Gender Roles in The Piano Lesson

When first reading August Wilson's The Piano Lesson it is very easy to zero in on the topic of racism. However I believe that is not the only major theme that exists in this text. I do believe that the issue of sex and gender roles is an underlying issue that is just as important to the play as the race issue is.

Throughout the entirety of the play Women (at least those who were forced to be slaves) are often revered and remembered not only before their male counter parts, but in a greater, almost divine light. There is even a scene that includes Avery and Berniece have a fairly progressive talk about women, especially since this play takes place in the 1930's. Also the scene where Doaker explains their family heritage to Lymon is a good example.

There is a scene in the play where Uncle Doaker goes through their family tree explaining to Lymon about it. The way he describes the males as oppose to the females is a bit sexist . He has almost nothing good to say about any of the males in the family aside from Papa Boy Charles, who physically sculpted the piano, while saying almost nothing about the females of the family. Now while he is not actually saying anything good or respectable about the females, the lack of good things to be said about the males of the family adds to the respectful demeanor of the females of the family. He also explains how Papa Boy Charles' Wife and Son were traded for a Piano. The fact that a woman slave was chosen over a male slave also adds to the theme of gender roles. Due to the fact that women can potentially give birth to more slaves.

Another point that adds to this theory is the scene where Avery was trying to convince Berniece to marry him. He says to her “Who you got to love you, Berniece?” when he is proposing and saying he cannot wait forever. She then replays to him by saying “You trying to tell me a woman can't be nothing without a man. But you alright, huh? You can just walk out of here without a woman and still be a man. That's alright. Ain't nobody gonna ask you, “who you got to love you.”.” This is very progressive thinking for the 1930's. This adds a great deal to the theme of gender roles in the play.

The final scene is also a great contribution to the theme of gender roles in the play. At the very end of the play when Sutter's ghost is fighting with Boy Willie, Berniece finally decides that she needs to play the piano. When she does she sings a type of chant. When she is chanting she asks for help from her ancestors, however the only ones she actually calls upon are the women, with Papa boy Charles being the only exception due to him being the one who carved the piano.