When contemplating Lidner's proposal he says “Someone tell me, tell me who decides which women should wear pearls in this world. I tell you I'm a man, my wife should wear pearls” (Hansberry). Water is unhappy with his situation where he cannot be the man of the family. The idea that a man must provide for his family and not doing so further weakens the characters. This leads to their unhappiness and hinders the goal of self-realization. Furthermore, just like Othello, the environment Walter is placed in also contributes to the notion of gender roles. At Walter's family home, Lena scolds Walter, saying, "Stand up and be a man" (Hansberry). Since Walter is the only adult man in the family, he must fit the gender role of what an adult man should be in the family, tough, providing, and persevering. Walter's environment and family members push him to meet expectations that Walter cannot meet. Both characters are driven to be a man, in Walter's case it was his mother and in Othello's case his society and himself. Being pressured into becoming a man creates unrealistic expectations that neither character can meet, thus leading to such expectations