ipl-logo

Misogyny In Alias Grace

441 Words2 Pages

The character of James McDermott in Alias Grace, makes him another member of this patriarchal society who believes that women need to conform certain gender roles and it should not be the other way around. McDermott is a misogynist towards women and an extremist in this patriarchal society as he expresses a lot of hatred towards women, as he thinks women should not exist in society. He shows this after he decides to quit working for Mr. Kinnear as he hates being ordered around by Nancy. “Nancy had given him his notice, and he was to leave at the end of the month. He said he was just as glad, as he did not like being ordered about by a women, and had never been thus while in the army or on the boats…And he did not care to stay any longer with …show more content…

Misogynist such as McDermott are powerful in patriarchal societies and they have many extremist views that they believe must be enforced. In the essay, Misogyny and Homicide of Women, Jacquelyn Campbell, Instructor at the Wayne State University applies the Psychoanalytic theory on misogyny. “Psychoanalytic theory, starting with Freud, has strengthened misogyny by accepting the idea that women are naturally defective and postulating that any woman who rebels against a stereotyped role is mentally ill and needs to be cast out by society or ‘cured’ by the patriarchal figure of the psychiatrist.” (Misogyny and Homicide of Women). By applying Freud’s theory to the idea of misogyny, men see women who perform new roles in a patriarchal society are infected by a mental illness and express their hatred towards them. They make sure they get help so women can be manipulated to follow their own roles. Nancy goes against stereotypical roles as she decides to become a leader and order McDermott around but McDermott does not believe he should be ordered around by a woman and he believes a patriarchal figure should help cure her mental illness before she infects other

Show More
Related
315 Words | 2 Pages

In Robert Jensen’s article “The High Cost of Manliness”, he states that the idea of masculinity is a bad thing and they should get rid of it. This article debates on the common stereotypes of men, as he states: “That dominant conception of masculinity in U.S. Culture is easily summarized: Men are assumed to be naturally competitive and aggressive, and being a real man is therefore marked by the struggle for control, conquest, and domination” (par. 4). Nonetheless, there are some traits that men and woman share, such as, caring, compassion, and tenderness. These traits often depend on the situation, since a man cannot always be this way, whereas, a woman is often expected to have these traits.

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

John Updike’s “A&P” demonstrates through several methods the struggle that unwritten principle can place on women in their search for individuality and personal freedom from oppression. Sammy’s thoughts demonstrate this very concept, as well as Queenie’s actions as an independent woman, and the unfair and morally unjust establishment of a woman’s place by the oppressive male characters. With these ideas, Queenie is clearly represented as an innocent feminist who is ultimately shunned by her male oppressors. Sammy, the typical male totalitarian, is very much condescending towards the story’s female characters, automatically assuming ignorance on the part of them.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

He states that the idea of masculinity is a bad thing because masculinity is often described as competition, domination and violence; and therefore society should get rid of it. These views can be threatening for women because men believe they can acquire dominance towards a woman. These are misconceptions that they learn throughout life and when they do not exhibit

Read More
1374 Words | 6 Pages

Through his manipulation, quest for power, and independence, he exaggerates the male fantasy of controlling women and boosting his own self-esteem. This idea can be reflected onto male stereotypes as a whole. John Updike sees men as over-manipulative, power-hungry, and harmfully independent. That is why Darryl Van Horne should be a red flag to women everywhere.

Read More
797 Words | 4 Pages

In the movie “A League of Their Own”, one can see how the more sexist views of the culture in the 1940s and 50s in America was present in the Girls Professional Baseball League. “A League of Their Own” is a movie about what was once the “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League” which was formed when the young men were sent over to serve in World War II. One of the most obvious cultural views that this movie shows is the feminizing of the baseball players to make them “more acceptable and women like”. Unlike men’s uniforms, that include a full shirt and pants, they were to wear skirts that were very short, too short to play baseball in comfortably. This alone shows how this league was just as much about show as it was about the women’s talent.

Read More
1635 Words | 7 Pages

Traditionally structured gender roles place both men and women into very strict categories. However, as we move into the future this way of thinking becomes increasingly archaic. Thinking of such things in such black and white terms gives one a narrow point of view and places people in categories which they do not fit. In Octavia Butler’s Dawn and William Gibson’s Neuromancer the ideas of the feminine gender role are redefined.

Read More
1118 Words | 5 Pages

The stereotypes applied to nineteenth century women were not just stereotypes, they were realities. Women were expected to stay home and do all the cooking and cleaning for their family. They were entirely dependent on their male counterparts for all their tasks outside the domestic sphere. They were generally considered unintellectual and uneducated. Women were generally suppressed in early society.

Read More
482 Words | 2 Pages

Victims. Time and time again women have been victims of misogyny, commodification, and social obligation. Women are forced to squeeze into an idealistic mold and confrom to society’s standards. They have been stripped of their right to have a say in what is being done to them, and are sold off as property to their husbands who treat them as inferior. These husbands seem to have no regard for the opinion of their wives; as if being male brings superiority.

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

This extreme approach to the problem impairs the argument limits its persuasive power throughout the article. Lanser describes the patriarchy as “insanity,” and devalues men as a whole (418). The argument is skewed and somewhat offensive because it completely ignores the men, and their positive contributions, in society. Yes we should have equality, but tearing down men to put women ahead is not the correct solution. The concept of a “problematic male” is carried throughout the article destroying the equality feminists should be advocating for (422).

Read More
1893 Words | 8 Pages

As Freud states in his 1925 essay “Some psychological consequences of the anatomical distinction between the sexes” that a pervasive fear of the mother exists, as an archaic that threatens to overpower her child and smother the child into her own primal system . Indeed the figure of the monstrous mother is a

Read More
281 Words | 2 Pages

She is pushed into society 's expectations of women 's roles and the pressure to satisfy society rather than herself. Becky was rejected

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

Men's rights activists claim that these statistics and claims are malicious fabrications and if any of them are true that they "characterize domestic violence as the product of understandable male grievance in the context of anti-male discrimination catalysed by feminism" (salter, pg73). Men's rights activists have also claimed that men who murder their wives or children due to care disputes have been "provoked by anti-male judicial bias" (salter pg74). Criticism towards feminism doesn't just come from men's right activists, it can also be found all over the media, internet and social

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

Shannon Ross K. Miller ENG4UI - P4 20 January, 2023 Selecting The Villain: A Patriarchal Bias "You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur. " - Margaret Atwood. This quote addresses the unconscious response of women to conform to the male gaze without their knowledge or consent. As a result, women monitor themselves constantly and treat others based on a patriarchal view they are often unaware they employ.

Read More
350 Words | 2 Pages

Through his psychoanalytic theory the writer respectfully expounds males identify with masculinity by not behaving as their female caretakers act. Mr. Carter based

Read More
1139 Words | 5 Pages

Apparently, men do fear of women; and they put their fear on display with various exhibitions of hatred, which is sweeping broadly, cross-culturally, consecutively over time as a result of mental perturbation, not an endeavour to generate and elevate beneficial environment for a male-biased system. Described as one of men’s psychological anxiousness, misogyny owes its origin to “identical experiences of male’s development cycle, rather than causes by the environment alone” (2001). In other words, men’s development cycle is to blame for their inner struggle; and without uttering it directly, the implied word is “mother” and/ or “wife”. Ultimately, his work on misogyny itself is misogynistic because the underlying message is clear: despite being left with no voice and just a few choices, being victims of brutality, violence and hatred, women themselves are the root of the

Read More

More about Misogyny In Alias Grace

Related Topics

Open Document