opposition. Furthermore, their superior attitudes are also used to broaden the analysis. Also due to the fact in this domination, the male character is the one who
practices the domination, so that this event straightly gives us a portrait that male character is the superior. Otherwise, the female character becomes the inferior and
cannot be considered as the superior at all. In this discussion, relating the characteristics of male and female characters
that are consisting binary oppositions to the gender stereotype is necessary to be done because this finding of “male is superior and female is inferior” becomes clearly seen
and accessible. It is just like in this subsequent discussion.
1. Textual Fact
It is already known in previous discussion that the binary opposition idea is actually reflected in the characteristics of male and female characters. There are
found four binary pairs that are drawn from the characteristics of male and female characters. When these binary pairs of those characteristics are related to gender
stereotype, there are several facts found in the text:
a. Male Intolerant vs. Female Tolerant
As already known in the previous analysis, Susan Glaspell characterizes Mr. Henderson as an intolerant person and Mrs. Peters as a tolerant person. In this binary
opposition, it is clear that Mr. Henderson possesses the intolerant characteristic that has strong and powerful attribute rather than the characteristic that is owned by Mrs.
Peters. This fact automatically makes the readers to regard Mr. Henderson as the superior in this play. Otherwise, based on this fact also, Mrs. Peters is easily regarded
as the inferior in this play. Moreover, this image that Mr. Henderson is the superior and Mrs. Peters is the inferior becomes clearer when it is related to the gender
stereotype. Referring to the fact in the gender stereotype that women are considered as weak and passive while men are strong, active, and more intelligent, it is easy to
judge Mr. Henderson is superior and Mrs. Peters is inferior rather than the opposite thing.
b. Male Apathetic vs. Female Sympathetic
Again, in the previous discussion, it is clear that the characteristics of male and female characters are presented in binary opposition. Here, when Mr. Wright is
characterized as an apathetic person, Mrs. Hale is characterized as a sympathetic person. According to the attributes of these two characteristic, it is understandable
that apathetic is more independent than sympathetic, so that it is not a complicated thing for the readers to judge that Mr. Wright is the superior and Mrs. Hale is the
inferior. When this fact is related to the gender stereotype, it is clearer that Mr. Wright is the superior, the one that does the domination and Mrs. Hale is an inferior
person that becomes the dominated person. Mr. Wright’s apathetic is considered as
the aspect of superiority because by ignoring the society around will not be a problem for him and shows his power as an independent person. However, Mrs. Hale is the
inferior person because her sympathetic is considered as the evidence that she realizes as a human being, she needs others to live her life.
