Ziv 1

Daniel Ziv

Professor Ditch

English 115

6 November 2017

The Fluidity of Gender Roles

Wars can change people. Whether it be for the better or the worse, violence has the power

to alter the nature of any type of person. Set in London in 1946, The Guernsey Literary and

Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows, features some of the hardships

people faced during WWII. Guernsey, a small island in the English Channel, is a farming

community that faces prosecution from Germany. The islanders cope with the war through their

book club, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The novel contains very complex

gender performances that take place among certain characters. Depending on the interaction,

which includes the person, space, and time frame, there are some noticeable differences in the

way characters behave towards one and other. More specifically, their masculinity and

femininity becomes fluid, and a different side of the character comes into light. Juliet Ashton is

journalist who mostly writes humorous articles, but is ready to be taken seriously. She

accomplishes this, as well as some major personal discovery, on her adventure to the island of

Guernsey. She eventually meets the love of her life, Dawsey Adams, a pig farmer whom had a

rough, parentless, childhood. Throughout their journey on Guernsey, Dawsey and Juliet struggle,

survive, and prosper together, and each situation portrays a new side of each of them. As they

experience ups and downs, internal conflicts, and enlightenments, both Juliet and Dawsey

conform and break free from their prescribed gender norms.

 Ziv 2

Being a strong, independent pig farmer, Dawsey Adams is a classic mans man. He

conforms to his gender by undertaking a fatherly, working role on the island. First, when Juliet

arrives on the island, Dawsey carries her bags, keeps watch in the little kids so they dont slip

and fall off the pier, and just makes himself useful in general. He takes upon a fatherly figure, as

he treats the members of the community as though they were part of his own family. His

conformity to prescribed masculinity here, shows how he can be trusted, relied upon, and is

overall someone to be looked up to and helpful in times of need. Also, he conforms to his gender

role when he is asked to restore the Big House and a fence surrounding a home. Dawsey is an

old-school, hard-working man. He is turned to when things need fixing or updating. He gets his

work done right, efficiently, and never complains or argues that he does all the repairs. This

masculine conformity shows how he realizes his place in the Guernsey society, and he embraces

the working role, as their society has pushed him to do so. The islanders trust him with their

personal work too, alluding to his previous experience with laborious, challenging tasks. But it

has to be this way. The way society is makes it so that persons who perform the activities

considered appropriate for another gender will be expected to perform them poorly; if they

succeed...they may be rewarded with ridicule or scorn for blurring the gender dividing line,

(Devor 40). So Dawsey has no choice but to undertake this masculine role, because it would

confuse the gender establishments if a female were to succeed in completing his laborious work.

By accepting the working mans role, Dawsey keeps the social conformities in check.

However there is another side to Dawsey, one that has been hidden deep inside him, one

that only a few members of the community have experienced. The lack of parents in Dawseys

early life lead to timidness and relationship immaturity, which can be seen as feminine traits for

a male to posses. A dominant male would be outgoing and expressive, not afraid to voice his
 Ziv 3

opinions whether theyre offensive or not, and bold in nature and language. Dawsey is the

opposite. As learned in Isola Pribbys journal entries at the end of the novel, he is described as

shy and hesitant. The explanation that unfolds is that he has never loved anybody, and nobody

has ever loved him, therefore he doesnt know how to handle his feelings. Hes missing the

balance between labor and emotion, and is immature in relationship terms. Its not his fault

consciously however, since research indicates that the father's' involvement in the lives of

children is essential for optimal child-rearing. For example, this complementarity is provided by

mothers who are flexible, warm, and sympathetic, and fathers who are more directive,

predictable, and consistent, (Byrd). Dawseys lack of parental love, guidance, and stability may

have led to his emotional uncertainness. Without the influence of motherly and fatherly love in

his life, he has no idea how to act on his feelings. He may not even realize that love is what he is

truly feeling, as he has had no past experience with this complicated emotion. He then portrays

the ultimate side of femininity when he is proposed to by Juliet. This is almost socially unheard

of, and though theres nothing wrong with it, it greatly deceives the social norm. One could say

that nobody is good at everything, but everyone is good at something, which is an accurate

way to describe Dawseys lifestyle, (Del Gandio 95). Hes excellent at building and fixing and

all the hands on work, but when it comes to emotions and knowing himself, he is lacking and

shy. He cannot come in contact with his feelings, which shows weakness and highlights his

feminine side. Though in the end he comes to discover some sort of balance, in the duration

when hes trying to understand his internal conflict, other characters, like Juliet and Remy, are

affected by this uncertainty.

