Most of Alice Munro's main characters are women, whose social and inner lives are depicted in great detail by the author. All of these women tend to give the reader an insight into what it means to be a woman in a society ruled predominantly by men. They seem significant in society because of the domestic role they seem to play in their lives. However, Munro is inclined to portray women who are not essential to their work and who are somehow able to discover themselves and express meaningful love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Munro describes in his stories women who seem important mainly because they are needed by men. They are "made" to be housewives. In "A Good Woman's Love", Munro describes Bud's mother as a typical housewife, achieving a "serene severity". She appears to be experienced in ruling her home, becoming the only one to supervise her children as if it were essential to maintaining order. Yet women also seem to evolve around what society expects of them: raising their children. This change is shown by Iona's behavior in "My Mother's Dream" when she takes care of Jill's baby. The woman who was initially insignificant and boring in the house becomes very important: "Iona had gone from being the most negligible person to being the most important person in the house." She seems to have become a vital person in maintaining peace and order: "she was the one who stood between those who lived there and the constant discord", just as Bud's mother does. It brings order and is necessary for the house to be managed efficiently. This importance of women in society and specifically in the domestic sphere is also determined by the necessity they represent for men. This kind of need is what Munro describes in "Hate, Friendship, Courtship, Love, Marriage": men who cannot live without women taking care of them. It begins with Mr. McCauley who can't stand being left by Johanna: "He woke up in the house alone, with no smell of coffee or breakfast coming from the kitchen." Here, Johanna's absence affecting her life is emphasized by the use of the comma immediately after the word "alone", which marks a pause in the reader's reading. He no longer has anyone to take care of him, and the things he was used to have left with Johanna. Munro also writes: "He belonged to a generation in which there were men who were said to not even know how to boil water, and he was one of them." Although indirectly, Munro describes women as necessary for men who cannot cook for themselves, let alone do housework. Men need women to take care of them, as Munro tries to demonstrate when he portrays women fulfilling stereotypical domestic roles. However, while women are shown as necessary in the domestic sphere, they are depicted by the author as useless, or at least less important. , regarding professionalism. In fact, Munro describes them as good only at home, incapable of doing anything other than taking care of household chores. Describing a character in "A Good Woman's Love," she writes, "she believed her mother had no experience or authority outside their home." Jimmy's mother's status is tied to her house and she has no choice but to maintain it. But Munro also writes: "To his surprise, he immediately telephones the police. He then telephones his father." That sentence contradicts how Jimmy views his mother. She takes control of the situation herself, showing her son what women can do.