IN WHAT WAYS DO TEXTS STUDIED IMAGINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER, SOCIAL REPRODUCTION, AND CAPITALIST CRISIS?

Introduction

Cormac McCarthy and “Union Street” by Pat Barker have explored the complex interconnection between social reproduction, gender, and capitalist crisis in “The Road”. The two novels have highlighted completely different story backgrounds as Union Street depicts a working-class community and The Road informs a post-apocalyptic world. The backgrounds of the novels have been crucial in analysing the gender roles, social reproduction, and capitalist crises in diverse environments. This essay explores the concept of social reproduction encompassing the family system, gender roles, and the impact of the capitalist crisis on the characters of the novels.

Main body

The examination of the relationship between gender, social reproduction, and capitalist crisis discussed in “Union Street” and “The Road” the novels provide different viewpoints on the complicated connection between these themes.

1. Gender roles

Union Street
The “working-class neighbourhood” in the “Union Street” novel works or reflects a setting, which plays a significant part in making the traditional gender roles stronger. Women in this specific place are primarily responsible for maintaining or doing work at home, taking care of household duties, and looking after their families (Erwin, 2022). The people who live in this society possess certain ideas about women about how they need to live their lives, and these ideas reflect a certain picture, which shows that women are primarily responsible for taking care of others and managing the home. The practices not only show the situation of that specific time but also show the cultural rules of the working class, which affect how the characters in the story live.
The perspective of society and their thinking process had a significant impact on the women’s relationships with others. Marriage and family relationships were significantly influenced by what society believed or said. In addition, the novel explores how these expectations contributed to more complexity in relationships at that time. As a result, it leads to conflicts and negatively shapes the characteristics of characters and how they interact with each other. The thinking process or way of the “working-class community” about how a man and woman are required to behave affects every element of society such as family members, partners, and friends (Lee, 2022). The novel has helped to understand the power struggle and difficulties caused by these traditional expectations.
Despite a large number of people in “Union Street” following traditional gender roles, there are some characters who barely support or follow these norms. The novel also highlights the challenges and dreams of women at that time and how female characters wanted to be free from the perspectives of society’s boundaries (Chronowska, 2021). The story gets intense when some characters oppose following the usual gender rules, which shows a detailed picture of the struggle between what society expects and what individuals want to do. The true meaning and complexities of the story lie in where the characters of the stories want to be independent and follow their dreams by opposing traditional rules.
The “working class” in the novel is not only about the background setting but is important and connects how men and women are related to each other. The traditional perspective and views of society play a significant role in making women’s lives difficult. The challenges in society make the characters’ experiences more complicated, which affects their capability to handle society and their expectation (Chronowska, 2021). The novel uses strong symbols and images to reflect gender roles in places such as working-class neighbourhoods, homes, and public spaces, representing what society thinks of people’s activities and responsibilities (Erwin, 2022). Exploring the novel in-depth allows one to understand the complicated connection between gender roles and the society where the characters live.

The Road
The novel is about apocalyptic scenarios, which is also the main reason why the usual gender roles break down. The fundamental concept of the scenario is to survive in a falling world, which shows the changing characteristics of an individual in the new tough world (Dinç, 2023). It also explores the challenges that people used to think about men and women. The absence of an order in society pushed people to rethink the usual roles they play. Once survival became the primary target, it also influenced and changed how both men and women acted, what are their roles, and their contributions to the decision-making process (Nimitha and Lydia, 2019).
The primary focus of the story is the relationship between a father and a son, which develops the story surrounding the concept of fulfilling the responsibility of being a parent. The character of the father is not only responsible in this world to do his part but also do the part of a mother as well (Andersen, 2021). It reflects that in the apocalyptic situation or worse, people are required to do activities and fulfil responsibilities that traditional rules of society barely suggest. The father character not only protects the child but also takes care of certain jobs that require a female character to do according to the traditional gender concept. It reflects that bad situation makes people adapt to changes, which are beyond their traditional beliefs.
The story shows that the characters regardless of their gender, are required to perform certain activities, which can ensure fulfilling basic needs such as finding food, a place to stay, and staying safe. It highlights that in a tough situation whether it is a man or woman barely matters in the context of surviving (Jweid and Al-HajEid, 2021). The shared human experience of trying to save oneself and relatives in a world that has fallen apart is important. The story also highlights that apocalyptic situations can also affect people’s minds. As the characters pass through empty and ruined places, the traditional roles of men and women become less important. Instead, the story focuses on how individuals think and act while trying to survive emotionally and mentally.
The characters are influenced more by how they handle crises and relationships with others than by traditional perspectives of society, which suggest how men or women are required to act or behave. Focusing on characters’ emotions and minds can reflect various layers of characters, which show the changes due to uncertain circumstances (Sharma, 2019). The story primarily also focuses on the process of how the usual gender roles are falling apart. Surviving in a place of emptiness forces individuals to perform certain tasks, which provide them with their needs regardless of their gender and social perspectives. Furthermore, survival played a significant role in the story by bringing people together regardless of gender.

