"Seems like times is changed," he said sarcastically. "Time was when a man said what we’d do. Seems like women is tellin’ now. Seems like it’s purty near time to get out a stick."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 26. When Ma Joad orders that the family quit Weedpatch camp in the morning to find cotton picking work up north, Pa Joad doesn’t react well. He attempts to save his role as leader of the family. But in doing so, he threatens to use a stick on Ma to regain dominance. This suggests that Pa is coming from a position of weakness in the family.