Mama is the "head of her household" only by default. She had to take charge after the death of Big Walter, whose name suggests that he was in charge of his family prior to his death. Mama appears to be always ready to hand over the reins to her son and let him be "head of the household" for one reason: He is a man. She entrusts Walter with the remaining insurance money because she feels that she has robbed him of his "manhood" by having done with the money what she thought was best. Mama is the type of woman who believes that the man should be in charge. Ruth apparently agrees, but Beneatha does not. Hansberry skillfully introduces issues of feminism that were not addressed as a political issue until a decade after the play's Broadway opening.
Along with feminism, the theme of fecundity (fertility; being fruitfully prolific) is threaded throughout this play. Three generations of Youngers live in the same household; in addition, both Ruth's possible pregnancy and her contemplation of abortion become focal points of the drama, and Mama's reference to the child that she lost is emphasized. She does not merely mention Baby Claude in conversation; rather she dwells upon her loss dramatically.
At the beginning of the play, Ruth serves eggs — but not without getting into an argument with Walter over the eggs — which again accentuates the importance of this symbol of fertility to the play. In addition, toward the end of the play, we learn that Mama's maiden name was Lena Eggleston, a name that underscores the theme of fecundity as much as the argument over eggs at the beginning of the play.
