Gender Roles in Giovanni’s Room

Gender Roles: Due to Success? In Giovanni’s Room, In Cold Blood, and Radioactive, characters struggle with gender roles and norms, trying to fit into roles that were not made for them. In the three novels, characters are held back by these norms in some way. While the characters are held back, some characters, such as Marie Curie, are still able to break these gender roles. A character’s ability to break gender norms is directly associated with their success, which calls into question whether more success leads to more gender barriers broken.

In Giovanni’s Room, In Cold Blood, and Radioactive, characters have to deal with societal gender roles, and depending on the character’s ability to be successful, the characters let the norms define them.

In Giovanni’s Room, David lacks success in his career and believes in gender norms, which becomes a stigma in his relationships. David cannot seem to find himself, or where he fits, in America, so he goes to France. He expresses his inability to find himself when he says, “I think now that if I had had any intimation that the self I was going to find would turn out to be only the same self from which I had spent so much time in flight, I would have stayed at home. But, again, I think I knew, at the very bottom of my heart, exactly what I was doing when I took the boat for France” (Baldwin 21). David is not successful in finding a place for himself in America. After moving to France, he tries to find himself, but explains later on how he still is unable to. Due to this lack of self, David becomes desperate to fit in. This desperation started before he even arrived in France, and is seen when David explains, “We gave each other joy that night. It seemed, then, that a lifetime would not be long enough for me to act with Joey the act of love…”

But above all, I was suddenly afraid. It was borne in on me: “But Joey is a boy….” Then I, who had seen him that summer nearly every day till then, no longer went to see him” (Baldwin 8-9). David, unsuccessful and in America, gives up an eternity with a boy he loves because of society. He leaves because of a realization that “Joey is a boy.” While Joey is a boy, this should not pose a problem for David if he realized that being different should not have a negative connotation associated with it. But since society at that time condemned homosexuality, he is compelled to believe it is wrong. His lack of success and vulnerability generate a sense of desperation, leading David to blend into society in order to fill the void – for he is not strong enough to oppose the norms. After arriving in France, David is viewed conforming to gender norms. He cannot find success and, once again, succumbs to vulnerability, attempting to conform. Despite his desires for homosexual relationships, he tries to suppress them. David’s struggle is evident when he describes, “I was trembling. I thought, if I do not open the door at once and get out of here, I am lost. But I knew I could not open the door, I knew it was too late; soon it was too late to do anything but moan. He pulled me against him, putting himself into my arms as though he were giving me himself to carry, and slowly pulled me down with him to that bed. With everything in me screaming No! yet the sum of me sighed Yes” (Baldwin 64). Instead of describing the scene with happiness or how he embraced his desires, he portrays it as a forceful act. As compared to his interaction with Joey, David, after realizing that homosexuality contradicts societal norms, is more concerned about conformity than his sexual partner, Giovanni.

David’s inability to be successful builds an environment where he cannot comfortably be himself. In contrast to societal oppression against homosexuality, in “In Cold Blood,” Perry is constrained into a stereotypical woman’s role due to his lack of masculinity and success. Perry had a tough childhood, leading him to turn to crime. However, he couldn’t even be a successful criminal as he ended up in jail. After release, his inability to stand on his own forced him to rely heavily on Dick. This dependency leads Perry to a vulnerable position, pushing him into a woman’s stereotypical role. Perry’s imposed gender role is evident when Dick claims, “He is very touchy; his feelings are very easily hurt” (Capote 131). At least in the 1950s, part of a woman’s stereotypical role was to be emotional and easily hurt. Dick indicates how Perry exhibits these characteristics. Dick treats Perry this way, even referring to him by “wife names,” when he says, “A cinch,’ said Dick. ‘I promise you, honey, we’ll blast hair all over them walls” (Capote 22). Dick’s usage of “honey” for Perry establishes a traditional boy-girl relationship replacing their friendship.

This relationship creates two gender roles: a male and a female role, each role to be filled by a specific character. Dick takes the masculine role, shown when Capote explains, “Dick’s literalness, his pragmatic approach to every subject, was the primary reason Perry had been attracted to him, for it made Dick seem, compared to himself, authentically tough, invulnerable, ‘totally masculine'” (Capote 16). Dick is described as totally masculine, and is often seen taking charge. Dick fulfills the traditional masculine role, which forces Perry to fill the other side of the relationship. Perry lets Dick be the leader and follows his plans. As Perry was unable to find success on his own, he is forced into a stereotypical women’s gender role in order to work with Dick and attempt to gain success. Perry is even treated as a woman by society, shown when Capote states, “The jail contains six cells; the sixth [is] the one reserved for female prisoners…Far as I know, Perry Smith was the first man ever to have stayed in the ladies’ cell” (Capote 252). Perry is the first man to ever stay in the women’s cell, demonstrating society’s view of him as a woman.

In contrast to Perry and David’s lack of success and adherence to traditional gender roles, in Radioactive, Marie Curie is able to defy gender roles and overcome gender barriers to further her career. Marie’s success is revealed when Redniss writes, “On June 25, 1903, Marie defended her thesis ‘Researches on Radioactive Substances,’ and became the first woman in France to receive a doctorate… Before the year was out… Marie Curie and Pierre Curie were recognized for the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena.’ They had won the Nobel Prize” (Redniss 72-73).

Marie’s research is held in high esteem, with her earning a doctorate due to her contributions. Contrary to the societal gender role that suggests women cannot contribute to science as much as men can, Marie redefines this view with her work. She is placed onto the same level as her husband when they both win the Nobel Prize. Marie Curie was the first woman to receive both a doctorate and a Nobel Prize, a testament to her success. Even after her husband’s death, Marie is able to continue her career, shown when Redniss notes, “The Sorbonne offered Marie her late husband’s professorship. For the first time in the university’s 650-year history, a woman became a professor – a bittersweet triumph given the circumstances” (Redniss 110). Marie defies gender roles despite the absence of Pierre, advancing in her career and redefining professorship at The Sorbonne. Marie’s influence shakes societal expectations and surprises some women.

Marie explains, “I have been frequently questioned, especially by women, how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career” (Redniss 76). Marie is frequently asked this question instead of Pierre because she is a woman and people are amazed that she can resist conforming to a woman’s typical motherly gender role. Marie’s success keeps her from conforming to gender roles and instead breaks the gender barriers that once limited women’s research. In all three of the novels, a character faces a conflict dealing with gender roles in society. The more successful characters, like Marie, can break these gender roles to further their success; however, other characters, like Perry and David, are not fueled by the same success and lack the ability and courage to challenge societal norms. In ‘Giovanni’s Room’, ‘In Cold Blood’, and ‘Radioactive’, characters grapple with societal gender roles and norms, with their ability to confront them directly depending on their success.

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