Conclusion

Alice Munro has often written about the seemingly unbridgeable gap that separates men and women. In “Boys and Girls,” this gap is examined in the small world of a farm. Because the narrator is female, she is expected to behave in a subdued and frivolous way, to be devoted to domestic chores, and to ally with her mother against “male” pursuits such as farming, shooting, and heroism. The girl rebels against these stereotypes. Initially, she identifies more readily with her father than with her mother, noting that her father’s work seems important and interesting while her mother’s is depressing. Her mother says that she feels she does not have a daughter at all and looks forward to the day that Laird can be a “real help” to her husband. When that day arrives, her daughter will be expected to work indoors.