‘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.
Mariah Polen Cooper—379 ENG 111-41F—JE #1 5 September 2012 Themes and Symbols In Kate Chopin’s story, “The Storm,” sex plays a crucial part. Well, to be more specific, adultery. She uses this story as a platform to further her opinion on sexuality and marriage. Chopin believes that marriage is constricting to both people and that there is nothing wrong or untraditional with having verboten sexual encounters. Women in the 1800’s were dominated by their husbands and expected to be submissive in every way.
Modern context in where social movement and increasing gender and equality threaten the traditional male dominance may be directed on those woman who challenge the power of a man and the status (e.g. career women), as well as towards women who are alleged as using their sexual appeal to gain power over men. However, sexual reproduction and the dependency and intimacy that man have on women and the domestic fulfillment of women. These roles create a dependency and intimacy between the two counterbalances the sexist hostility with a subjectively benevolent view of women. As per the 22-item ambivalent sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996) initiated and validated in six
However, not everyone agrees with the heavy stereotypes laid down by the social order such as male dominance and proper courting. Marie de France is one of these people. She depicts her views of gender expectations through literature. Within the poem Guigemar, Guigemar and his lady fulfill and contradict what would be considered as gender norms within society: female inferiority, traditional courtship, and male dominance. Marie de France does this to criticize and combat the societal expectations and inherent inequalities in Norman England.
Her poise is an illusion set up to shield herself from reality, yet she still attempts to make herself attractive to new male suitors. Themes: Violence and cruelty appear as a theme in this play. Violence is often fraught with sexual passion. For instance, Stella explains her love for Stanley despite his brutality to Blanche. There is the unnerving suggestion that violence is more willingly accepted by women in a marriage than one would like to believe.
Free-immigrant women were introduced to a country seeking its identity whilst being torn by the values of England. Women who were successful were often married or had some other male protector. Both free and convict women were generalized as sexual objects and married women were seen as the object of their husband. Both convict and free women were forced to go into prostitution in order to provide for themselves. The Colony’s view on single women influenced greatly the way women were treated within the colony.
Lauren Jones Tess Essay One of the central themes of ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ by Thomas Hardy, which also appears in ‘The Color Purple’ by Alice Walker, is male dominance and how females respond to this. Sometimes this dominance is purposeful, where the man has full knowledge of his abuse. Victorian society when ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ is set, accepted the idea that the upper class or nobility could basically get away with all sorts of injustice against women, especially those of classes lower than themselves, simply due to rank. Furthermore, there were double-standards regarding the sexual behaviour of men and women – women being judged far more harshly than men for similar behaviour, or being blamed for men’s lust. Hardy highlights and criticizes these attitudes of women being lesser than men using the three main characters, Tess Durbeyfield, Alec D’Urberville and Angel Clare.
"The Yellow Wallpaper" motivated the female mind of creativity and mental strength through a patriarchal order of created gender roles and male power during the nineteenth century and into the 20th century. While John represented characteristics of a typical male of his time, the yellow wallpaper represented a controlling patriarchal society; a sin of inequality that a righteous traitor needed to challenge and win. As the wallpaper deteriorates, so does the suppressing affect that male hierarchy imposed on women. Male belief in their own hierarchy was not deteriorating. Females began to think out of line, be aware of their suppression, and fight patriarchal rule.
For example, in the U.S. society males are traditionally expected to demonstrate aggressiveness and toughness, whereas females are expected to be passive and nurturing. There are a lot of dimensions to gender-role socialization, sexism for instance. Sexism is the subordination of one sex, usually the female, based on the assumed superiority of the other sex. Sexism directed at women has three components: (1) negative attitudes toward women; (2) stereo typical beliefs that reinforce, complement, or justify the prejudice; and (3) discrimination- acts that exclude, distance, or keep women separate. Women are more often target of sexism; men can be victims of sexist assumptions.
Since the dawn of man, societal roles and behavior have differed between the sexes. Even in today's modern and progressive society, women continue to be judged more harshly than men for their behavior, particularly when it comes to sexual impropriety. Not only are a woman's actions judged more critically, but within the American society, we often see other women acting as a woman's harshest critics. This societal characteristic is all too pronounced in two literary works: "Daisy Miller: A Study", and "Roman Fever". In both stories, women are painted as the ultimate judge of morality; but the women, not men, seem to be the only ones judged and held accountable to society for their actions.