Behind A Mask Sparknotes

The title “Behind A Mask” is significant because is it about the mask that every woman must wear in order to fin into society’s mold of womanhood. Woman of Jean’s ear are expected to be meek and mild – Jean is anything but. Therefore, she must pretend to be innocent and helpless in order to gain approval from the men she encounters. All this is done with the ultimate goal of attracting a mate with whom she will live a secure life. However, Jean’s mask serves a greater purpose. It reveals to the reader the unfair expectations that women must achieve. No woman is actually born to be innocent, quite, selfless, frail, nurturing, and submissive all at the same time. Women possess the same dominant characteristics of strength and intelligence as men. However, women must cover up these attributes with a mask of “womanhood” in order to be accepted and successful. Jane is not the only woman wearing a
mask, all the women in the story wear masks – all women in the world wear masks. The reason Jean is successful with her mask is because she always knows that her meek personality is just a charade; she does not try to actually change herself in order to fit the mold. Therefore, she wears the mask with no hesitation. By using the title “Behind a Mask”, points this out. Jean is a different person behind her mask. All women are different behind their masks, but they must wear masks in order to please men and, ultimately, society as a whole.
The subtitle “A Woman’s Power” takes the idea of the mask and twists it.
Now the mask is no longer a burden – it is a means for women to manipulate men in order to get what they want. Jean uses the mask to manipulate Neil, Coventry, and Sir John. All these men see Jean as a poor, selfless soul in need of help, but Jean is actually helping herself quite well. Jean’s power lies in her ability to seduce men by playing the victim. Muir is exposing that all women have this power. Women can get anything they want by manipulating their mask to please those around them. This may be of dubious morality, but women must take what they can get. When women are suppressed, they have very few options. It may be frowned upon to seduce an older man in order to marry his money, but it is even more frowned upon to become a prostitute. In a way, Muir is pointing out how sick and unfair it is that women only have this one advantage over men. Although women can be powerful, they must act meek in order to obtain power. Their only power is in being manipulative by flaunting the stereotype of
womanhood.