2. Social Reproduction

Social reproduction highlights the process by which societies reproduce and transfer social norms, structures, and institutions from one generation to another. It ensures the stability and continuity of the societies highlighting the importance of social order, social roles, economic structure, cultural values, and power relations.

Union Street
Union Street written by Pat Barker highlights a compelling narrative shedding light on the intricacies of social reproduction in a working-class community. It depicts a portrayal of relationships and family life navigating the conventional and unconventional paths taken by the characters. In this novel, a closer look at the lives of the characters has been depicted highlighting the happy and critical parts of their family bonds (Rani, 2019). Families in the working-class community are portrayed as a source of strength highlighting the essentiality of daily interactions. The transmission of cultural values and norms has been highlighted in this novel, which is specific to their socio-economic background. It has portrayed tradition, everyday language, and customs of the working-class community highlighting the transmission of cultural elements to the next generations.
For example, Characters like Mrs. Brown have reflected the cultural values of the society, while interacting with neighbours, which contribute to the transmission of cultural norms. The novel also highlights the economic structure of the working-class community by analysing the struggles of the characters regarding financial hardship, employment, and poverty (Deckard and Houlden, 2023). It has illustrated the the way economic structure has affected the lives of characters highlighting economic inequalities and the emergence of class distinctions. For instance, the story of Kelly Brown, whose mother is working to take care of Kelly and her sister Linda as their father has already left (Smith, 2019). Due to loneliness and lack of comfort at home, Kelly started wandering the street, which led to the traumatic event. It can be said that due to financial instability, Mrs Brown resorts to working, which leaves Kelly alone for most of the time.
The novel has also portrayed the traditional structure of families followed by exploring issues faced by the people who have challenged the societal expectations. The familial relationships depict a complex interconnection between gender norms, social expectations, and family dynamics. For instance, after marriage, Iris King faced issues, when her husband Ted refused to give her money for basic needs (Deckard and Houlden, 2023). It highlights the gender role in the novel where the male characters are financially supporting their wives. However, the majority of the time, female characters such as Iris King, Mrs Brown, Lisa Goddard, and Muriel Scaife are working for their children and their livelihood.

The Road
“The Road” highlight a post-apocalyptic setting, which indicates a background where survival is the primary focus of the individuals. It has explored gender roles and their dynamics, which highlight the impact of struggle on traditional roles of genders. The novel has not provided significant detail regarding the past and the background story of the characters. In the post-apocalyptic world, gender roles seem to have substantially deviated from their traditional significance as men and women are facing similar challenges (Åström, 2020). The severe challenges of the environment have eliminated the traditional social construct associated with gender roles. The novel highlights the necessity of adapting to the surrounding environment as the new reality for the characters. The survivalist aspects highlighted in “The Road” extend beyond the traditional roles of genders highlighted in societal norms.
The central character of the novel, the boy and the man share their responsibilities, which do not conform to the conventional gender roles. The main characters scavenge food, which is the primary factor in their survival along with defending themselves and seeking proper shelter (Chartudomdej, 2022). The man and the boy fight against the threats together, which has blurred the line between traditional masculine and feminine gender roles in society. In this novel, survival has become a unifying force for society, which has emphasised the necessity of cooperation. However, the narrative of equal responsibility in survival has informed a slight overview of paternal protection, which is highlighted by the man (ALKAÇ, 2019). It is similar to the gender role of male individuals in accordance with conventional societal norms. The man has assumed a protective role regarding his son, which informs a significant determination to guard him against the challenging situation of the world.
On the other hand, this characteristic is not solely related to the gender roles. The protection over his son is an instinctive response toward the vulnerable boy in the harsh environment of the post-apocalyptic world (Bueno, 2019). In this context, the character of the man has portrayed a complex paternal role, which goes beyond traditional responsibilities. Additionally, the lack of a mother figure in the novel is highly notable, which adds to the unique portrayal of gender dynamics. The absence of the mother figure has not been clarified in the novel. However, it indicates the universality of the struggle of characters for survival in a dangerous situation (Changizi, 2022). The man turns into both a protector and nurturer, which transcends the conventional approach toward gender. The boy seemed to be dependent on his father for physical and mental support, which underscores the adaptability of parental responsibilities in crises.
The author has also introduced a few characters, who are also highlight the impact of survival on their traditional gender roles. The “bad guys” in the novel are resorting to violence and cannibalism. The women in the group also participate in the act of brutality (Powning, 2020). Hence, the depiction of the “bad guys” in the novel also challenges the conventional gender roles as traditionally women are more nurturing toward others.

