The Grapes of Wrath as man vs women

In the story, The Grapes of Wrath, the woman vs man theme is shown throughout the novel. Settle hints of sexism are scattered throughout chapters. In the first inner chapter, it was said that the women depended on their husbands to take care of the family. They watched their husbands from the kitchen window and prayed that they would figure out a solution to the crop situation. It was up to the men to take care of their families and when they couldn't, they would feel the blame fall on themselves. The women would try hard to not disturb the men when they were aggravated, the wives would rush into the house because they knew that his anger would come out on those he loves. The wives were to be the silent backbone of the family, if she were to fall apart the family would crumble. Men are the money makers and the providers of the family, but women keep everything running. In the Joad family, everyone accepts their role and doesn't question it. Ma looks to Tom to speak first about letting Casey join the family to California, even though she is older and he just came back from jail. People in this time period expected men to be the head of the family and to make the decisions. Ma goes against this when she doesn't want the family to split up, she threatens to hit her husband. The Grapes of Wrath has specific gender roles that are clear throughout the story.