ly wanted to convey a moralistic tale concerning materialism as a catalyst for greed in The Pearl, he would not have needed a character that embodies the epitome of positive values and integrity (Gladstein 86-87). Like Hemingway, Steinbeck portrays his characters in a mothering light. Juana possesses the nurturing qualities, strength, devotion, and endurance typically associated with a mother always on guard for her family. But Steinbeck does not portray her as traditionally feminine in a submissive or weak way. She is loyal and strong, protective but not dominating Steinbeck does not show any weak or ugly traits in Juanas personality (Gladstein 89). Even though Steinbeck ascribes many positive qualities to Juana, he does not develop her character. As a representative of womankind, she is nurturing and indestructible. As an individual, one woman, wife to Kino, mother to Coyotito, her personality never takes shape (Gladstein 89). Steinbeck portrays his women as flawless and indestructible representatives of their sex.Women are portrayed similarly and more personally from a woman's perspective in the works of Edith Wharton and Zora Neale Hurston. In Edith Whartons, Ethan Villareal 5Frome, one encounters two seemingly opposite women, Zeena, Ethans wife whom he only married out of loneliness, and Mattie Silver, Zeenas cousin, who comes to the Frome household to help due to Zeenas illness. Mattie and Zeena, the two main female characters in Ethan Frome, are not characterized by the narrator, which reinforces how little individuality they have in the narrator's mind (Goodman 72). Ethan first sees Mattie as an extension of himself, as the person that he wants to symbolize. Mattie states out loud the simple observations and feelings that Ethan has never been able to express. Mattie is one of the most inarticulate heroine's in American literature (Goodman 73). Ethan and Mattie are two parts of one whole, representing maleness and ...