3. Capitalist crisis

Union Street
The novel “Union Street” where the story took place in a working-class area. The female character, who is the primary character of the story has been reflected as a poor character struggling with low pay and not enough job opportunities. Considering the negative financial effects and bad situation, the story focuses on the struggle of people (Houlden, 2023), which shows how hard it is for people to achieve their needs when there are barely many job options and the pay is not enough. The story also highlights the economic instability, which severely affects what the characters do every day. The fluctuation in income and financial uncertainty introduced stress into the story (Barker, 2020). As a result the characters always seem worried in the story due to the uncertain economy, which can get worse and make it hard for them to get the things they need.
The way the economy works plays a significant role in the characters’ motivations and actions they do. Fulfilling daily needs requires money and acquiring more money to have a sustainable life becomes a big factor for the characters, which significantly influences what choices they make (Lynda and Princess, 2022). Sometimes being financially secure pushes characters to make sacrifices and compromise with their needs and requirements, which influence their personal lives. The economic pressure has a crucial role in influencing character behaviour and their interactive way with each other. The competition between characters due to achieving more financial growth and increasing their resources contributes to complexities in their relationship with each other (Erwin, 2022). The characters also have to deal with social rules, which have been influenced by the way the economy works. The story has highlighted a remarkable side, which shows how the financial problems and the perspective of society about the activities of men and women are connected.
Carefully exploring the novel shows how not having money and what society expects from women are connected in the “working-class” area. Therefore, it reflects both the challenges of the characters including the financial troubles and the usual concept of the society about the predefined activities of men and women (Mickalites, 2021). The novel also talks about how money work also known as capitalism affects the lives and hopes of regular people. The problem inside the system also influences the character thinning and feelings process. The story highlights how financial issues not only affect people’s current lives and decisions but also their dreams and future action plans.
The these characters’ stories the book tells how resources spread with inequality in a capitalist society. It expresses the situation, where people are often overlooked during tough times. The novel also explains how critical issues in the system prevented some people from getting the same chances and good life as others (Lynda and Princess, 2022). Analysing the story allows a deeper understanding of how the story addresses the impact of the capitalist crisis on individuals, relationships, and the broader “working-class community”.

The Road
The novel is set in a background, where the world has collapsed due to a catastrophic consequence of systematic failure, which is related to the capitalist framework. The novel highlights the desolation and remnants of the cities, which is followed by the lack of social structure. It is a symbol of the breakdown of the capitalist system in the society. On the other hand, environmental degradation, the absence of social structure, and the lack of required resources reflect the effect of uncontrolled capitalism (Caradec, 2020). The author has painted grim circumstances where the consequences of uncontrolled economic gain have resulted in an irreparable environmental and societal breakdown. The story of “The Road” shows that there is not enough important social structure that exists now.
The environment is going to its worst part, which has contributed to the fall of the world. It has not only affected normal people’s lives but also severely affected the concept of the economy and how it used to work (Chartudomdej, 2022). Most importantly, it shows a sad picture of the world of people continuously chasing after money has put the world at a stage of destruction from where no way of returning to normal lives exists. Economic resources are the most important requirement that shapes a character’s life. As there are not enough of those resources, it makes people focus on staying alive depends on finding the most basic needs such as food and shelter (Sharma, 2019). The story also confirms how the usual way of getting resources is not working in this present world.
As the usual way of getting and fulfilling needs does not exist, therefore, it pushes characters to change the way how used to live. Due to the loss of familiar economic order, the difficulties for characters have increased, as they are now required to follow the old way to accrue their needs and resources. The story also highlights the way a social structure falls apart when the capitalist system breaks down. Institutions such as the police and other organisations that are responsible for maintaining order and stability have collapsed and left survivors with the option to take care of themselves (Bueno, 2019). The novel also concentrates on the capability of capitalism, which affects society and how everything changes when it falls apart. In addition to that, “The Road” indicates a strong critique of capitalism analysing the impact of the systematic collapse on the moral and psychological aspects of human behaviour.

