He depicts women as completely sexual creatures and also devalues women in the eyes of men. The way we have viewed women from the 1600’s to now has changed dramatically. In the 1600’s, the approximate time period Shakespeare had written Hamlet, women where viewed as helpless, dependent and had no place in society. Women today are looked upon with respect and dignity because they have earned self respect, value and a place in society as hard working, knowledgeable and yet compassionate. I believe Gertrude from Hamlet, is a depthless individual who only thinks about her body and external pleasures.
Also it shows even though she has a husband (George) she doesn’t care that she is having an affair with Tom. When we look at her relationship with George we can see she is the dominant one, by the way she orders him around ‘get some chairs, why don’t you’ this shows the reader that she believes that he should do what ever she wants him to do, and because he is submissive she gets away with it which feeds her egotistical ways. Not only that when she says ‘so somebody can sit down’ shows she believes herself to be a higher class than George as by saying ‘somebody’ suggests her to believe she thinks George to be a nobody. This is also supported by the quote ‘walked through her husband as if he were a ghost’ again suggesting she is too good for him and that sometimes he is invisible to her. However when we see Myrtle when she is in New York with Tom we see her being very spoilt and therefore becomes very ungrateful, ‘I want one of those dogs’ this shows that when she asks Tom for anything she gets it with out question, just to make her happy.
A feminist point of view would find these women to be flawed, for they cannot survive without the assistance of a man. The book tells the story of a “manly life” in first person dialogue. Considering every female Odysseus encounters “falls in love” with, we can equate that he makes his own problems based off of his ego. In a way, the Odyssey is not just the tale of the wanderings of Odysseus. The poet has made it into a type of descriptive catalog of women, in which he examines women of all kinds and from all backgrounds through objectification.
Women of the historical culture construction were taught to believe that sexual desire was for the man and that basically no respectable woman should acquire sexual needs. (Page 85&86)Relation has to have respect and mutuality in sexual intercourse. Hooks’ said we are all entitled to sexual desire and pleasure as the spirit moves us. (Page 92) Chapter 12 1. Feminist Masculinity is described as: “What is and was needed is a vision of masculinity where self-esteem and self-love of one's unique being forms the basis of identity.
The overall judgment of women, as seen by the furies is that they are a powerful force, not to be reckoned with, but not exactly knowable or rational either. The sky gods, such as Zeus, use the spitefulness of the furies to rebuke the actions of men, particularly when they allow a woman to have more strength than they ought to posses. This is seen with Helen, who is not seen as a mere pawn (which she “ought” to be by the standards of the day), but somehow a deceitful woman for being beautiful, and having men going to war for her. (74 – 80). This misplacement of power and station is also seen with Clytemnestra.
‘Women are the subtler sex: more varied in their attractions, more ingenious in their stratagems.’ In light of this view, discuss ways in which Webster presents women in the ‘White Devil’. Bartholomew Scholefield At first the audience is led to believe that all women in the ‘White Devil’ will epitomise the contemporary role of the subservient, Jacobean woman. From the beginning it is clear to see that men hold all the power and women are viewed as merely desirable, indeed Flamineo uses his own sister’s sexuality only in order to advance his social status in the patriarchal society of the time. This view of women as beneath men is ingrained so deeply into the psyche that even the majority of women themselves believe it, Cornelia, the mother of Flamineo and Vittoria is outraged to discover the plans her son has for her daughter but it is not the nature of the deed that Flamineo commits that angers her rather that Vittoria would break the ‘rules’ of society by causing “dishonour” to her family and her husband, she does not care about Vittoria’s happiness but her social standing and reputation. However, the idea of women being unequal to men is quickly dispelled by Webster who appears to mock the misogynistic characters of the play and indeed, very possibly the misogyny of society as a whole at the time.
As Estelle Freedman expresses in her introduction to De La Barre’s work, “Since the mind ‘has no sex,’ women as well as men have a right to knowledge and to pursue scientific and literary studies” (Freedman 10). If a desire to learn burns within a woman, denying her opportunity to quench that desire not only violates that woman’s rights, but human rights in general. In a society that fought for the independent rights of man, denying women any right that a man possesses puts to shame all efforts and values regarding the freedom of men. If physical traits must be taken into account when comparing men and women, compare their brains. As Francois De La Barre says, “A woman’s brain is exactly the same as ours.
From the first sentence in the book, ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’, it is known that the novel will be exploring the theme of marriage. Austen explores the characters different thoughts on marriage and what their reason for marriage would be. She also explores how the majority of society perceives pride as a failing quality rather than a positive. Prejudice is another theme largely explored in this book. Through the characters Austen shows that during her time of life, people were very quick to judge and first impressions were everything.
. Helena; touched with the most soul-subduing pathos, and developed with the most consummate skill. Helena, as a woman, is more passionate than imaginative; and, as a character, she bears the same relation to Juliet that Isabel bears to Portia. There is equal unity of purpose and effect, with much less of the glow of imagery and the external colouring of poetry in the sentiments, language, and details. It is passion developed under its most profound and serious aspect; as in Isabella, we have the serious and the thoughtful, not the brilliant side of intellect.
Sex, Gender and Gender roles redefined In her book The Second Sex, Simone De Beauvoir states, “One is not born, but, rather becomes a woman”. This statement highlights the difference between sex and gender. While sex is a biological term, gender is a social and cultural construct. An individual is born into the categories of male or female but it is the very task of ‘accomplishing gender’ that determines the social identity of the person. Women are under a constant pressure to adhere to roles that are specific to their gender and so are men.