“‘Then she is of one mind and not you another? If you can call whatever’s in her head a mind, that is.’

‘Excuse me, but I can’t hear a word against her. I’ll chastise her. You leave her alone’” (54).

When reading with the Feminist/Gender lens, the reader must identify who holds the power and what impact it has on the surrounding environment.

During the time period this book was framed in, women did not have rights. They were treated as if they had less value than men. A woman was always supposed to respect and obey men. Paul D had actively tried to make a place for him in Sethe’s family. After Denver, Sethe’s daughter, rudely asks Paul D how long he plans on staying, he is immediately offended and a fight breaks out between Paul D and Sethe. The way in which one another speak to each other is surprising. Toni Morrison uses tone, syntax and diction to exemplify how women act equal in power and how they challenge social norms for the “typical behavior” a woman should embody.

The tone of Paul D and Sethe are equally harsh towards one another. The first quote is said by Paul D: “‘Then she is of one mind and not you another? If you can call whatever’s in her head a mind, that is’” (54). Here he speaks of what Denver asked him and questioning if Sethe actually wasn’t thinking the same as her daughter. When Paul D insults Denver’s mentality, it could be viewed as a rude accusation with a hostile tone. With a shocking remark in return, Sethe aggressively replies, “‘Excuse me, but I can’t hear a word against her. I’ll chastise her. You leave her alone’”(54). With such a sharp response, she battles to be acknowledged as the authority figure in the situation. She in turn, commands him to leave her daughter Denver alone. Here we can see how she challenges the societal depiction of women and their stereotypical behaviors towards men. Sethe projects herself to be just as hostile and takes charge like Paul D does. Morrison empowers former slave females in her novel by setting their tone similar to the men that typically talk down to them.

The syntax of Sethe’s dialogue can be viewed as demands. The sentence structure of her dialogue is short and swift. She does not request that Paul D leave her daughter alone, she directly demands him to leave Denver alone. This makes the overall dialogue seem bitter. What makes these short sentences turn into demands is the specific word choice used.

The diction used throughout this conversation emphasizes Sethe’s strive for power equality. Sethe directly addresses Paul D saying, “‘You leave her alone’”(54). The word "you" is charged with accusation in this phrase. With the setting of the situation and the tone of this specific sentence, the way in which the words are placed puts Paul D immediately at fault. This is how Sethe rises up in power next to him. Also when Sethe says she will "chastise" Denver, she defies the stereotype that women are dainty, fragile figures. The definition of chastise means to severely punish or beat another individual. When both genders are compared to one another, typically men tend to be the more violent out of the two genders in society’s depiction. For Sethe to illustrate a violent side to her, she not only controls the encounter between her and Paul D, but she also tests the stereotypical way women should behave in these instances.