These conditions all show the grotesque affliction that the girls endure. To a modern individual, these concerns seem unfathomable and otherworldly because most people in the world live in environments and conditions that would previously be available solely to nobles. However, to Jane and thus Bronte, these conditions are unacceptable for the fostering of young girls or women in general. Bronte uses such phrases as “scanty supply of food” to illuminate her belief of the limitation of women and to expose to the reader that women are not necessarily weak but they are simply human. In order to further emphasize the cruel treatment of minors and women in the Victorian era, Bronte has Jane note the time passed.
Last year, in my senior A.P. Composition and Literature class, we focused on a lot of fictional literature dealing with the same kind of societal issues. The Awakening by Kate Chopin as well as Daisy Miller by Henry James were both novels that showcase the oppression of women and evils of social hierarchy. These novels display the limitations and expectations that society pins onto women. Other novels I read include The Dead by James Joyce and Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, both of which addressed the theme of materialism and wealth as factors to being regarded highly in society, and how this way of functioning in society leads people away from living a true and happy life.
Women in general back in the 19th Century didn’t have many rights, but Black women were definitely on the short end of the stick if you compared the rights between Black and White women. Women were thought to be emotional, dependent, illogical, weak, and passive etc. Men’s thoughts on women back then are completely different to the thoughts of most men today. Back in the 19th Century it was very rough for woman everywhere. Men were definitely seen as the dominant gender back then.
In comparison Fay Weldon’s Letters to Alice, written a few centuries after, shows a clear link of how particular concerns, held by society, have altered. A women living in the late 1800’s had very few rights and freedoms. Education was a thing men and if a women engaged in such activities she was at risk of being shunned by society or “left on the shelf.” Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice follows a young girl, Elizabeth Bennet, who struggles against society’s expectations. Being a smart and well educated women, she is somewhat frowned upon, however this has been disguised by Austen through her dialogue. An example is seen near the beginning of the book in which Mr Darcey and Mr Binley’s brother are engaged in polite conversation.
Throughout the novel we see examples of characters knowing their place and acting accordingly, however we also see examples of the opposite which leads us to question what kind of society Austen was, in fact, trying to depict through the novel 'Pride and Prejudice'. During the years in which the novel is set (1796-1797) there was a severe class divide that affected the lives of everybody in England. We see this prominently in 'Pride and Prejudice' as it is central to the plot. These class divisions were rooted in family connections and wealth and were very difficult to change, unless you married into wealth or inherited it. As a result of this, social mobility was limited at this time and people socialised in small circles, with only those of a similar class.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Evoked Female Identity During the 1960s in America, where phallocentrism is still ruling society, many social problems caused younger people to be unsatisfied with reality and to become rebellious. In Oates’s story, the character of Connie is affected by patriarchal oppression. Oates gives Connie an independent identity while using her mother and sister as opposite characters to reflect her uniqueness and to let the reader understand the female identity. Connie's mother and sister portray typical females under patriarchal oppression. In the case of Connie’s mother, she rejected Connie’s attitudes because it often went against the patriarchal society's code of conduct.
In the eighteenth century most children were not receiving the best education. Women were being undermined in these institutions and it forced them and their children to look for other alternatives. In Margaret’s case, the readers get a sense that their economic life was difficult. Her husband and daughter, Mabel had to go to work in factories in order to meet ends meet. This is a new beginning where women left their houses to go and find jobs, “Job opportunities for women were better in the United States, particularly Massachusetts, the cradle of industrialization in North America.” In Margaret’s case readers get an insight of the middle class and working class family.
Her novel `The Awakening' (1899) shocked many people with its portrayal of a young woman's sexual and artistic longings. Collins, Martha Layne (born 1963) Kentucky's first female governor and first woman to chair the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. Friedan, Betty (born 1921) Born in the U.S., a famous author and known feminist. She wrote the best-seller, "The Feminine Mystique" and challenged traditional roles of women. Cofounder and president of the National Organization for Women (from 1966-1977).
However, scholars noted that there are many inconsistencies concerning this, seeing that though the Bible did say this, women were still treated as inferior to men, and that women were limited to the home. They still were seen as a means to produce children, more of an object for sexuality, and be silent while serving her husband (Ellwood 325). Some Christians even blamed women for “the sin of humanity that necessitated the death of the savior,” and they were referred to as “the devil’s gateway.” Celibacy soon became a choice of women because it soon became more holy than marrying someone (Ellwood 325). Because of these views of women, they became the popular blame for many problems, villages and towns were suspicious of women. This was seen in the Witch Trials of Salem, and these women were a woman who sinned or stepped out of their place t hat was put upon them.
There was inequality between men and women in society. It is therefore possible to read Wuthering Heights as an extraordinary critique of the social conditions for women since, Victorian women writers had been largely prevented from writing social or political criticism in their novels. The rural setting of wuthering heights can be seen as indicative of the position of women as isolated from culture and modern industry. A women’s sole purpose was to marry and reproduce and if a women were to remain single, this would result in social disapproval and pity. This could explain some of the reasons for the choices Catherine and Isabella make, as women of the late 18th century.