Comparing Women In The Pioneers And Huckleberry Finn

When considering the female presence in The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, representation is minimal. Though these novels are hyper-masculine, featuring a majority of male characters, the women in these novels are essential to the growth of the male protagonists. Without them, the stories remain one-dimensional and lacking a moral arch. Though the portrayal of the key female characters from these novels is not perfect, their traits play off of the flaws of the male characters, specifically Judge Temple in The Pioneers and Huck Finn. Despite the women being the reason these characters grow, the men’s treatment and thoughts toward them represents the time these stories were written. In The Pioneers, there is an abundance of male characters, and very few notable women characters. There is only one female character that would be considered a major role in the novel. The rest of the women mostly serve the purpose of Judge Temple’s daughter Elizabeth, who is just
Her situation is odd, and Huck does step in to help her, but the way they interact differs greatly from what would be presented in a romantic novel. Mary Jane’s description does not even match the typical, idealized woman in romantic literature. Instead, she is red-haired and more unique in appearance. Characters like Elizabeth in The Pioneers are dark haired, fitting a very specific type of beautiful. Mary Jane is pretty, especially in Huck’s eyes, but the way she is presented strays from the common expectations that were in romantic literature. If The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a romantic novel, the Huck and Mary Jane would have had a dramatic romance that would play a bigger part in the plot. Huck having a crush on Mary Jane fits the archetype of the American novel, but it is not a feature that holds the plot together like it would be in a romantic