The marginalisation of women in the 1911 Anglo-American society is symbolised by Eliot's frequent allusion to music. "The insistent out-of-tune/Of a broken violin" (Line 56/57). The "out-of-tune" instruments are representative of the lady. Eliot's use of auditory imagery further emphasises the incongruity of the symbolic discordant instruments when placed alongside the orchestra, the instruments as a whole. Being symbolic of the woman, Eliot suggests that woman, like the dissonant instruments, are 'wrong' and consequently estranged. This closely aligns with cultural understandings of the early 20th century, concerning femininity. .
Moreover, women of the early 1900's were commonly thought of as inadequate and served exclusively to complement the man. "Portrait" consists of a number of symbols that are representative of this critical understanding. "You have the scene arrange itself" (Line 2). The scene is a part of a play of a faltering relationship, which is representative of the presentation of the women. She "arranges the scene", controlling the way in which she is presented to the man. These actions suggest that her appearance is crucial and nothing else is of significance. It is so deeply embedded in the social stereotypes of 1910 that she is, without question, thought of as incapable of all else. However, social expectations of incapability and purposelessness of women began to deteriorate during the early 1920's. Women became independent and began to complete higher education. This challenging of stereotypical gender roles is reflected in "Prufrock" with the use of a range of symbols. The empowered women in "Prufrock", foreshadow the cultural ideas concerning femininity to come. "Talking of Michelangelo" (Line 13-14), they are portrayed as highly cultured and educated and thus possess an intellectual authority women were not known to possess before.