How Does Miss Maudie Use Gender In To Kill A Mockingbird

“I do my best to love everybody… it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you” (Lee 144). This strong statement is shared from Atticus to his daughter, Scout, in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The difficult topics of racism, prejudice and gender roles are discussed in this episodic novel as a black man is accused of raping a white woman. Two episodes embody these themes as Lee introduces a snowperson and a mad dog implementing symbolism and bigotry. These symbols hold much greater meaning and their inclusion within the novel develops the plot and effortlessly examines the recurring themes dealing with race and gender.

Throughout the novel, gender and gender roles are essential to

During the missionary tea the expectations of a southern woman are revealed: share gossip, wear a dress, and act respectfully. At the time of Tom Robinson’s trial, “Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman” (296). Women are seen as too “frail” to deal with such sordid cases, and would interrupt the case rather than help (296).

The distinction between men and women is made clear which makes the episode of the snowperson ironic. Jem first shapes the snowperson as Mr. Avery but Atticus does not want to upset Mr. Avery as he demands Jem to disguise it. The snowperson is then decorated with a sunhat and hedge-clippers, transformed into a woman, Miss Maudie. Scout hears Atticus and Miss Maudie discussing the snowperson, “... erected an absolute morphodite…”, which she mistakes for the word hermaphrodite (91). A hermaphrodite is an individual in which reproductive organs of both sexes are present which is ironic since genders are differentiated by both appearance and traits. The symbolism of the snowperson demonstrates that although genders are differentiated, they are equal, both contained within one