Women were to marry, and no matter how miserable they were treated, they were to please their husbands. There was also a tendency for women to stay in meaningless marriages because divorce was not supported by social standards. In the case of Maggie and Brick, he reminds her they are simply living together and married only by name. She seems to be in constant torture because she cannot experience intimacy (be it physical or emotional) with the man in which she has vowed the rest of her life to. It is obvious Brick does not appreciate the devotion of Maggie.
She had married herself in to the Creole culture. Edna not does not exactly fit into the creole society and does not understand their typical lifestyle. Edna feels oppressed by society, as she does not believe in the role she’s expected to play by the society. Which is to be the mother like figure and in addition to be caring for your husband and be attentive to all his needs. Yet Edna is not the typical woman, as she believes in expressing herself and living freely without society’s rules and oppression holding her down.
He does not know what he should do or say. Jealous of the former relationship between his wife and Robert, he is suspicious. He knows that his wife has told Robert about him and has probably complained about his faults. This makes him feel guilty and insecure. He later says how "I was not enthusiastic about his visit.... A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (100).
However, he is quite stubborn and the lack of communication in their relationship is very unhealthy. His wife “[doesn’t] feel as if it [is] worth while to turn [her] hand over for anything” (Charlotte Perkins Gilman 4). He refuses to hear her out on anything, and makes all the decisions for her. Whether it is which room she is to stay in, or whom she is allowed to visit, John takes away every choice she has and every decision she may have made. He does love her, but because of the hierarchy in their household, and because he is a physician, he firmly believes that he is right in everything he is doing.
Then her absolute disregard for her duties as a wife angered him. When Mr. Pontellier became rude, Edna grew insolent“ (Chopin, 2005, chap.19 para.2) When Mr. Pontellier seemed to speak his mind to her that’s when his wife would get rude and ignore him and tune off of what he was talking about when it came down to him talking about her needing to be a good mom and wife. She would say something like this “"I feel like painting," answered Edna. "Perhaps I shan't always feel like it (Chopin, 2005, chap.19 para.3) Then Mr. Pontellier would act out of his normal character and get very submissive and bold with his wife with a comment such as, “Then in God's name paint! but don't let the family go to the devil.
Furthermore, Leonce “thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation” (Chopin 6). The contrast between Edna and the other women in the novel stood out in this quote because the women at the time adored their husbands and paid their utmost attention to them. As for Edna, she would have rather been sleeping and did not care much as to what Leonce had to say or to the outcome of his events at night. The tone of this quote gives off a melancholy and disappointed feeling due to Edna’s lack and interest in her husband’s stories. Chopin employs the literary techniques of diction and tone in order to allow Edna to appear different from other women during the late 1800s time
Consequently, he refers to her as “frail” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 146). It is apparent that Hamlet would have preferred to make decisions for his mother just because she is a woman. He does not trust her mother to make wise decisions even though she has been queen for quite some time. Ophelia, on the other hand, bears the brunt of male chauvinism as she is not allowed to choose for herself who she should love. Her father prohibits her from having a love relationship with Hamlet.
Even though he loves Edna and his sons, I don’t think he is considered as a good husband since he knows very few about Edna’s true feeling. I think this because he spends slight time with them, and leaves the family behind and goes out saying that he is always busy and has to go away for business or spends more time with his friends. As my point of view, I think it is not fair for a guy to treat a wife or his family like this and it seems like he is just a selfish person to me. Since marriage during that time of period was very harsh for women I think she was able to survive by meeting people. The time period where Edna was living was in a very strict condition for the women, especially for house wives.
As Hannah becomes a mother herself and a mother being the first model of love that the children experiences, she emotionally detaches herself from Sula as she was detached from her mother. Sula is able to shape her ego and separate herself from her family after she overhears her mother’s conversation: "You love her, like I love Sula. I just don't like her". Hannah not representing an admirable empathetic mother figure makes Sula assert control over her identity through the inability of connecting with other people as an adult. She is able to find her autonomy and independence denying responsibilities and attachment to anything.
A woman should be an obedient wife and a devoted mother. The norms of the society confine a woman to be dependant of her husband without having any independence or self fulfillment. These confines and expectations are forced on Edna simply because of her gender. Leonce on the