2. Pilate Dead Refuses to let societal norms affect the way she lives her life Lives in a female-dominated house; no strong male influence allows her to take control Leaves her home after her brother’s constant rudeness and generally horrible attitude towards her; “he had told her not to come again until she could show some respect for herself” (Pg 20) Decides to leave home at a young age because she refuses to deal with the stress of a strong male influence; as a result, she is able to live the life that she wants to live without being threatened

3. Pilate Dead (cont’d) “After a while, she stopped worrying about her stomach, and stopped trying to hide it.” (Page 149); Pilate is able to come to the realization that it doesn’t matter for her to be physically different, and she overcomes this boundary / point of insecurity that has been haunting her prior Does have some feelings / emotions that show her femininity and maternal instincts; but overall her aura allows her to transcend gender boundries “She was a natural healer, and among quarreling drunks and fighting women she could hold her own, and sometimes mediated a peace that lasted a good bit longer than it should have because it was administered by someone not like them.” (Page 150)

4. Magdalena called Lena Starts off as a shy, typical woman that lets men walk all over her Once she sees the tree starting to die, she desires to overcome her gender boundary and does what she can to tell Milkman off “Where do you get the right to decide our lives?” (Pg 215) Defends her sister to Milkman and blames him for ruining everything good that has been happening to her as of late

5. Macon Dead I Typical chauvinist; has no real regard for the wellbeing of women and puts his only son before his two older daughters Treats his wife horribly; doesn’t think about her own needs and feelings Kills Dr. Foster by taking away the meds Feels that he “owns” Milkman and can use him for whatever he feels necessary; hires him “Macon was delighted. His son belonged to him now and not to Ruth” (pg 63)

6. Macon Dead I (continued) Uses his daughters to impress those around him “First he displayed us, then he splayed us. All our lives were like that: he would parade us like virgins through Babylon, then humiliate us like whores in Babylon.” (Page 216) Does not like feeling powerless amongst his family members “you’re my son. And you will do what I tell you to do. With or without explanations. As long as your feet are under my table, you’ll do in this house what you are told” (Page 50) Does have some moments that reflect his softer side, and his limited feelings about protecting women Bringing up his father’s death shows us a different side of him; much more sympathetic, but has animosity towards Pilate

7. Corinthians Takes a very female-dominated job, but tells everyone that she has a job with more substance than a maid; this job allows her to actually have more freedom than she would in her own home “In that house she had what she never had in her own: responsibility. She flourished in a way, and exchanged arrogance occasionally for confidence.” (pg 190) The potentially humiliating experience of wearing a uniform of a maid just allows her to have the sense of leading a different life that she hasn’t led before Falls in love for the first time, but unfortunately falls victim to the pressures of “succumbing” to the pressures of a man She splays herself over the roof of his car when he refuses to open the door

8. Ruth Foster Dead Sexually frustrated to the point of nausea; she has a desperate longing for love - Nurses Milkman until he is a toddler; one means of attaining the “escape” she needs - Doesn’t get any affection and love from Macon; their sex life is lackluster and she is constantly let down by the fact that it’s so uninspired Her need for attention and love forces her to turn to her father Ruth’s father is the only one that was ever there to care. Other people were interested, but he actually cared about her wellbeing and for that, she was able to forge a bond with him that she couldn’t do with anyone else. (Page 124) “I am my daddy’s daughter”—makes Macon incredibly angry

9. Ruth Foster Dead (continued) Ruth sees Milkman as “her single triumph” and he’s more of an ideal than a person to her; she’s just amazed that she was able to actually have the baby that she can’t even being to think about what he can actually be (Page 133) - She feeds off Pilate’s strong willed and determined nature to overcome Macon’s wishes and have Milkman as planned Ironically, Macon ends up “winning” the battle in the end; as Ruth ends up alienating her son through the disturbing revelations about her relationship with her father - This turns Milkman away from sympathizing with her