Gender in August Wilson's "Fences"

The trailer for Fences

August Wilson's Fences, originally a play written in 1985, is a slice of life drama focusing on the Maxson family during the 1950s. Much of the narrative's focus is given to Troy Maxson, a garbage collector turned truck driver and the head of the house, played by Denzel Washington. Other important cast members include his wife Rose, played by Viola Davis, and his son Cory, played by Jovan Adepo. Other supporting cast members include Troy's son, Lyons, from a previous relationship, played by Russell Hornsby, and Troy's brother Gabriel, played by Mykelti Williamson, who suffers the effects of a head wound received in World War II. While the narrative features multiple themes, gender, especially in terms of responsibility and aggression, is one of the major themes of Fences.

Troy ties responsibility to masculinity early on in the film, repeatedly explaining that taking care of his family is his responsibility throughout the story. In one of the early scenes, he tries to tell Lyons to take care of himself by getting a well-paying job instead of hanging around bars to indulge in his passion, playing music. Troy also attempts to teach Cory a lesson in responsibility after he quits his job to play football for high school, forcing Cory to go back and get his job back. After Cory asks why his father has never liked him, Troy explains that it's his responsibility to take care of Cory because he's his son, and that liking him has nothing to do with that. Troy later discovers that Cory never got his job back and forces Cory to quit the football team, partially due to his belief that Cory will never succeed in professional football due to racism and partially due to jealousy.

Despite doing his best to provide for his family, Troy wrestles with self-doubt over his responsibilities. Troy feels guilt for using the $3,000 that Gabriel received from his injury to buy a house, and later feels guilt for accidentally institutionalizing Gabriel due to his inability to read. Troy also feels guilt for not being around for Lyons' childhood, and gives him money when Lyons comes to visit to make up for it. Feeling inadequate, Troy has an affair with a woman named Alberta, ultimately failing to live up to his standards of responsibility.

August Wilson also criticizes the aggression often linked with masculinity. Troy reveals to his friend, Bono, and Lyons that he was forced to leave his home and "become a man" after getting into a fight with his father, protecting a girl in the process. He would eventually go to jail for attempting to rob a man to support Lyons and his mother. Throughout the film, Troy attempts to steer Cory away from falling into the same aggressive pattern that he was caught in, giving his son three "strikes" over the course of the movie. Troy himself continues to act aggressive during the film, however, at one point grabbing Rose's arm to the point of hurting her. Cory, angered by his father's infidelity and his refusal to let Cory succeed in football, lashes out, culminating in Cory attempting to hit his father with a baseball bat. Cory is thrown out of the house, and is forced to join the Marines in order to live on his own. Cory's aggression is punished just as Troy's was, though Cory ends up making better decisions than his father did.

Troy and Rose Maxson

Rose, the only female character for the majority of the narrative, is established as being a stay-at-home mom whose duties lie in the home. Although Troy loves her dearly, he often refers to Rose as "woman" and orders her around the house. Rose is shown to handle the household's cooking throughout the film, and is shown handling stereotypical "female" tasks, such as hanging clothes up to dry. Rose also handles the family's money, despite Troy's status as the family's bread winner.

While Rose is portrayed as a typical 1950s housewife, she ironically tackles responsibility with more success than Troy. Viola Davis stated that the things Rose sacrifices, personally, during the film become a very powerful symbol of the role of women, particularly at that time. After Troy confesses to having an affair, Rose rejects Troy, ignoring him while still with him in the same house. Troy's mistress eventually dies in childbirth. Instead of abandoning Troy's newborn daughter, Rose decides to raise her as her own child while rejecting Troy, calling him "a womanless man." The daughter, Raynell, seems to live a good life during the film's epilogue, when Rose once again stresses that she will raise Raynell to have a better life than she had. Rose sacrifices much of her life to ensure that Raynell's life is better, meeting the standards of responsibility that Troy couldn't meet.