Literary Analysis of Anthem
One could say that a woman that grew up in a strict, un-individual society would be all for gender equality, but that is not the case for Ayn Rand’s book, Anthem, which shows a very primal, sexist, view of women. Rand shows this view as it evolves throughout the story when Liberty first meets Equality and is a cold, merciless, and unkind woman, to becoming a completely obedient, submissive, servant. The ongoing relationship between Equality and Liberty shows Ayn Rand’s viewpoint on women, that when they are in the presence of an independent man, that they will become submissive. “We found garments and the Golden One gasped at the sight of them”(Rand 91). This is an example of a typical stereotype, that all women are obsessed with clothing and their appearance. “They stood before it and looked, and looked upon their own body”(92) This
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As the relationship continues to progress you can very obviously see how Rand’s perspective is channeled through Equality. First he sees her as an untouchable woman with no mercy or kindness. But as the book goes on, Rand continues to give Liberty these stereotypical attributes that Equality continues to take advantage of. She is given the name Gaea, which in Greek mythology, was the name of the mother of all of the gods and and the earth. Men continue use women and see them as tool and to be used for the use that they will be the ‘babymakers’ and reproduce for the earth. They see women as an item to be controlled so that they are able to control the population of the earth. Men in all levels of society make decisions for women. Including abortion laws. As it is seen women are not given the time to speak for themselves on their bodies. Making it so men become the main decider on whether or not a woman can have a child she is not ready