In the novel Winter’s Bone, Ree’s ability to survive and navigate through the unrelenting rules of the Dolly clan and unforgiving Ozark environment, are due to her fluid ability of switching between gender roles when it becomes advantageous to her. Often, this leaves Ree walking a fine line between her femininity and rejection of such role. In a family run by a traditional patriarchy, Ree embodies the role of matriarch in order to support her brothers and care for her mother. This leads to Ree utilizing a more masculine characterization when it comes to the protection of her family - aggressively confronting Deputy Baskin when he inquires for the whereabouts of her father (Woodrell, 11), her demeanor and persistence in seeing Thump Milton (Woodrell, 63) and even teaching her brothers how to shoot (Woodrell, 78). Because of her aquiences to the role of familial leader after the absence of her father, Ree is forced into the Dolly clan’s traditional male role which causes her to adopt masculine traits such as forbearance and strength through endurance. In order to fill this role, Ree depends more so on traditional male roles. This is further emphasized when Ree informs her Uncle Teardrop, “I ain’t lookin to marry” (Woodrell, 168). Due to the Dolly clan’s retrogressive beliefs on the confined role women should play in the Dolly family, this demonstrates how Ree’s ability to switch and identify more with a masculine role gives her further independence. Similarly, after watching Gail hold and feed Ned, Ree “saw in them a living picture illustrating one kind of future. The looming expected kind of future and not one she wanted” (Woodrell, 93). Her further emphasis on the rejection of a traditional mothering role speaks to Ree’s dependence on her use of masculine traits.
While Ree’s ability to identify with strong male traits allows her the power and fortitude to protect her family, her actions seem to be influenced by her feminine side. With the option to leave her family and join the army, Ree remains at their home in the Ozark for her brothers, “[her] grand hope was that these boys would not be dead to wonder by age twelve, dulled to life, empty of kindness, boiling with mean” (Woodrell, 8). While Ree doesn’t want children of her own, it is her maternal traits and instincts that drive her to stay, so that she can raise her brothers properly and juxtaposed to the traditional Dolly way. Following the mental downfally of her mother, Ree becomes her caretaker, another role typically performed by women. She performs the acts of cooking and even washing her mother’s hair. While Ree’s emotional connection to theses actions may be distant, the actions nonetheless prove Ree utilizes some of her feminine and maternal qualities as motivation to care for her family. This balancing of gender roles is most evident in Ree’s attire, “[she] nearly always wore a dress or a skirt, but with combat boots” (Woodrell 20). This juxtaposition between a soft, feminine skirt and the hard leather combat boots that allow her to do “men’s work”, are symbolic of Ree’s balance of two genders and their accompanying traits, proving to survive in the Ozark, one needs both.
I agree with your argument of Ree’s conflict between masculinity and femininity. Present in the novel is the theme of men’s dominance in the Ozark society. Teardrop’s character proves that the society’s philosophy is that the way to get power is through violence, and as a result many of the women in the novel are at the mercy of the men in their lives. Gail is an example of this, as she’s trapped in an unhappy marriage with Floyd because her father forced her to marry upon finding out about her pregnancy. Ree’s mother also has trapped herself as a result of the trauma caused by Jessup’s being in and out of jail. Even though Ree tries to escape, she too is ultimately bound by the men in her life, namely her father. Her adoption of traditionally masculine traits reflects the ideals of her society, that women are viewed as below men, and as a result Ree thinks feminine qualities are inferior. Ree still possesses feminine qualities, such as the mentioned maternal instincts, but she fights these qualities because of the influence of society and the view of women. However, despite trying to escape her circumstances, Ree cannot escape because of her father’s betrayal but also the overbearing societal rules in the Ozark. I agree that at the end of the novel, Ree finds a balance of female and male roles and becomes content in her situation.
ReplyDeleteThough I can agree with the duality of Ree in this post, I believe that describing her and her actions in such a traditional way goes against the purpose that she serves in this novel. My interpretation of Ree is a character that does not care about traditional gender norms or actions. Because of her open defiance against what she is expected to do, I find it hard to confine her description as “masculine” and “feminine”.
ReplyDeleteThe world that Ree lives in is incredibly gendered and unequal for many reasons. When she is visiting with Little Arthur and Megan, Ree describes that she is taking care of “them two boys and Mom” at the young age of sixteen (Woodrell 55). Before she is even an adult, Ree is taking care of three other people, and is doing so in a very stressful situation. Because of her upbringing and current situation, Ree has a complete disregard for many of the unspoken rules of their community. This disregard is especially clear when she stands up to Blond Milton saying she best “shut up” (Woodrell 72). Ree’s determination and passion continues throughout the book as she makes her own path against the suggestion of her community.
The combination of Ree’s responsibilities and the way she goes about completing them encourages me to not read her as a woman with “masculine” traits but instead as an empowered woman. I believe that Ree’s character is one of many throughout literature that serves as a role model for other young women. Her dedication, desires, and future plans do not make her any less of a woman, but instead emphasize her identity as a person, and a young woman.