This reading introduces the “good girl/bad girl” dichotomy, which is categorizing women as either modest and pure
Their mother comments about how women in politics is not accepted as she states, “Just what we need, skirts in the law” (10). Women are referred to as a piece of clothing and are assumed to be incapable of having enough intellect to be involved in law. In spite of gender, Minerva asserts to have the right to learn in school because she contends that all people should be deemed as equal. Papa implies how the typical nun is unattractive as he remarks, “patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl” (11). Men view most women as objects and only care about appearances, so ‘pretty girls’ should not become nuns since they cannot get married or have children.
Gender constructs are virtually everywhere. No matter what society, time period, or seemingly progressiveness of a people, gender continues to shape and limit ideologies. In Louise Erdrich’s novel The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, the main character experiences the limitations of gender constructs firsthand as she finds herself transformed to a male to achieve her goals of becoming a priest. It is after this transformation takes place that Father Damien is able have control over his life which he did not previously have living as Agnes.
During this period, many women authors came about. Therefore we see many works that include the struggles of gender roles in society. According to Stereotypes and Gender Roles, “Gender roles refer to the role or behaviors learned by a person as appropriate to their gender and are determined by the dominant cultural norms”(Worthy et al.). At this time women took on the expectation of early marriage and motherhood while men took on the expectation of working and providing for the family.
Judith Butler’s Gender Troubles emphasizes gender as the constant repetition of non-existent ideals to uphold a masculine-dominant culture. Likewise, “Body Politics” highlights this belief within the overtly feminine qualities of city women. As a whole, the poem contrasts idealized feminine “city women” with a “real woman” who possesses both feminine and masculine qualities. The mother figure challenges both the gender binary and the patriarchal order by rejecting the feminine gender norms of the society. This feminist reading of the poem makes many valuable and probable claims, however the feminist approach contains some weaknesses.
It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women.
After reading Antigone, many people finish the book with the idea that Haimon was the character that had the most will and strength. He stood up to his father, defending the woman he loves and risking his home and father's trust to save her. Although Haimon did attempt to save Antigone from her death, Antigone was fearless, independent and determined during her mission to let her brother rest in peace. During the time when the play was written, a person who has died would not be fully at peace without a burial ceremony. Antigone wants justice for her brother and is willing to risk her life to accomplish it.
Eliza Haywood writes the cautionary tale Fantomina in order to instruct women against pursuing their sexual desires. The protagonist, an unnamed “Lady of distinguished Birth” (41), secretly pursued her desires for Beauplaisir under the guise of four different personas, ultimately leading to the ruin of her reputation and being sent to live in a monastery. I will refer to the main character when she is not disguised as the protagonist to avoid confusion. I will be discussing female sexuality, where I will be focussing on certain aspects including sexual identity, sexual behaviour, and how social and religious aspects affect this sexuality. I will argue that Haywood uses the cautionary tale in order to represent female sexuality as distinguishable
The objective for the feminist movement is to find equality between the sexes. Since the start of this movement, women have acquired the right to vote and have become big competition for males throughout the workplaces. Even though the feminist movement has been big throughout the past 200 years, there are lots of examples in history that show characteristics of feminism. One of those examples is that show characteristics of feminism. One of those examples is the book Antigone by Sophocles.
In the church where two groups of women seek sanctuary, “good” and “bad” women are divided by a set of cultural signifiers: blue cotton uniforms versus rainbow-hued silken Cheongsams; choral music versus dirty jokes.
These concepts are depicted within the classic Disney princess film Cinderella directed by Clyde Geronimi. This film has ‘taught’ and/or shown little girls to stop everything they are currently doing and to become dependent on a man to save the day. Cinderella can be seen as the ultimate example of a “damsel-in-distress” because she gets saved from being “abused, humiliated and a servant in her own house to her stepmother and stepsisters” (Cinderella). However, the film does not fail to mention how despite this Cinderella still remains “gentle” and “kind.” The usage of ‘gentle’ and ‘kind’ rather than ‘understanding’ pinpoints the societal gender norms in action— according to these, a woman should be compliant and quiet.
She “appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble” (Shelley 68), which is an admirable quality of female who accepts her fate. Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justine are ironically described in these submissive and objectifying terms in order to support the ideal that women were inferior and insignificant to
She has been brainwashed by the patriarchal society of her time to worship the man, her husband, and perform her duties and daily rituals as a means to please him. Welter outlines several characteristics that constitute the perfect or true woman; however, the most crucial and detrimental so-called “virtues” exhibited by Gilman`s the narrator are her submissiveness and domesticity. Although the artistic narrator clearly has her own desires to be free and write as she pleases, her desire to satisfy the patriarchal construct of the household by attending
The novel “The Diviners”, written by Margaret Laurence follows Morag, a strong female character, who breaks most stereotypes set for women. As child, it is clear that Morag is in no need for masculine protection as Morag says, “If it comes to a fight, she doesn’t need to fight like girl, scratching with her fingernails. She slugs with her closed fist.” (Laurence 70). Even at a young, Morag establishes her independence and defies the stereotype of the weak female, which is depicted in the novel by her friend Eva.
This novel is also autobiographical. Throughout history, women have been locked in a struggle to free themselves from the borderline that separates and differentiate themselves from men. In many circles, it is agreed that the battleground for this struggle and fight exists in literature. In a
