Voices Lost with Femininity and Masculinity in The Beet Queen

Abstract

This article examines lost voices in Louise Erdrich’s novel The Beet Queen. Impacted by the white-male-elite values, white woman Sita Kozka and Native American man Russell Kashpaw, in their endeavor to forge ultimate femininity and masculinity, experience downward trajectory phases marked by loud voices, objectification, oppression, voice loss, and death. By comparing Sita’s death and Russell’s rebirth, it unfolds that the pursuit of femininity and masculinity, within the patriarchal and racial conceptual framework, results in voicelessness and disempowerment. It also contends that only by forging independent identity and preserving indigenous culture can women and Native American men make their voices heard.