Sometimes he smiled, and it was good to see, but when he straightened himself up like aliberty-pole, and the lightning begun to flicker out from under his eyebrows, you wanted to climb a tree first, and find out what the matter was afterwards. He didn't ever have to tell anybody to mind their manners - everybody was always goodmannered where he was.

Sometimes he smiled, and it was good to see, but when he straightened himself up like aliberty-pole, and the lightning begun to flicker out from under his eyebrows, you wanted to climb a tree first, and find out what the matter was afterwards. He didn’t ever have to tell anybody to mind their manners – everybody was always goodmannered where he was.

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 18. This description of Colonel Grangerford as a stict yet kind overall leader shows the role of the male in a family. At the time men were nearly always the head of the household and the authority figure.

Mark Twain Quotes