When discussing oppression in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the most obvious example is the racism and discrimination that is experienced by the Younger family. However, the play also more covertly tackles the issue of misogyny, specifically through the character of Walter Lee. Walter is an ambitious man with big dreams, but he is also egotistical, chauvinistic, and dismissive of the people (especially the women) around him. Walter fears that his future is “a big, looming blank space—full of nothing” (37), a thought that leaves him feeling trapped and helpless. Walter Lee constantly belittles and asserts his dominance over the women in his life, especially his wife, because it makes him feel more in control and allows him to escape the emasculation of being unable to provide for his family.
The first example of this behavior from Walter takes place when his son, Travis, asks for 50 cents to take to school. After Ruth says that they don’t have any money to give, Walter feels ashamed and offers Travis the 50 cents anyway, even going so far as to throw in extra to prove to Travis that the family has nothing to worry about financially. As Walter hands Travis the money, the stage directions say that he does so “without even looking at his son, still staring hard at his wife” (8). These very intentional directions show that Walter is doing this to assert his dominance over Ruth. He is clearly telling Ruth not to embarrass him in front of his son and that he does not care what Ruth thinks about their money (even though Ruth is the one who handles the finances and actually knows how much money they have). Walter does all of this for show because Ruth emasculated him in front of Travis, which is further proven when he sheepishly has to ask her for money at the end of the scene.
After Travis leaves, Walter attempts to convince Ruth that his investments are a good idea, naming three different men who agree with him and want to do the same thing. When she says a single word in question of his decisions, he immediately bites back with “see there, that just goes to show you what women understand about the world” (9). This shows that Walter does not value the opinions of the women in his life and would much rather take advice from random men over his own wife. Walter also blames Ruth (and black women in general) for his shortcomings by accusing her/them of being unsupportive. He laments that this is “just what is wrong with the colored woman in this world . . . don’t understand about building their men up and making ’em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something” (10). When Ruth argues that there are successful black men, he responds “no thanks to the colored woman” (10). It is much easier for Walter to blame women for not being encouraging or nurturing enough than it is for him to face his own failures, so he is comfortable making Ruth the scapegoat for what his life has become. This exchange reveals Walter’s negative views towards women in general, not just the ones around him, and his unwillingness to take accountability for his own mistakes.
Later in the scene, Beneatha enters and Walter shows his unique distaste towards her. Beneatha is ambitious and well-educated, traits that Walter does not associate with femininity, and thus he is both intimidated and disgusted by her. They start to argue about Mama’s incoming money and Walter implies several times that Beneatha does not deserve it. Eventually, the argument comes to a head and Walter blurts out “who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ’bout messing ’round with sick people—then go be a nurse like other women—or just get married and be quiet” (13). This exclamation reveals Walter’s true feelings: he feels more entitled to the money than Beneatha because she is a woman attempting to have a career. Because Walter sees women as inferior, he resents that Beneatha might humiliate him by making something of herself before he does.
Walter feels that simply because he is a man, he deserves respect and submission from the women in his family, even his own mother. In scene two, Walter comes home ravenous for the newly received check, and he is furious when Mama wants him to instead discuss a serious matter with Ruth. In a rage, he shouts “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” (35), which indicates that he takes out the stresses of his day on his female family members when he arrives home. Walter does not feel seen or heard in his life outside of the house, so it makes him feel stronger when he forces his wife, mother, and sister to cater to him. Ruth, distraught by her husband, tells Walter he makes her sick to her stomach and leaves. Walter, never one to miss an opportunity to make his wife feel small, calls after her “and you turn mine too, baby!” (36). Walter takes every chance he gets to insult and belittle Ruth in order to keep her subservient to him.
Walter’s attitude towards women is consistently condescending, rude, and dismissive. He, by his own admission, believes that men are superior to women, and yet he relies intrinsically on the women around him to feed his ego and protect his masculinity. Walter Lee’s character is an excellent example of a misogynist who makes himself feel better and more worthy by putting women down.
- Do you sympathize with Walter because of his unfortunate circumstances, or do you feel that his behavior is irredeemable?
- If you were Ruth, considering everything about the position that she is in, would you stay with Walter?
