How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Is that what loving your man is? […] You mean losing your identity, don't you?" (16.17, 16.19)
This idea is discussed a bit in our section on marriage, too. But a marriage—in this region at this time period—involves the man basically taking over. There is never any question that a man will lose his identity. Only the woman has to worry about that.
Quote #8
"Look, honey. Have you ever considered that men, especially men, must conform to certain demands of the community they live in simply so they can be of service to it?" (16.55)
Henry suggests that he already loses his identity, just by being a man in society. He has to compromise his identity to his peers every day to fit in.
Quote #9
"I see a scared little man; I see a little man who's scared not to do what Atticus tells him, who's scared not to stand on his own two feet, who's scared not to sit around with the rest of the red-blooded men—" (16.80)
Considering the efforts Jean Louise goes to in order to protect her own identity as a woman, she is exceptionally insensitive—and dare we say, hypocritical—of Henry's identity as a man. She even taunts him for not being masculine enough, saying, "I expect you to be a man, that's all!" (16.90) Yet if anyone told her to be a woman, she would lash out at them.