The Role of Women in Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon
Summary:
The female characters in Daniel Keyes' novel Flowers for Algernon are portrayed as uncaring, inferior individuals. However, Rose Gordon and Fay Lillman in particular are not really the flawed characters they are portrayed to be.
The Role of Women- Flowers for Algernon
The role of women in Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon makes the women out to be uncaring, and inferior as people. Rose Gordon is a woman who cares for her child but hates the fact that he is not normal. Fay Lillman is another woman who is portrayed as a drunken prostitute but is really just a woman who is a free sprit with loose morals.
Rose, Charlie Gordon's mother is made out to be an uncaring person in the story always ridiculing and punishing Charlie for things he doesn't know how to do. Matt Gordon, Charlie's father, engaged in an argument with Rose and Charlie was in the room. Charlie did not know he had to go to the restroom and his mother yells at him and tells him he is a big boy now he should be able to go all by himself. In a flashback Charlie has portrays his mothers as a crazy woman because she cannot deal with the fact that Charlie is not like normal children and she threatens his father to take Charlie away or she will kill him. Rose is not the character that she is portrayed to be all she wants is for her child to be like everyone else's.
Fay is a person who caused a turning point in Charlie Gordon's life after he moved into an apartment near Times Square. Fay loves to dance in ballrooms and bring men home to have sex with. Fay likes to get drunk and is an aspiring artist. Fay is basically pictured as a drunken prostitute with a taste for art. Fay's character is a free spirit and loves to have fun.
Keyes makes most of the women in the story seem to be less than what they are. Overall the role of women in Flowers for Algernon is to be less than what is expected of normal people.
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