55 pages • 1 hour read
Kristina McMorrisSold on a Monday
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Gender Norms in the Depression Era
Sold on a Monday highlights the set gender roles in the workplace, the family, and society in the early 1930s. For women, their roles are largely restricted to traditional roles tied to the private, domestic sphere; namely, caring for the family or prescribed roles in the workplace in caretaking instead of leadership roles; and in society, holding up those traditional roles in the community.
Lily and Ellis were both trapped in gender roles in the workplace from which each sought to break free. Lily took her job as a secretary when no one would hire her as a reporter, even though she had excellent clips in her green folder and experience writing for her high school newspaper. Her determination to become a reporter and to make a better life for Samuel made her continue to struggle against the sexism and pursue her dream. Ellis begins his newspaper career in a section of the paper reserved for women, the Society page. He recoils against the bullying he receives from colleagues, who make fun of him for “womanly work.” Ellis works hard to gain a promotion to what he perceives is a more rewarding role in the newspaper, like breaking news reporting.
In the family setting, women are caretakers for the men in the family, such as Myrna, Ellis’s mother. She is a homemaker with no other role. This position is also true of Geraldine, but over the course of the story, she gains employment in the health care profession, but also learns to take care of herself and therefore better care her children. Also, Mrs. Gentry appears to be a battered woman, or at least a women who is tightly controlled by her husband and has little to no autonomy to make her own decisions.
As for societal gender norms, one gender norm is shown in the treatment of unwed mothers and the need for separate boarding homes for unwed mothers, as if they will negatively affect other young women who are not yet married. Lily suffers from this stigma and keeps her child a secret for this very reason. Another is the expectation that women need to be married so that men can take care of them, as Lily’s mother explains to her when she does not want to accept Clayton’s proposal.
The Integral Role of the Family
Sold on A Monday highlights the importance of family for human reproduction and survival. The family unit matters for economic survival. In the Great Depression, the family unit, even to the detriment of the children, worked together to survive. For Lily, even though she worked, she relied on her family to help her, particularly to take care of Samuel so that she could earn money in the city to eventually provide a better life for her family. For the breaker boys, they contribute to the family’s income, as does 16-year-old Claire, who is already working full-time as a housekeeper.
The family is also crucial for molding character. For Ellis, it contributed to both his positive and negative attributes. He grew up cared for, with the skills and confidence to defy his father by pursuing his own dream. The love he lacked from his father also pushed him to cross the line in trying to become a success. For Lily, she is a kind woman, a loving mother with strong moral fiber and a good work ethic—in large measure because she takes after her mother and father.
Finally, the author shows how the family is critical for protecting its members from the harshness of the world. For example, all three single parents work double time to protect their children. Trimble’s mother makes up for a weak father and protects and raises her children. Geraldine does her best to make up for her mistakes once she realizes that she can get her children back. And Lily is Samuel’s champion, dedicated to ensuring that he always knows that he is wanted and to making a good life for him. And, Lily’s parents love her unconditionally, and provide a home for her and Samuel when others would not have, protecting her from the petty yet harsh judgement of others.
The Treatment and Mistreatment of Children
The novel examines the treatment of children from the perspective of social realism in three ways. First, the novel highlights the real social and economic problems of the poor and the working classes in the Depression Era and how it impacted the treatment of children. In many poor and working-class families, children were not dependents; they were expected to contribute to the family’s wealth as productive members. The breaker boys, Ruby’s entrepreneurial flower sales, even little Calvin, were all laborers just like their parents.
Second, through a social realism viewpoint, the author shows the daily consequences of poverty. In addition to the obvious outcome, that people could and did sell their children, the deeper issue of social structures designed to help some and impoverish others can be seen. Whether through illegal means, like the mob selling alcohol, or legally, the Millstones upper-class life from banking, those at the top of the social ladder exploited those at the bottom
Third, the novel highlights how social power, and in some senses political power, allowed the rich to exploit the predicaments of poor families—especially their children. For example, the Millstones could buy Ruby and Calvin because they could afford them, and unlike Lily, they did not have to explain their predicament. Or the Gantrys, who could buy Calvin because the children’s home had the social standing to sell the children without worry because once the children arrived at the home, they could keep information about the children private (as they did with Claire when she inquired about Calvin).
Grief and Grieving
The author paints a realistic picture of how the death of a loved one can affect the surviving individuals and the family. For Ellis, the death of his little brother when he himself was still a little boy cost him the love and affection of his father, at least in a way that he needed it most. He grew up with a distant father and without the constant care of his mother. Without her willingness to intervene, they might never have been able to do simple things together like share a meal. And for Jim, the loss of Henry left him with the incredible burden of believing that he was to blame. That shame, the knowledge that perhaps he could have saved his son, almost cost him a relationship with his surviving son. Jim’s inability to grieve and let go had severe consequences for him, his son, and his family.
For the Millstones, grieving the loss of their child shows how one tragedy can beget another. Alfred’s choice is to do everything he can to make up for Victoria’s death, including allowing Sylvia to treat him unkindly. He even goes so far as to buy children to replace his lost daughter. For Sylvia, however, the full effects of grieving causes a deep depression from which she cannot recover. She has a break with reality, seeing her dead daughter in another child’s face, and acting as if her daughter has returned to her. The author presents a realistic portrayal of Sylvia’s grief, the mental health disorder it causes, and the tragic consequences of Sylvia’s break with reality when she shoots Geraldine and Ellis while trying to save her “daughter.”