For a majority of the novel, Juliet is portrayed as a very dominant woman, breaking away

from her prescribed feminine role. For example, she physically slaps a girl when she attempts to
 Ziv 4

steal some important letters. The fact that the girl was so young, and that Juliet didnt hesitate for

a second to punish her, shows how she takes on a fatherly, parental figure. Such violent,

masculine actions dictate her personality, but also develops her role as the missing dominant

figure on the island of Guernsey. One of the main reasons that Juliet decided to travel to the

island was to be taken more seriously as a writer, but in turn her personality almost evolves into

that of a male, being dominant and outspoken in manner. However its natural for this to occur

sometimes as gender boundaries are breachable, and individual and socially organized shifts

from one gender to another call attention to cultural, social or aesthetic dissonances, (Lorber

23). Therefore her actions can be seen as those of cultural influence, and it shows how Juliet

changed to fit an essential figure that was missing from the Guernsey society. Though she did

not realize it while it was actually happening, her visit to the island not only helped her become a

serious writer, but also altered her personality as a very masculine female. Sometimes, simply

entering a new environment, with new people and new interactions, can bring out a side of a

person that they never knew existed. And, this can ultimately lead to a shift in gender

performance, as certain spaces extract specific actions from people, depending on individual

personality and decision-making. Therefore, a society can actually conform a person into the

opposite gender role, as seen by Juliets role as a masculine figure.

On the other hand however, Juliet does exhibit her soft feminine side at times. For

example when Dawsey seemingly ignores her after her first few days on the island, she feels

rejected, unimportant, and undesirable. Emphasizing her weakness, Juliets desire for Dawseys

attention illustrates her femininity. This is because Women, by contrast, is constructed as

dependent, subordinate, and secondary. This construction excludes women and establishes

gender hierarchy within the individual mind, within personal relationships, and within society,
 Ziv 5

(Del Gandio 115). Juliet, whether it be consciously or not, wants Dawsey to attempt to initiate

some kind of connection. Its a social norm for the male to try to trigger a relationship when hes

interested in a female, and when Dawsey basically ignores Juliet, she feels weak and rejected,

portraying femininity. Theres reason for this however, being that men have more difficulty

adopting behaviors that protect psychological health, such as establishing and maintaining

fulfilling interpersonal relationships and managing stress (Callaghan, 2006; Fhrer & Stansfeld,

2002; Nolen-Hoeksema, 2012) (Houle). So Dawseys labor-intensive lifestyle distracts him

from focusing on having healthy relationships. However this causes Juliet to feel unappreciated,

which eventually leads to her being forced to play the masculine role.

As they break free and conform to gender roles, Juliet and Dawsey discover their longing

for each other. They help one another become comfortable with each others situations, which

creates an even stronger bond between the two. Having a partner who accepts you when acting in

a feminine or masculine manner helps develop a healthy, well-balanced relationship, and Juliet

and Dawsey are the perfect example in how to find an appropriate understanding of both. So,

gender breaking gender boundaries isnt something to fear or be ashamed of. Rather it can be

embraced and accepted, as having both a masculine, dominant side, and a feminine, softer side,

can benefit personal relationships. It can even help attract a partner, as the opposing gender may

find comfort if a partner shares some of the same socially conformed traits that they are

inherently expected to posses. As seen within the relationship between Juliet and Dawsey,

breaching the gender wall can be beneficial, and this can help a connection flourish.
 Ziv 6

Works Cited

Byrd, Dean A. Dual-Gender Parenting for Optimal Child Development. ProQuest , Journal of
Human Sexuality , 2010,
search.proquest.com/genderwatch/docview/1462344401/532192FDDF934B1APQ/16?ac
countid=7285.

Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society . Composing Gender, p. 40

Gandio, Jason Del. Rhetoric for Radicals: a Handbook for 21st Century Activists. Rhetoric for
Radicals: a Handbook for 21st Century Activists, New Society Publishers, 2008, pp. 95,
115

Houle, Janie, and Sophie Meunier. Masculinity Ideology Among Male Workers and Its
Relationship to Self-Reported Health Behaviors. ProQuest , International Journal of
Men's Health , 2015, search-proquest-
com.libproxy.csun.edu/genderwatch/docview/1751184239/BDF73F8586E74F21PQ/31?a
ccountid=7285.

Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day . Composing Gender, p. 23.