I am writing too answer the question: Do modern women still feel the need to wear the mask.
In Barnard's work Mrs. Muir wore a mask to deceive the people from her true intentions. She wore both a symbolic mask as well as a physical mask. During her first night at her new employer’s home she removes both the physical as well as the symbolic mask; "Still sitting on the floor she unbound and removed the long abundant braids from her head, wiped the pink from her face, took out several pearly teeth, and slipping off her dress appeared herself indeed, a haggard, worn, and moody woman of thirty at least”. This is the physical mask she wore, and while she was alone, she also tore off the symbolic mask she comments, “Now she was alone, and her mobile features settled into their natural expression, weary, hard, bitter. She had been lovely once, happy, innocent, and tender...”  In essence, her mask was one of feigned beauty, character and aristocracy. She needed her employers to see her as a sentimental woman. She could not allow them to see her ruin because if they saw her for who she really was, there is no way that her ruse would work, or for that matter, had she just been an honest young lady seeking work and not plotting, she still ran a very serious risk of not being hired. 
	I want to explore the ways in which modern women also wear a mask of femininity, asthis is what is expected of them. I will concentrate on women in science and business that feel the pressure to act more feminine – since that is what is expected—in their line of work. I think that this type of mask is interesting because science is such a male dominated field, that many of the men that don’t want to see women in it because of their femininity, but they still feel that women should act like women while at work. I believe this is important because many women are still dealing with this issue, and will continue to do so for the near future.
