"There was not a grain of modesty about Miss Amelia, and she frequently seemed t to forget altogether that there men in the room. Noe as she stood warming herself, her red dress was pulled up quite high in the back so that a piece of her strong, hairy thigh could be seen by anyone who cared to look at it." (59)
The Gender reversals in this text were so striking that I decided they must have some importance. Mrs. Amelia is portrayed as very masculine. She is over 6 feet tall, has strong hairy legs, smokes pipes regularly, and finds it entertaining to feel her own biceps! On the flip side Cousin Lymon is sickly, small, gossipy, and clearly portrayed as feminine. Marvin Macy is caught somewhere in the middle. He is not overtly feminine, but certain actions he takes could lead us to see a slight reversal. For instance, signing over all of his possessions to Miss Amelia can be seen as a dowry of sorts. This gender reversal also plays into the love triangle these characters are caught in. It almost seems that even strong "male-like" characters are shown as weaker, or more womanlike when in love. The above example of Marvin Macy is one such case. Miss Amelia's character also experiences change when she is in love with Cousin Lymon. Before Lymon abandoned Miss Amelia, she has always taken firm courses of actions. However, for the first time she is pursuing multiple courses of action. She allows Marvin into the house after she has sworn not to. Also Amelia begins wearing more feminine clothes when Lymon abandons her. What do you think the importance of these gender reversals are? And what do they say about the message of the story?
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