Gender Roles in Laura Ingalls Wilders The Long Winter

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 11, University of Marburg, course: The Frontier in American History, language: English, abstract: Men and women had definitive roles and tasks at the American Frontier. The image of gender roles at the end of the 19th century is depicted in Laura Ingalls Wilder"s novel The Long Winter. It tells us the story of the Ingalls family"s hard time during blizzards during a hard and long winter. Besides Charles" and Almanzo"s efforts, the strong, able-bodied [female] pioneers […] contribute considerably to the survival of their families (McGinnis). The Long Winter with its domestic ethos and its clearcut models of gender (Romines 1997, 146) is a concrete example to illustrate the gender roles at the American Frontier. In this work the roles of frontier men and women are exemplified by Caroline"s, Charles" and Almanzo"s tasks and lives. Moreover, the girls Laura, Carrie and Mary Ingalls are being prepared to take over the gender roles adopted by their parents.