Gender Roles in Small Things Like These Analysis

Understanding the gender roles in Small Things Like These is essential for Leaving Certificate English students. Claire Keegan’s novella keenly portrays the rigid societal expectations placed on men and women in 1980s rural Ireland. These roles significantly shape the characters’ lives and motivations.

Traditional Gender Roles in New Ross

The novella depicts a community where traditional gender roles are deeply entrenched. Men and women occupy distinct spheres, with specific duties and societal pressures.

• Men’s roles: Primarily providers and public figures. Bill Furlong exemplifies this as a coal merchant, responsible for his family’s income and reputation. This is explored further in our guide to Small Things Like These cultural context.
• Women’s roles: Centred on domesticity, child-rearing, and maintaining moral appearance. Mrs. Furlong manages the household and fears social ostracisation.

These roles restricted personal freedom, especially for women, who were often voiceless in decision-making.

Impact on Female Characters

Female characters face intense scrutiny and limited options within this patriarchal society. Their value often depended on their perceived purity and obedience.

“They would be on the straight and narrow for a while, she thought, then it would be back to the old ways.”

This quote, referring to the girls at the convent, highlights the cyclical nature of oppression. Unmarried mothers, like those in the Magdalene Laundries, were severely punished for failing to conform.

Bill Furlong and Masculine Expectations

Bill Furlong embodies the complexities of male gender roles. He is expected to be stoic, hardworking, and to disregard emotional sensitivity in favour of practicality.

• Provider Pressure: His entire focus is on ensuring his family’s security, often at personal cost. This unwavering commitment is a defining male characteristic.
• Conformity vs. Conscience: Bill struggles between his societal expectation to ignore wrongdoing and his burgeoning conscience. Challenging the convent meant risking his family’s livelihood and social standing.

His eventual decision to act against the prevailing social current shows a transcendence of these rigid expectations.

Furlong’s Wife and Daughters

Mrs. Furlong represents the pragmatic female perspective often forced by such limited societal structures. She prioritises her family’s safety and reputation above all else.

• Her immediate concern is how Bill’s actions will affect their daughters’ futures. This reflects the intense pressure on women to secure advantageous marriages.
• Their daughters, still young, are already being groomed for conventional roles, learning domestic duties and expected behaviours.

Keegan uses these characters to show the intergenerational impact of ingrained gender norms.

Examining Gender Roles: What Examiners Look For

When discussing gender roles in Small Things Like These in your exam, focus on their restrictive nature. Show how these roles limited individual agency and perpetuated injustice.

• Analyse restrictions: How did societal views of gender constrain characters like the young mothers or even Mrs. Furlong?
• Characterisation: Connect gender roles to character motivations and conflicts, particularly Bill’s internal struggle.
• Social commentary: Discuss how Keegan critiques these roles and their consequences for Irish society.

Always support your points with specific examples and quotations from the text. For more guidance on textual analysis, see our general study guide.

Key Takeaways for Gender Roles

• Small Things Like These critically examines the rigid gender roles of 1980s Ireland.
• Women faced immense social pressure, often leading to marginalisation.
• Men were bound by expectations of provision and stoicism, often suppressing moral impulses.
• Bill Furlong’s eventual action challenges these norms, highlighting the possibility of moral courage.