The Book of Unknown Americans

Traditional gender roles govern the lives of the characters in the novel. While husbands go to work and children head to school, the women wait at home, often lonely and feeling bereft of purpose. Though financially all of these characters seem to be among the working poor, it is never an option for the women to work. Rafael becomes incensed that Celia would even suggest getting a job to him, though the entire family would benefit from the added money. This masculine pride in one’s ability to provide extends to physical protection, encouraging the violence that is also an element of traditional masculinity. While Celia is upset when Mayor gets in a fistfight, Rafael is not worried about the fighting and is more upset that his son has lied about playing a sport—an acceptably “masculine” pursuit. Even Mayor engages in fantasies about protecting Maribel, though he sees by the end of the novel that he cannot do that and doesn’t have to. As Maribel tells him before she leaves, “[f]inding is for things that are lost. You don’t need to find me, Mayor” (263).