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: A Drama in Three Acts.
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Hi Kara, I completely agree with your interpretation of Walter and his misogynistic nature throughout act one. To add on to the theme of misogyny, I found some similarities between him and Asagai. The text reads, “‘Between a man and a woman there need be only one kind of feeling… for a woman it should be enough’” (Hansberry 63). Beneatha enjoys talking to Asagai since he helps her on her journey of self-development and identity, however, she does not have interest in him romantically. When she rejects him, he becomes cruel and speaks of how women should not want men for any other reason. This signifies how he feels women are inferior and should only desire love from men, holding men to a higher standard than women. He belittles them in that statement as well by negating a woman’s wish to find herself since he feels just being owned by a man “should be enough”. Walter and Asagai both speak negatively of the women in their lives since they think that women are inferior to them and they can push them around without repercussion.
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I understand partially why Walter behaves the way he does but his unfortunate circumstances are no excuse for his hostile behavior. Everyone in that house is suffering equally, yet the others do not act in such an abrupt manner, and they don’t project their own misery onto the others in the house. I feel as though the man of the house is supposed to be the backbone of the family and the person that gets them through the hard times and tries to keep the hope alive but instead, he drags them down and dims the small amount of light they have left. So yes, his actions are irredeemable. In the story Walter states, “You just don’t understand, Mama, you just don’t understand.”(p.74). Walter makes everything about him, and he thinks he has it worse than everyone else because he puts his own needs first, when in reality they are all suffering as one he illustrates the idea that he is undergoing something worse.
Hi Kara, you had a really great argument about Walter! To answer your first question, I believe that Walter’s behavior is irredeemable. I don’t believe that anyone should feel bad for Walter because everyone else in his household is facing the same financial hardships. I understand where Walter may feel like he is embarrassed with not being able to provide for him family but, I am sure that Travis feels embarrassed that if he needs money he has to go work down at the supermarket at 11 years-old and Ruth feels embarrassed that she cannot afford to have another child or give her current child money for school or his own room. In scene II, Walter becomes upset that Mama will not invest in his liquor store, because becomes upset with Ruth and says “Any you turn mine too, baby! That was my biggest mistake-“ (Hansberry, 72). He replies to Ruth saying that he makes her sick to her stomach and he lashes back at her saying that. Walter continuously acts as if he is the only one with problems and takes all of his frustration and anger out on the women in his family, while they are facing the same issues.
This post is an amazing analysis of Walter’s character. In regards to the questions, I feel like the first one is complex. I don’t find Walter to be a character who cannot be redeemed. I think he is a product of his time in a very unique way, and in that sense I sympathize with him. He is undeniably misogynistic and he treats Ruth like garbage, but I understand his frustrations specifically because of the stress and pressure that black men put themselves under. They are already stereotyped as deadbeat fathers, and I think Walter is scared he falls into that category himself. His obsession with money and business indicates that he ultimately is concerned with providing and living comfortably. On page 74 he says, “…them white boys are sitting back and talking bout’ things…sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars.. sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me.” This reveals that he feels left behind, and that all the men around him (especially white men) are excelling and successfully managing businesses and steadily pooling money for themselves, leaving him scared of the potential he thinks he is wasting. In regards to the second question, I personally would stay with Walter. Now her position is quite devastating, and the way she is treated by Walter is not right at all, but as someone who grew up in a very broken home I know the importance of having both parents together to raise a child, especially one that is Travis’ age. If I were Ruth raising Travis, I would stay because in the long run for him he’ll be better off being raised by both parents and not having to deal with the hardships of their marriage, as that will probably damage him a lot when he gets older.
Hey Kara, I 100% agree with you that Walter is an egomaniacal misogynistic narcissistic person but I do wonder if misogyny is the headline of Walters’s story being shown in the book. If we were to look at the story form Mamma’s side of the equation then we would see a whole new light on misogyny. Mamma is not only a widowed mother that provides for her adult children and her grandchildren but she does so with an iron fist. For instance when Walter come home to ask Mamma for money and she replies “there aint going to be no investing in no liquor stores” (Hansberry, 70). The moment that Walter rants about his aspirations mamma comes in and squashes his nonsense. Mamma also is the person whom Travis goes to to get money because he knows that Walter aint got none to give despite his little shows of tyranny. At the end of the day I see an ashamed broke man living in his mothers house using misogyny as a cover for his broken ego and his arrogance.
