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Melanie Fehrenbacher
Andrew Leiter
English 170-K
October 21, 2004
The Role of Women in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn
A realist writer both praised and chided for addressing social issues, Mark Twain overtly
underscores the hypocrisy of human society in the 19th-century novel The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Narrated from young protagonist Huck’s point of view, this novel reveals
numerous scenes of domestic abuse, racism, senseless violence, and religious corruption—all of
which clearly demonstrate to the reader how “human begins can be awful cruel to one another”
(208). Although Twain’s disdain for mankind is evinced by the novel’s scenes of cruelty and
satirical tone, what is not as clear is Twain’s opinion specifically of women. At times the female
characters in the novel appear to be victims restrained by the feminine and domestic stereotypes
of the 19th century, and yet many scenes demonstrate how these women are capable of being just
as judgmental and hypocritical as their male counterparts. What ultimately emerges is Twain’s
subtle and somewhat paradoxical critique of women; while he demonstrates how women were
unjustly prejudiced against during the 19th century, he is also criticizing them for being
perpetuators of the society that keeps them suppressed.
The first two female characters introduced in the novel are the sisters Widow Douglas
(Huck’s legal guardian) and Miss Watson. Both are defined to the reader by their relationships
with men: Widow Douglas’s name is never given beyond the fact that her husband died, and
Miss Watson is referred to as “a tolerable slim old maid” (10) whose brusque personality seems
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to be a reflection of her single marital status. Both of these women exemplify the conventional
domestic stereotypes of the 19th century; they are “in the house all the time” cooking meals,
praying, and striving to disseminate moral decency (1). It is evident by the way Twain has
constructed these characters that they are the unfortunate products of a gender-biased society.
However, Twain also seems to criticize them for their hypocrisy, particularly in their
instructions to Huck on rectitude. For example, the widow forbids Huck to smoke for its
indecency, but makes an allowance for tobacco snuff because “she done it herself” (2). Similarly,
Miss Watson threatens eternal damnation when Huck will not “set up straight” (2), but
meanwhile, she is a slave owner who plans to separate Jim from his family for a price tag. Thus,
although these women are living within the limitations set by society, their hypocritical attempts
to indoctrinate Huck--and in particular, Miss Watson’s disregard for other human beings-- reveal
how they actually are championing society’s double standards instead of challenging them.
Mrs. Judith Loftus’s character is similarly paradoxical. When Huck enters her home
dressed like a girl, she is depicted as a domestic housewife “knitting by a candle,” eager to feed
Huck and patiently awaiting her husband’s return (49). However, when the two engage in
conversation, Mrs. Loftus proves to be perceptive and intelligent. For one, in her suspicion of
Huck’s true identity, she keenly asks him to repeat his name, which he gets wrong the second
time. To determine if he is actually from the country, she asks him a series of questions about
cows, horses, and trees—questions to which she obviously knows the answers. Further, she
provides him instructions on how to be more apt at embodying a girl, telling him “you do a girl
tolerable poor, but you might fool men, maybe” (55). With this comment, she suggests that men
can be duped more easily than women, reflecting a nascent understanding that men are not
necessarily superior.
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However, by providing instructions to Huck on how to feign to be female in the first
place, Mrs. Loftus is succumbing to society’s gender-biased stereotypes. In addition to asking his
name again, she tests him on stereotypical feminine tasks, such as how well he can thread a
needle or throw a ball of lead. With the latter, she exacerbates the stereotype that females are less
apt at athletics, instructing Huck: “hitch yourself up a-tiptoe and fetch your hand up over your
head as awkward as you can, and miss… about six or seven foot” (55). These assumptions serve
to propagate the notion that women are inferior to men. By instructing and evaluating Huck on
the basis of stereotypes, Mrs. Loftus is, in effect, reinforcing sexism in society.
After Huck learns he is an unconvincing female, he dons the persona of George Jackson
for the next family he visits, the Grangerfords. Through the sisters Emmeline and Sophia
Grangerford, the reader is introduced to two extremes of female characterization. The former,
who is deceased, had been in her lifetime an overly sentimental and morose child. Just before her
death, Emmeline composed lachrymose portraits with black crayons of herself in a cemetery
“crying into a handkerchief” or “tears running down her cheeks” (91). In addition to these overly
romantic and somewhat grotesque pictures, Huck sees Emmeline’s scrapbook of numerous
poems about dead people. Although her work is melodramatic and morbid, Huck finds himself
impressed by her fecundity, particularly that “she could rattle off poetry like nothing. She didn’t
ever have to stop to think” (93). Through Emmeline, Twain seems to be critiquing female
sentimental writing that proliferated during the 19th century. Like Twain, many male writers
scoffed at this popular trend in literature; Nathaniel Hawthorne coined the phrase “damned mob
of scribbling women” in condemnation of the female writers who were outselling him in
bookstores across America. Ultimately, Emmeline’s work comes across as maudlin and
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insincere, but much like the “damned mob,” she prolifically fulfills the role the society expected
of her.
