Gendered violence refers to a process or system in which violence is directed against members of one gender by those of another. More specifically, the term is used to refer to the various ways in which women are abused by men. It encompasses both physical violence as well as verbal abuse, neglect, and deprivation of rights and autonomy through oppression. Gendered violence is therefore a problem that is capable of cutting across any number of social boundaries, including those created by class, race or ethnicity, and geography. This essay will consider how gendered violence influences the behavior of characters in Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye and Hisaye Yamamoto's short story, "The Brown House."
Basically, Yamamoto's (69) story describes how Mrs. Hattori responds to her husband's gambling problem. This woman treats her husband with respect, choosing to always call him Mr. Hattori and to respect his male superiority and position of authority within the family. As a woman caring for a husband and five minor children, Mrs. Hattori clearly recognizes that she is dependent upon her husband. She is a woman who is careful with money and who recognizes that she lives in a community where she is something of an outcast.
Yamamoto (72) makes it clear that this is not a happy marriage and that Mr. Hattori beats his wife "so severely that he had to take her to the doctor to have a few ribs taped. Both in their depths were dazed and shaken that things should have come to such a pass." For Mrs. Hattori, leaving a man who beats her and who gambles away money that the family needs desperately is a necessity. She finds it difficult to accept the fact that her husband wins money in a lottery but ultimately returns to him because she knows that this is the only way she will be able to have a relationship with her sons.
The message in the story is clear: women like Mrs. Hattori are dependent upon dominant men and are ...