Hi Kara! I agree with you 100% that Walter is a misogynist, and one part that stood out to me would be that he is intimidated by Beneatha, by her making something of herself, more than what Walter could ever do. He wants to assert dominance in the household and show that he is the bread-winner of the family, but just by having that goal in mind, he puts down the women in his family, and not only in his family, but “all colored women in the world” as he states, ‘That is just what’s wrong with the colored women in the world… Don’t understand about building their men up and making ‘em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something’. He wants to feel like he can do something, while having the support of his wife, and also wants to make his family financially stable, yet he seems blinded by all his goals, that he totally feels the need to put down the women in the household, but when one of the women says something that goes against his belief,he becomes erratic in speech as said in the description of Walter.
Hello Kara, your summary was spot on and helped me understand the concept of who Walter is and his character more. The quote that you pulled that reads, ” WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” reveals that he is human and has built of frustration and even longing to be seen and heard. This element of his personality can be tucked away by his attitude toward women and his tough attitude so this brought out another layer to his character. The scene discussed about Walter handing Travis more money than he asked for to prove a point of financial stability also speaks to his insecurity. He even looks at his wife while he is doing this even though his wife is the one who is more knowledgable about their finances and takes care of that. Walter seems to be egocentric and he will do anything to protect his ego and dis regards his wifes’ feelings entirely.
Hi Kara! I really side with your perspective of Walter as he noticeably self absorbed and protective of his masculinity. He put’s down Beneatha as well as Ruth because he views himself as the man of the house. He is neglectful towards Beneatha’s aspirations as if he is doubt’s her because she is a woman. She is at an age where she still has the chance to make something great for herself and it seems like Walter is blind to that by his own regrets and goals. He asked Beneatha, “Have we figured out exactly how much medical school is going to cost?”. He was being sour towards Beneatha and acted as if there were more important things that the money could be going to. I believe that the way that Walter speaks to Ruth as well is not something that should just be brushed off by everyone. The way he put’s down colored woman and put’s himself on pedestal does not sit well with me. I also think that Walter is very rude and inconsiderate when discussing the money because at the end of the day its Mama’s and not his. I don’t feel that Walter couldn’t be redeemed. I think that if he were to change his perspective and outlook he could improve his attitude towards the ones around him. He is a brother, a son, a father, and a husband. He has a large influence on the one’s around them. He needs to encourage his loved ones to reach there aspirations rather than put them down.
Hi Kara! I really enjoyed the details you gave about Walter, especially about his relationship with his sister. I never really considered that part of the reason he was bumping heads with his sister was due to her being involved in certain things that Walter does not associate with femininity. Although I feel a little bad for Walter… I feel his actions are unacceptable. If he truly believed in woman acting to societies’ expectations than I feel he should look into himself as a man and question whether he is following societies’ expectations as a man. “Walter picks up his keys and his coat and walks out.” (pg. 75) This was shortly after founding out that his wife was pregnant with his second child. As a man that was a very disgraceful way to treat the woman holding your child. If Walter cares so much about women fitting a certain standard, he should really look within himself as a man and criticize only himself.
Hi Kara! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and thought you had some very insightful thoughts about the misogyny displayed by Walter’s character. To answer your first question, I don’t sympathize with Walter. It is understandable that there is a reason for him to be frustrated with life constantly because of the family’s economic struggles but that doesn’t mean he has the right to take out his frustration on the women in his life, who are facing the same struggles as him, by constantly trying to assert his dominance and prove his power over them. Another quote that expresses Walters misogynistic persona is when Walter says, “We one group of men tied to a race of women with small minds” (Hansberry 35). In this quote, the idea that Walter looks down on women is displayed clearly. He says this after discussing the idea that women don’t build up their men and make them feel important and because of that he believes women to be small minded. In this section we can interpret that Walter believes women are only good for one thing and that is making men feel important and powerful and I don’t believe that is redeemable.