Marie de France does this to criticize and combat the societal expectations and inherent inequalities in Norman England. The poem begins by Marie immediately introducing and defending herself as a writer. She declares that in her culture, People should praise anyone who wins admiring comments for herself but anywhere there is a man or a woman of great worth, people who envy their good fortune often say evil things about them. (5-10) This introduction reflects the negativity her society has against female writers. Where Marie de France comes from, many people disagree with women having power through literature.
This enforces the idea that unlike Lennie, she is a complex character in the novel. Steinbeck mentioned that Curley’s wife’s voice had a “nasal, brittle quality” which is a clear sign of her flirtatious behaviour. Although her intentions were flirty, the fact that it was described as ‘nasal’ by the author made it obvious that it was unpleasant to the ears. The reaction from George made it clear to the reader that she was an attractive woman, however he was being apprehensive as he “looked away from her and then back”. This contrasts with Lennies reaction as his “eyes moved down over her body” blatantly checking her out.
Curley’s wife is portrayed as being a whore – but this is only due to the way she dresses, her provocative ways and the way she acts around men, as if she is aware of her femininity. This could suggest that she is only like this because she is bored, like it is something to do – something interesting for a change. She is constantly trying to get people to notice her. But, because of Lennie’s purity and innocence, he doesn’t see her in the way other men do – a sexual object. When Steinbeck quotes “And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him”, it is clear to the audience that Curley’s Wife is using her sexuality as an object to create some sort of excitement for herself.
He is saying that is might not be wise for loving him, but he swears it won’t be stupid for he is going to be “horribly” in love with her. The word choice of “horribly” emphasizes a sense of awkwardness because he doesn’t know the first thing when it comes to love. It also gives a bit of that comical side to Benedick’s character, even in the name of love, he still can’t forget about the competition between him and Beatrice.
Their enticing sexuality, he believes, tempts men to behave in ways they would otherwise not. A visit to the “flophouse” (a cheap hotel, or brothel) is enough of women for George, and he has no desire for a female companion or wife. Curley’s wife, the only woman to appear in Of Mice and Men, seems initially to support George’s view of marriage. Dissatisfied with her marriage to a brutish man and bored with life on the ranch, she is constantly looking for excitement or trouble. In one of her more revealing moments, she threatens to have the black stable-hand lynched if he complains about her to the boss.
While her getting worse than before, it dramatically shows the procedure of being enlightened in case of rising of female powers. There are several evidences that may represent narrator’s mental instability and they seem to be originated from John’s oppressive way to treat her. The narrator is afraid that John doesn't seem to understand her state fully enough. "Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good." (1279) She knows doing her favorite work―writing―and traveling around beautiful places may be helpful to recover her nervous hypochondria, but she just tries not to make John irritated by doing nothing.
Women’s Prison Subculture: An Analysis and Comparison to Men’s Prisons Breione R. Nora Southern University Of New Orleans Abstract In the 18th century society, one that placed such heavy emphasis on traditional roles, to be a criminal was seen as a greater violation of the female sex role than that of the male. Back in times where society generally expected a woman to present herself as a “lady”, it was perceived that for her to be a criminal, she must have had to be either crazy (commonly referred to as “mad“) or just inherently evil. This, along with the fact that women were considered property, contributed to the substandard treatment of women in corrections. Throughout the 19th century, female prisoners were generally incarcerated
Hester Prynne: A Casualty in her own Erotic War. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s depiction of Hester Prynne’s inner turmoil can be viewed and deliberated on in numerous ways. As the reader myself, Hester’s inner turmoil is given off as that when she is denying her secret of Dimmesdale being her lover, she wishes she could deny that anything between them ever happened. Whenever Hester would think about her sin of adultery, Hester would in turn feel sick to her stomach. To me it looks as though Hester believes that Dimmesdale and herself could be together, but will not be able to on this earth before they die.
She certainly did not “pass in silence without matching wits”(292) with Swift. She gives him a taste of his own medicine. While Montagu’s retort was humorous and insulting, she seemed to miss the point that Swift was trying to portray. She merely counterattacked him for writing such a disgraceful poem. It went right over her head that Swift was trying to say that everyone has at least a few less-than-winsome qualities or that the reason he used a female character was only to emphasize this fact, to show that, while men may put women on pedestals, that does not
Alcee Arobin is a lady’s man who has many affairs with different women and intends to make Edna another one of his affairs. But Edna doesn’t let Alcee take control of the relationship; she writes him when she wants and decides when they should go out. Being in control is a reverse role for Edna, but she knows it is really who she is, and it is what she wants. Alcee plays along and lets Edna take control, and Edna discovers the satisfaction of using a man the way men usually use women. Although Edna has taken control of her own life, she is still not happy with her life because of the many different types of love she has experienced.