In the nineteenth century, woman had no power over men in society. They were limited in their freedom, as their lives were controlled by their husbands. Some women did not mind this lifestyle, and remained obedient, while some rebelled and demanded their rights. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are short stories that exposes the lifestyle women lived in the nineteenth century. The protagonists from both stories, Jane and Georgiana, similarly lived a male dominated lifestyle.
Awesome Title in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich The feminist movement has grown and spread in the past decade. Women all over the world are standing up for basic rights, such as education, that all people, regardless of gender can enjoy. This movement is not a new one, though. Women from times past had already started paving the way towards some of the rights women have today.
In most societies, the role of a woman is seen 30.as a vital piece to complete what a typical family has to have to be happy; of course, the definition of what a true family looks like has changed over many decades. These days the typical role of women does not really exist, there are few women who stick to the exact “guidelines” of a woman’s role, and women do not feel as if they have to dedicate their lives to a man to be happy. However, in The Chrysalids, a science fiction novel written by John Wyndham published in 1955, women are belittled and brainwashed into believing they are nothing without the protection of a man. In Waknuk - the main setting throughout the novel- everyone is a religious fanatic, technology is comparable
A Woman’s Journey Through Misogyny In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the stereotypical roles of women were to tend to the house and to their children. They had little to no freedoms, and their husbands controlled practically every aspect of their lives. These stereotypes created a patriarchal society where men were superior to women. This was the social standard of the time period, but this would not be the case for long.
In The Scarlet Letter, Puritan society is portrayed to be male dominant while being excessively harsh on women. Women were expected to be perfect, pure, and saintly. Despite male dominance and importance in Puritan society, women were the ones held to unreasonable expectations. These values, assumptions, and characterizations of women is what led to society being gender-inequitable. The portrayal of women in result of male dominance, their limited opportunities and roles, and values and customs of women in Puritan society, need to be changed to achieve a gender-equitable society.
Contradictory Feminism in Herland Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is widely celebrated as a feminist utopia. In the novel, three men, Terry, Jeff, and Van, venture to a fabled country that is theorized to contain only women. They arrive to find a society that is extremely “happy” and “civilized” despite the fact that there are no men, which was a striking picture for 1915. Furthermore, this female-only society proves to be superior to the men’s home country of America in many ways, especially the quality of life the citizens have. The women prove that they can build a society more successful than one with men.
In the twentieth century, women were not treated as well as they are today. They lacked the rights and respect that men were automatically granted and were thought of as less than a man. Women tried to transform their reputation in an attempt to changing how they are viewed by fighting for their rights and presenting themselves as strong, independent females. The ideal woman was independent enough to not need a man and be self sufficient. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was her interpretation of a female utopia filled with women that fit that description.
In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the Republic of Gilead actively represses women by forcing them into very narrowly defined, ultra-conservative gender roles. This totalitarian government strips women of all rights and protections, and imposes severe punishments for defiance. Pollution and disease had caused severe infertility in this society, drastically reducing birth rates. In an effort to reverse a drastic population decline, this thoroughly misogynistic and power-hungry regime, takes full control over the human reproductive process. Furthermore, the leadership uses various dehumanizing methods to achieve complete subservience of women to men.
(AGG) As of 2010, women earn an average of 81% of what their male counterparts earn (Gender Inequality). (BS-1) This inequality for women can also be seen in medieval times, when women were viewed as unequal to men and given very few rights in their society. (BS-2) The feudalistic system ensured that everyone’s needs were met through others and the peasant women would work for the lord and king.
The confinements of gender roles do not allow people to reach their full potential due to the lack of choice and self-identity that comes with a set of rules set and encouraged by societal standards. This idea is present in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale with the idea that from the lack of choice comes acts of rebellion against the government in protest of the roles that may not be wanted by all. Forced gender roles also cause the Gilead citizens to remain poised and proper in their roles out of fear, which in turn contributes to both genders being degraded by one another in order to protect themselves from being punished. Due to this, society would be destined to become heteronormative and leave no room for any variation among citizens.
Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), presents several controversial yet realistic themes that can be linked to many social justice issues in today’s society. One central point that is highlighted throughout the novel is the objectification of women. In Atwoods novel women transition from normal citizens in society, to baby birthing machines. Women no longer acquire the respect, authority, freedom, and power that men have in the world of Gilead. This objectification that the handmaids are exposed to can be seen all throughout our environment, and there is no limit to where it can occur.
In this written text, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale and as well as the way Atwood portrays women and how it can be argued to show the oppression of women. The main purpose is to analyze the way women are treated throughout this book and depict why they are represented this way in the society in Gilead. Then, comparatively, observe the men’s domination over women and how they govern this society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are stripped of their rights, suffer many inequalities and are objectified, controlled by men and only valued for their reproductive qualities. The Gilead society is divided in multiple social group.
Furthermore, the author displays a dystopian society completely dominated by a totalitarian and theocratic state. The main subject of this novel is the role assigned to women, mainly represented by the handmaids. In Gilead, the made-up country where the novel takes place, women are completely subjected by the government, and especially by men, who clearly have a higher status than women. Moreover, women’s freedom is entirely restricted, as they cannot leave their house at their will, they are forbidden to hold properties or jobs, they cannot read or write, and they are treated as sexual slaves whose only purpose in life is to bear children for elite spouses. The other option is a miserable, short life at the Colonies (a type of concentration camp), and death.
It is often the case that authors use ideas in novels as a lens through which they comment on the nature of society. Margaret Atwood cleverly does so by creating a dystopian setting, Gilead for her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Themes such as extreme gender roles, theocratic society and forms of control lead us as readers to question our own society’s views, structure, and ideals and draw parallels between Atwood’s dystopian society and elements of our own. In Gilead, low fertility rates caused gender roles, a theme which arises from the book, to be taken to the extreme in society.
Feminist literary criticism’s primary argument is that female characters have always been presented from a male’s viewpoint. According to Connell, in most literary works, female characters often play minor roles which emphasize their domestic roles, subservience and physical beauty while males are always the protagonists who are strong, heroic and dominant (qtd. in Woloshyn et al.150). This means that the women are perceived as weak and are supposed to be under the control of men. Gill and Sellers say that feminist literary criticism’s approach involves identifying with female characters in order to challenge any male centred outlook.
