Introduction
Present-day society is witnessing a flourishing development of female independence and gender equality in all spheres. Although much work is left to be done in this direction, it is still possible to see a striking difference between the freedoms women enjoy now and the ones they were able to possess in previous centuries. Literary works are some of the best reflections on the transformation of societal roles or, at least, on the attempts to gain these transformations.
Jessie Georgina Sime’s “Munitions!” focuses on women’s societal position in the second decade of the 20th century. Meanwhile, Alice Munro’s “The Office“ is a story from the second half of the 20th century, having at its core a woman struggling to explain that everyone, not only men, needs a private workspace. Although the settings and circumstances of the two stories are different, both Munro and Sime pursue a similar goal of showing the restrictions of gender norms through the careful use of symbols and metaphors. The comparison of these devices offers a deeper understanding of women’s societal position and their endeavors to change traditional roles.
The Restrictions of Gender Norms in “The Office” and “Munitions!”
House
The use of a house as a metaphor plays the most powerful role in both stories, signifying the dominating patriarchal rule and restrictions imposed on women by it. In “The Office,“ a woman is compared to a house and viewed as an object inherent to it, not able to exist separately from the house. In “Munitions!,“ the description of a woman’s connection to a house is quite similar, indicating that it is a female’s primary and inherent role to take care of it.
Munro’s narrator is confined to traditional female duties and is not much different from a maid, having to serve her husband and children. Defending her right to have an office for her work, the main character states that everyone recognizes the man’s job’s existence instead of the woman’s seriousness (Munro 1). Due to the prevailing patriarchy at the time when the heroines lived, they were hardly able to dream of freedom and personal space.
As the narrator in “The Office“ reckons, in the case of men, they can work in the house, whereas a woman “is a house“ and hence, cannot have a moment of peace there (Munro 2). It is impossible not to notice this metaphorical reflection, as indeed, husbands treated their wives as homemakers and did not pay much attention to their personal needs or wants.
Meanwhile, the metaphor of the house in “Munitions!“ is more direct, with the protagonist being a maid and doing house chores as her job. She wears her uniform “like any soldier,“ playing “a circular game with never any end to it“ (Sime 219). The connection of females to a house is bitterly close since if it had not been for the war, the girls would have never gotten a chance to part themselves from housewifery (Sime 218). However, like the protagonist in “The Office,” Sime’s narrator decides she would rather suffer from some inconveniences than continue to perform the functions imposed on her by men.
Pot Plant
Both authors utilize symbolism to express not only the restrictions of gender norms but also the attempt of the females to break free from those. In “The Office,“ the pot plant gifted to the narrator by the landlord symbolizes the dependence of a female on a male’s dominance, even though disguised as care. When Mr. Malley brings the plant to the narrator, she is unhappy about it since it is precisely the absence of anything to look after that she wanted the office for in the first place. Furthermore, the landlord brings her the plant not merely as a gift but because he believes this is “an uncomfortable place for a lady“ (Munro 4).
The plant symbolizes a test for personal boundaries, which the main character failed. Once she accepts it, she starts developing an obligation to the plant and, consequently, the man who has given it to her. The plant also symbolizes the role of a woman’s attention and care. It demonstrates how society cannot survive and thrive without the woman’s invisible but hard work.
Meanwhile, in “Munitions!,“ the protagonist’s name, Bertha, symbolizes a new beginning – “a birth‘ – and the desire to escape from the limits imposed on females. Through the use of the name and the frequency of its use, the author manages to present a symbol of the desire to make a considerable change, to become reborn as a free person after being born as a creature with no rights. The protagonist “couldn’t believe“ that she managed to escape her maid job and started doing something she enjoyed (Sime 218).
In “The Office,“ the protagonist also eventually realizes that the environment around her is unsuitable for development. As a result, even upon seeing that the “earth was dry around the roots of the plant,“ she leaves it alone, determined not to stand the landlord’s treatment any longer (Munro 7). Therefore, the symbols of a plant in “The Office“ and the protagonist’s name in “Munitions!“ help the respective authors depict the limits set for women and their determination to fight against those limits.
Teapot
The symbol of the teapot in “The Office“ and spring in “Munitions!“ are used to ultimately represent the hidden motives behind good intentions, even though initially, they seem contrasting than comparable. In “The Office,“ the teapot plays an important symbolic role, whereas in “Munitions!,“ a crucial part belongs to the spring. While the former is more concerned with oppression, the latter focuses on freeing oneself.
The teapot, another unwanted gift to the narrator from the landlord, is “covered with gilt and roses“ (Munro 6), each representing something for the woman to be cautious about. Firstly, the roses symbolize beauty and thorns, meaning that even if the landlord is kind enough to present the protagonist with nice things, he has hidden motives behind his acts. On the other hand, gilding means something can be beautiful outside but not necessarily as pleasant on the inside. Apart from that, ‘gilt‘ is a homophone of ‘guilt,‘ which is exactly what the male landlord attempts to get from his female tenant.
Spring
Meanwhile, the symbol of spring in “Munitions!“ represents a contrasting idea: freedom and carelessness. By saying that “winter was melting away before the birth of another spring,“ Sime prepares the ground for a life-changing environment which, as the reader gathers later, the protagonist creates for herself (219). The “delicate“ and “diaphanous“ skies symbolize the tenderness of a female soul, yet, at the same time, the determination for clarity and equality (Sime 219). While the teapot and spring symbols are pretty different, it is possible to find a similarity between them. The process of snow melting in “Munitions!“ may be compared with the act of uncovering the truth that, even though gilded, is frequently ugly and can hide something unpleasant beneath it.
Conclusion
The use of metaphors and symbols has enabled Munro and Sime to represent the hardships women suffered from due to gender norm restrictions prevailing in the 20th-century society. The most crucial metaphor in both stories is the house, representing a woman and her role in a family and society. However, although this role is highly significant, male society members tended to limit females by it, not allowing women to pursue a career in anything other than housewifery unless some life-changing events occurred. Through the symbols of the plant and the name ‘Bertha,‘ the writers rendered the women’s overwhelming need for the lack of oppression and control, since females could feel freer and happier with their disappearance.
Finally, the spring and teapot symbols represent the ugly truth hidden behind a glossy cover. This can be compared to the men’s seemingly gracious attitude toward women when not letting the latter do any ‘manly‘ work like being a writer or working on a plant. However, the problem with this so-called care is that women never asked for it, with many striving to try something different from cooking and caring for a family. Hence, comparing metaphors and symbols in Munro’s “The Office“ and Sime’s “Munitions!“ has allowed a better understanding of women’s societal position and desire to free themselves from traditional roles.
Works Cited
Munro, Alice. “The Office.” N.d. Web.
Sime, Jessie Georgina. “Munitions!” A New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, edited by Donna Bennett and Russell Brown, Oxford University Press, 2022, pp. 218-222.