Juxtaposed to Emmeline is her sister Sophia, a vivacious young woman who is “gentle
and sweet” and also intelligent and independent-minded for going against her family and their
enduring feud with the Shepherdsons (95). One Sunday afternoon, she incisively has Huck go
back to church to get her New Testament book, and inside is a note from Harney, her boyfriend
who is also a Shepherdson, telling her when the two will meet to elope. Upon reading the note,
she turns “mighty red…her eyes lighted up, and it made her powerful pretty” (99). This
description is the only one in the novel that demonstrates that passion can exist for a woman.
Even though it was grossly immoral for women to maintain secret affairs in the 19th century,
Twain appears to laud Miss Sophia for her bravery and independence from her family, providing
the couple with a safe escape from the violence that subsequently erupts between the
Shepherdsons and Grangerfords. Thus, in direct contrast to the overly sentimental Emmeline
who ends up dead, Sophia sincerely follows her heart, diverges from what is expected of her in
society, and ends up safe.
As Huck and Jim continue their journey down the Mississippi River, they encounter the
two con men who, in the peak of their swindling, pretend to be the brothers of a deceased man to
steal his inheritance. As the lying gets out of control, Huck begins to feel guilty; however, it
takes the influence of a special female character, Mary Jane, for him to draw the line between
right and wrong and put a stop to the fleecing. The last female character that Huck encounters
while on his journey, Mary Jane can be compared to each of the women who precede her in the
novel. Although she is not as intelligent as Mrs. Loftus, incapable of seeing through the con
men’s act and believing virtually anything she is told, Mary Jane is genuine and sincere, much
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like Sophia. For example, when the Wilks’ slaves (a mother and her children) are auctioned off
on account of the will, Mary Jane cries “to think they ain’t ever going to see each other any
more!” (167). Through these tears, and the tears she sheds for her dead uncle, Mary Jane
contrasts the overly sentimental Emmeline for her sincerity. Further, Mary Jane embodies the
pious element of the feminine stereotype with her diligent prayer and good will; however, she
differs from the hypocritical Widow Douglas and Miss Watson because her actions are
consistent with her beliefs. When she tells Huck “I’ll pray for you,” he knows she is sincere and
thinks to himself, “when it comes to beauty—and goodness, too---she lays over them all” (172).
Mary Jane’s positive influence over Huck is a turning point in the novel for many
reasons. For one, she emanates compassion, particularly when she defends Huck to her
scrutinizing sister by telling her “the thing is for you to treat him kind” (157). As a result of Mary
Jane giving Huck the benefit of the doubt, Huck’s compassionate side similarly blossoms. He
determines to risk his life in order to ensure her family gets their righteous inheritance: “I felt so
ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself…I’ll hive that money for them or bust”
(158). Furthermore, Mary Jane represents a turning point in Twain’s depiction of women.
While Sophia successfully escapes from her oppressive society, Mary Jane takes the next step:
she stays and allows her goodness to be an influence over the society that Twain despises.
Unfortunately, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn does not end after Huck leaves Mary
Jane. Instead, Huck rejoins society and reverts back to his devious ways with the negative
influence of Tom Sawyer. In terms of Twain’s depiction of women, the last female character of
the novel, Aunt Sally, resumes his tinge of criticism. A superficial character with little empathy
or understanding, she echoes Miss Watson and Widow Douglas from the beginning of the novel.
Huck acknowledges this with his concluding lines:
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But I reckon I got to light out of the territory ahead of the rest,
because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize [sic] me,
and I can’t stand it. I been there before. (263)
Although the role of women is not a prominent feature in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, the appearances of supporting female characters such as Widow Douglas and
Miss Watson, Mrs. Judith Loftus, Emmeline and Sophia Grangerford, Mary Jane, and Aunt Sally
are fundamental to the novel’s action and moral development of Huck Finn. These women are
indelible to Twain’s representation of human society, and while some echo the hypocrisy of the
19th-century American life through their conformance to stereotypes, others break free from
Twain’s condemnation for their genuine sincerity. However, in considering Twain’s
controversial and ambiguous portrayal of more explicit social issues, such as Jim and slavery, it
is possible that Twain was not supporting a chauvinistic perspective of women in society but
rather challenging it in pursuit of something better.
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Works Cited
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, N.Y., Amsco School
Publications, Inc. 1884.