Home > The Gilded Six-Bits Summary & Study Guide > Essays and Criticism > The Significance of Gender Roles and Economic Power in Hurston's Story

The Gilded Six-Bits | The Significance of Gender Roles and Economic Power in Hurston's Story

In the following essay, Madsen Hardy discusses the significance of gender roles and economic power in ‘‘The Gilded Six-Bits.’’

Hurston begins her 1933 short story ‘‘The Gilded Six-Bits’’ with a scene celebrating the domestic bliss of a newlywed couple. She virtually leads readers by the hand up the path to the modest but cozy house, offering them an intimate glimpse into the couple's marital harmony. As the story opens, Missie May Banks, the young wife, readies the house and herself for her husband's return. Each Saturday the husband, Joe, announces his homecoming by rolling nine silver dollars across the just-scrubbed threshold. It is the end of his week at the fertilizer plant, and the nine...

[The entire page is 1840 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...