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Brenda Orozco

Professor Corri Ditch

English 115

6 November 2017

Break Free and Conform

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

position of females is biologically mandated to be intertwined with the care of children(Rachel

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

positive vibe and attitude towards Remy.

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.

https://www.cfhp.com.au/grieving-differences-men-women/. Accessed 23 October 2017.

Daniel, Stef. A Mothers Instinct-Moms Just Know. Professors House.

https://www.professorshouse.com/a-mothers-instinct/. Accessed 23 October 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

Gender. Bedford St. Martins. Pages. 40 & 39

Shaffer, Mary Ann and Barrows, Annie. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Dial

Press. Pages. 186, 178, 212 & 213