Gender

Gender is one of the main themes of the novel. Each of the four main characters (Delia, Cissy, Amanda, and Dede) is a woman, and each one faces sexism, misogyny, and specific challenges because of their gender. For example, Delia is harshly judged for leaving her daughters, but also for leaving Clint. Indeed, while many in town hold a negative view of Clint, they either do not know how abusive Clint was or simply do not care. “Opinion had not shifted enough in Cayro to forgive or understand the sin, not enough to consider that a woman in danger might have lost her girls running from a man who would have surely strangled her” (70). The only reason Delia receives any kind of forgiveness in Cayro is because she came back broken, sad, and unsuccessful. “The woman who had run off and fallen into the good life...