Conclusion

The essay has shed light on social reproduction, gender roles, and the effects of capitalist crisis by analysing two novels: “The Road” and “Union Street”. Union Street has illustrated in-depth insight regarding the working class, where economic struggle and traditional gender roles are interconnected. On the other hand, The Road displays a disintegration of traditional societal norms regarding genders in a post-apocalyptic world, which emphasises the adaptability of individuals in survival. The extreme conditions of the post-apocalyptic world facilitate the characters to address questions of survival instincts, morality, and human nature. Both novels have highlighted the impact of the economic situation on traditional gender roles and social reproduction.

References

ALKAÇ, A., 2019. Ethics of Being in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 18, pp.71-80.

Andersen, T.R., 2021. Storytelling after the End: Plotting a Course through Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Cormac McCarthy Journal, 19(1), pp.67-84.

Åström, B., 2020. Post-feminist fatherhood and the marginalization of the mother in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. In Imagining Motherhood in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 97-113). Routledge.

Barker, J., 2020. Gender, Sovereignty, and the Discourse of Rights in Native Women’s Activism. Meridians, 19(S1), pp.219-254.

Bueno, C.L., 2019. Trauma and Existentialism in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006). Nordic Journal of English Studies, 18(1), pp.72-94.

Caradec, J., 2020. The Value of the Suffering Child in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Cormac McCarthy Journal, 18(2), pp.113-127.

Changizi, P., 2022. The Human, Nonhuman, Inhuman in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Ostrava Journal of English Philology, 14(2).

Chartudomdej, S., 2022. “Death is not a lover”: An ecofeminist perspective on the “extinction” of women in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies (FORMER NAME SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, HUMANITIES, AND ARTS), pp.281-290.

Chronowska, N., 2021. Lives defined by gender and social class. An analysis of the situation of British working-class women in the 1970s based on Pat Barker’s novel, Union Street.

Deckard, S. and Houlden, K., 2023. Social Reproduction Feminism and World-Culture: Introduction. Feminist Theory, p.14647001231209864.

Dinç, D.B., 2023. The Portrayal of Nature in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road*. Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 16(95).

Erwin, C., 2022. Bearing Witnessing with What We Cannot Speak: The Use of the Abject and Figurative Language in Pat Barker’s Regeneration and Union Street. Narrative, 30(3), pp.344-363.

Houlden, K., 2023. Tracking the monstrous gendered precarity of neoliberalisation through novels and films of 1980s England and contemporary Ireland. Feminist Theory, p.14647001231209904.

Jweid, A.N.A.A. and Al-HajEid, O.A., 2021. Experimental Narrative Structure and the Advent of New Humanism in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 4(12), pp.99-107.

Lee, S., 2022. Addressing Stigma: Demonized Locales in Pat Barker’s Union Street. In Locating Classed Subjectivities (pp. 127-145). Routledge.

Lynda, U. and Princess, A.S., 2022. Internalised Psycho-Emotional Disablism In Pat Barker’s Toby’s Room. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(4).

Mickalites, C., 2021. ” Enemies Within”: Pat Barker’s Great War and Margaret Thatcher’s New Right. College Literature, 48(1), pp.1-28.

Nimitha, C. and Lydia, J.G., 2019. Psychological perception in the novel “The Road by Cormac McCarthy”. Think India Journal, 22(4), pp.5814-5820.

Powning, J.M., 2020. “Dreams so rich in color. How else would death call you?”: An Exploration of the Ending in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Cormac McCarthy Journal, 18(1), pp.26-36.

Rani, B., 2019. A Study Of Women Works Characters In Novels Of Gloria Naylor’s. Think India Journal, 22(14), pp.10210-10219.

Sharma, M., 2019. Analysis and Study of Cormac McCarthy’s the Road as Dystopia. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELL), 7(3), pp.31-34.

Smith, W., 2019. Has Anybody Heard of it?!!!’: The Constable Trophy for Northern Writers and its Prize Environment. Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, 4(2), p.13.