The $30,000 Bequest

Last semester we read “The $30,000 Bequest” by Mark Twain and focused much of our conversation on Twain’s use of flipping to juxtapose two binaries. In doing so, we were forced to recognize our preconceived notions of stereotypes. This was especially exacerbated by the inversion of traditional male and female roles in “The $30,000 Bequest.” Aleck’s abilities with finance and emotional control are highlighted against Sal’s propensity to spend and mood swings. Moreover, the reversal of names forces readers to pause their reading and recall who is who. Although the inversion of gender roles is not a main theme of the novel, it assists readers in understanding the dichotomy of reality and fantasy.

Sal acts in traditional feminine ways in his emotiveness, while Aleck is stoic and almost unfeeling. His physically at times can make readers uncomfortable. For example after Aleck invested a thousand dollars, “Sally kissed her half a dozen times and even in that way could not express all his joy and thankfulness…and before she could restrain herself she made her darling another grant… The happy tears sprang to Sally’s eyes.” I had to reread this a few times to grasp which character was being so unnecessarily emotional. The fact that I was uncomfortable with male emotionality disturbed me because I consider myself to be very open to different concepts of gender. Yet Twain characterizes Sal and Aleck in a humorous way that allows readers to question gender stereotypes in a non-combative and critical manner. I do not contend that inverted gender roles are unfathomable to the point of being humorous. Instead, the way Twain makes light of their relationship inevitably makes light of our conception of gender.

I agree that the juxtaposition of male and female helps to enlighten the dichotomy of reality and fantasy. As we stop to notice whom is talking, we also must concentrate on whether or not the characters are existing in reality or a fantasy the Fosters have created. Because the gender dynamic is so obvious, the sense of lost reality is also heightened. By the end of the story, Sal and Aleck no longer have identities. Instead the lines that construct gender are blurred and eventually nonexistent in the same way the division of reality and fantasy are blurred to the point of destruction.