Me Man — You Complicated

"What did I do?" is a common phrase uttered from the lips of a man who committed a relationshipial no-no. Next comes the stereotypical flowered apology. Still the man knows not what wrong he has done because he is not of the sentimental gender. This is the way it has always been, and what it shall always be, by decree of the almighty stereotype defining the roles of men and women in relationships with each other.

A reversal of these stereotypical relationship roles is presented in "The War Between Man and Woman" by H. L. Mencken. He begins by stating that women are superior to men and they use this superiority to trick men into marriage. They use male sentimentality to their fullest advantage.

Women, taking care to protect themselves from any possible glimmer of emotion, create a false sense of romance to get their man caught up in. Eventually he becomes trapped with no hope of living a happy, woman-free life. Even at this point, the woman still must keep her feelings out of existence as to not sacrifice the operation.

Women's work is that of espionage, and those men who fall victim to it remain clueless until it is much too late. Men are foolish creatures, easily won over by women's advantageous intelligence or sheer power of will. Through marriage, a man does stand to gain some things, such as a housekeeper, but he fails to see those hidden downsides such as the addition of in-laws. His only hope at this point is to hold on to beliefs that his situation will improve, while trying to convince his friends that he has a good thing.

Not only do women deceive men, but men also do it to each other. This is because it would be too painful for them to admit how hurt they are because they feel it is somehow their fault. Mencken, through his humorous view of relationship roles, does in fact make a good number of valid points.

While women may not always have malicious intentions toward men, those men still have no idea what goes on in the collective woman consciousness. The power women have over men also rings true in non-satirical life. Men are often willing to go to great lengths to win the love of the women of their dreams. Of course, they have very little understanding of how female minds operate, which can easily foil their so carefully laid out plans.

Though men will never know for sure, most probably entertain the notion that women are creatures capable of experiencing love. This helps them to maintain a sense of hope. Women help to support this ideal by displaying themselves as the touchier/feelier of the species. After they take a man through marriage, this fa