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Patriarchy In Henry James's The Bostonians

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This paper is a rereading of Henry James’s The Bostonians in an attempt to answer the question ‘can woman be a patriarch?’ Or how far woman’s quest for being a patriarch is a success or failure. First of all, there must be a reference to the origin and meaning of patriarchy as well as its historical development.
Patriarchy is a central concept that is prevalent in large parts of the world. In the sociology of gender the origins of patriarchy are closely related to the concept of gender roles. The positions of men and women pass through several studies in fields like religion, philosophy, anthropology, sociology and psychology. These studies get to various interpretations which conclude that there are natural differences between men and women. These differences lead to normal inequalities and sexual divisions of labor between both genders. These studies refer to patriarchy as a historical and temporal phenomenon. …show more content…

Their understanding grew out of the patriarchal interpretations of the Old and New Testament writings, Greco-Roman culture, and the thinking of the Church Fathers who extended the dualism of flesh and spirit, body and intellect to the sexes. Women were viewed as highly sexual beings inferior to men by nature. In this seemingly rationally defined natural order, it followed that the man, as the superior being, was head of the household. The woman fulfilled her primary role in marriage through the procreation and nurture of children. The education of children, an intellectual activity, was the man’s responsibility (Beach 89). Therefore the women of the Middle Ages were totally dominated by the male members of their family. Those women were expected to instantly obey not only their father, but also their brothers and any other male members of the

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Overtime, these roles lead to the development of patriarchal society. According to Allan G. Johnson’s article on Patriarchy, “a society is patriarchal to the degree that is male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered ” meaning that it was a system where men were in authority over women which could be considered as a variation within The Takers philosophical supremacy (153). The practice of patriarchy or male dominance benefitted men of all races and class, but in turn, placed women at a disadvantage. With patriarchy, the society became centered on men, which overshadowed women.

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This is important as the change in education implemented the idea that educated women would divert from Christian values but a man strongly opposing the idea dismisses it, and lends a supportive perspective of educated women. However, something that is not showcased in this document is that women were taught theology, basic arithmetic, and language which limited them to their lives at home. Not being so educated in a vast variety of subjects like the men of their times eventually led to the downfall of women. They lost power and and didn’t have a very crucial role in shaping

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Extra Credit Presentation: Rhetoric of Subordination Professor Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s presentation on the Rhetoric of Subordination gave an in-depth perspective on how religious scriptures have had an influence on society’s views on family structures. Throughout her presentation she also brings to light how Christian scripture helped to establish the foundation for how men are perceived as superior by society compared to women. Professor Fiorenza’s findings are focused on a theory that society is “double blind” when it comes to a woman’s role in various communities, and made an interesting point on how the word ‘women’ and ‘she’ includes the words ‘men’ and ‘he’. Listening to her presentation reminded me of some similarities in Lynn

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, this quote gives an example of just how much dominance the men had. Girls acquired how to act from their mother. The women were strictly in charge of cleaning the house and being the spiritual leaders of the house. It was their responsibility to see that their family attended church every week. The women were involuntary subordinate to the men of that day.

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