The Home-maker (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Dorothy Canfield
- First Published: 1924
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The early 1920’s
- Setting: A small town somewhere in New England
- Principal Characters: Eva Knapp, Lester Knapp, Stephen, Helen, Henry
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Child rearing or parenting, Family or family life, Parents and children, Suicide, Gender roles, 1920’s, Individuality, New England, Accidents, Lifestyles, Disabilities or physically challenged persons, Work or workers, Sales personnel, Accountants or accounting, Career women, Homemakers
- Locales: New England
The Novel
Much of the action of The Home-maker is intended to illustrate the negative consequences of sexual stereotyping. The Knapps, a seemingly typical white Protestant American family consisting of parents, Lester and Eva, and three bright children, live in a quaint New England town during the early 1920’s. Nevertheless, this outwardly contented clan suffers from expectations which both Lester and Eva find impossible to meet.
Throughout, a sympathetic narrator acknowledges the determination of Eva, who, with the tenacity of Sisyphus, endures the drudgery of...
[The entire page is 1586 words long]
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