Something that became apparent to me while reading “Shiloh” was that the whole story revolved around Leroy losing his masculinity and Norma Jean taking over the more masculine role. Leroy is emasculated in multiple ways. First, he has a significant loss of physical ability with his injury. Secondly, he can no longer fill the role of provider since he lost his job. Thirdly, he has the desire to build a house for his wife, but the closest he ever gets is playing with toys. Also, Mason even goes as far as to have Leroy do needlepoint. Finally, the ability to father children has always been an indicator of masculinity; sadly, the only child Leroy ever had passed away, leaving him no paternal legacy. To make things worse, Norma Jean begins to step in to his masculine role by being so focused on physical strength, as well as being pointedly emotionless. No section of the story sums up this conflict better then when they are talking about the meaning of their names. When Norma Jean tells Leroy that his means “the king” Leroy responds with “am I still the king around here?” (13) Norma Jean’s physical response is to flex her arm muscles. Also, Norma Jean declares that the Norma comes from the Normans, who were “invaders” (13). This is a clear hint to Norma Jean “invading” Leroy’s role as “the king”.
I agree with you on this. There is definite emasculinity going on with Leroy, and a gaining of masculinity for Norma Jean, but this story made me wonder about where we draw the lines between masculine vs. feminine. Could Norma Jean be considered more masculine than feminine merely due to her actions?
ReplyDeleteIn regard to Norma Jean invading Leroy's role, I think that could also be seen vice versa because in Leroy's absence, Norma Jean has taken over the role of "the king" and it seems to me that Leroy is the one invading Norma Jean's reign as he returns home and plays the housewife role.
I also considered this point. I wonder if this couple was never supposed to really be together due to their masculine/feminine conflicts or was the conflict only a product of their time?
ReplyDeleteGood post, Amelia!
ReplyDelete