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Brenda Orozco
English 115
6 November 2017
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie
Barrows, was set in January 1946 as London emerges from the Second World War. The German
army was occupying the island of Guernsey for five years and changed the life of the residents
that resided there. But while these events were occurring, there were many people that were
different and culturally and socially radical. I will be talking about how Juliet and Elizabeth both
conform to their prescribed gender norms, by portraying traditionally female characteristics, but
at the same time break free of these gender norms through radical acts that are usually attributed
to men.
Although Juliet does show that she is radical in many ways, she also shows that she
conforms to her gender norms. For example, Juliet conforms to her gender role by showing that
she is delicate and is mourning for Elizabeths death. In one passage , Juliet writes to Mark
telling him the devastating news of Elizabeths death, Elizabeth was the center of the circle
here, and the news of her death has shaken us all. I feel as though Id lost someone very close to
me. I am in mourning(Shaffer, Barrows, pp. 186). This shows how Juliet want Mark to show
sympathy towards her because she is mourning which shows traits of being vulnerable and
feminine. In the article How Men and Women Grieve Differently it states, Feminine grievers
may talk to friends and loved ones about their emotions to feel their way through the grief. This
can assist with understanding their emotions and deepening perspective. This perfectly shows
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how Juliet is reaching out to Mark so he can comfort her during her grieving and mourning
process.
As Juliet exhibits how she conforms to her prescribed gender norms by having feminine
characteristics, she also shows how she is radical. We see her radical side when she states, You
should probably burn this letter as well as the last one . Ive refused Mark finally and
irrevocably, and my elation is indecent. If I were a properly brought-up young lady, Id draw the
curtains and brood, but I cant. Im free.(Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, page 212). This
shows how Juliet had enough courage to finally break away from Mark. He was very demanding
and compulsive towards Juliet and for her to break things off with Mark is a very strong and hard
thing to do. She showed masculinity and dominance when she told him to, Get out and I
never want to see you again.(Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, page.213). She couldnt
put up with Marks nonsense and so she put her foot down and kicked him out. Her actions were
radical because during that time in history, women didnt show dominant characteristics and
usually conform to their prescribed roles. For Juliet showed dominance and masculinity by
kicking Mark out is out of the norm which makes her radical.
Much like Juliet, the character of Elizabeth also both conforms and breaks free from
prescribed gender norms. Throughout the book, Elizabeth not only shows dominant and
masculine traits, but she conforms to her gender roles by showing very feminine characteristics
as well. In a letter, Remy Giraud, a close friend of Elizabeths, wrote, Not strength only , but a
metier she had for making us forget where we were for a small while. Elizabeth was my friend,
and in that place friendship was all that aided one to remain human(Mary Ann Shaffer and
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Annie Barrows, page. 178). The word meiter means role or job which means that Elizabeth had
a maternal role of taking care of Remy at their time in the concentration camp. She showed
feminine characteristics by taking on the role of a mother in the concentration camp. Like a good
mother, she comforted Remy and made her forget where she was. In the article Becoming
Members of Society, Aaron Devor states, Feminine characteristics are thought to be intrinsic to
the female facility for childbirth and breastfeeding. Hence, it is popularly believed that the social
Groner and John F. OHara, page.40). This suggests that women are naturally wired to be
nurturing and care for other people which are categorized as feminine characteristics. Elizabeth
shows how she is cares for children when she was caring for Remy. On an article I found called
A Mothers Instinct Moms Just Know about maternal instincts, Stef Daniel states, When a
woman becomes a mother she somehow taps into a psychic and connected power to understand
the intricate details of another human. This is true because Elizabeth is a mother and so she
shows the same love and care as she does for Kit to Remy. Because Elizabeth is a mother, she is
able to forms special bonds with other humans like Remy. Elizabeth gives off a positive vibe
when she was taking care of Remy. On page 173 of Rhetoric for Radicals, the author said,
The vibe can hit you, engulf you, enwrap you, flirt with you, seduce you, attract you or even
repulse you. Regardless of the specific experience, its there and detectable. You should also
realize that your own body gives off a vibe. This vibe was shown by Elizabeth by giving a
Throughout The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , Elizabeth shows that
she conforms to her character but she also is very radical and breaks free from the gender norm
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roles. On the novel, Elizabeth is executed at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp for protecting a
bleeding girl by beating one of the guards but was then shot in the head (Shaffer, Barrows,
pp.178). This shows how Elizabeth gender performance is radical because she showed
dominance, aggression, and masculinity. She is really brave and didnt think twice about saving
the girl knowing that her life would be at risk. On page 146 of Rhetoric for Radicals, Jason Del
Gandio states, Your body makes arguments. Those arguments are not always obvious, but the
argument are there, embedded within your bodily actions. This shows how Elizabeth was
obviously trying to make an argument by defending the girl and beating the guard. Her argument
was that she was fed up with soldiers beating people for no good reason. Elizabeth could have
also beat up the guard because she is feminist and she was triggered when she saw the guard
beating up a girl because she was on her period. On page 39 of Composing Gender, Aaron
Devor states, These two cluster of attributes are mostly commonly seen as mirror images of one
another with masculinity usually characterized by dominance and aggression, and femininity by
passivity and submission. This shows how Elizabeth is masculine because she showed
aggression by beating the guard to defend a girl. This is radical because aggression is usually
shown though men and now women. She showed bravery knowing that she could be killed just
by showing resistance.
In conclusion, both Juliet and Elizabeth show that they conform to their gender roles and
also show radicalism throughout the book. This book was happening around the 1950s and to
show courage, strength and dominance at that time of history is very shocking. Women didnt
really have the will to speak their minds at that time and to see Juliet and Elizabeth doing that is
amazing.
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Works Cited
Centre For Human Potential. How Men and Women Grieve Differently. 28 July 2017.
Del Gandio, Jason. Rhetoric for Radicals. New Society Publishers. Pages. 146 & 173
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Groner, Rachel, OHara F. John and Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society. Composing
Shaffer, Mary Ann and Barrows, Annie. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
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