am highlighting this gender role because everything else Maria did throughout the novel became actions to help fulfill this motherly role to the best. She stopped her education to better take care of her family. She married not because she loved her partner but because she thought of all the securities it could bring to her family. Continuous self-sacrifice is a gender role that is generally associated with being a mother figure or even a female. Very early on in the novel we can see a glimpse of the expected gender role. This is indicated when her father is â€Å"disappointed†