This patriarchal society represented in Emma portrays the importance of marriage for women as it was their only means of financial security as well as the advancement of their position in society. ‘Emma’ had none of the “Usual inducements of women to marry,” because she had inherited wealth. Austen presents us to this world sympathetically as she uses an omniscient narrator that looks at everything from Emma’s perspective which is quite similar to Clueless as Heckerling’s voice-overs are created by Cher, which gives us an insight into her meddlesome ways. Emma still understood the importance of marriage for lower class women because she takes a girl of lower class under her wing, Harriet Smith, and tries to raise her status in society and find
The 1940s and 50s were a time of great change. World War 2 was won and lost depending on what side you were on. Everyone’s lives were changed. After the end of World War 2, women were expected to return to their pre war roles of a house wife. The government saw women in the workforce as a temporary change.
The Nazi’s were fixed on the idea that a woman’s role was at home, being a mother and a wife. They wanted women to have plenty of children so the birth rates would go up and Germany could form a large army and become a more powerful nation. Working class women were removed from factories and encouraged to stay at home, and middle class women were removed from their professions. They were urged to wear traditional clothing, and behave in a much less liberal way than was allowed during Weimar times. Many middle class women were unhappy about this, and after the freedoms and empowerment of women during Weimar they did not like the new constrictions – it seemed almost like a step back for them.
Ironically, nowadays some of the most interesting work on gender is happening in the Early Modern specialties. How would you characterize the ways in which the figure of Ophelia now works as a cultural trope? How do you think your play has added to the discursive resonances around Ophelia? Ophelia is the stereotypical female victim. If you look closely at Shakespeare's play she is a girl neglected by all who should hold some responsibility for her: her father, her brother, her boyfriend and the court.
After all, in countries such as New Zealand (1893), Australia (1901), Finland (1906) or Norway (1913) women got the vote before the war began, whereas others such as Denmark (1915), Iceland (1915), Holland (1917) or Sweden (1919) gave it to women during the war without being involved in it. (http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/womenww1_three.htm) Women did make steps when it came to labor, but many women also looked down on the working class feminists. They thought it was unnecessary, and women should have their own place in the home
Low crime, full employment a benign welfare state and trusted systems of expert knowledge: scientists, doctors and politicians. These have been counter poised to an era of unstable dysfunctional institutions, unreliable and anti –social behaviour and a collapse in expert knowledge systems and their simple dichotomies. (Woodward et al, 2004) Where does gender role fit in to these patterns of social change? Block 1 ‘questioning identity: gender, class, ethnicity’ introduces us to the idea of uncertainties within the gender roles in today’s society. In the 1950’s advertising promotions were used to encourage women back into the home and a life of domesticity after having employment during and after the war.
Not only does the alternate ending fail to depict the message of liberal feminism that is shown through the original ending, the alternate ending is not consistent with the direction of the rest of the play. For example, Nora’s reason for staying in the alternate ending is her children. However, she shows little evidence of strong maternal instinct throughout the play. Indications of this can be seen much earlier in the action, when Nora is talking to her Nurse about her own childhood: “NURSE: Poor little Miss Nora, you never had any mother but me. NORA: And if my little ones had no one else, I know you would
Charlotte's acceptance of Mr. Collins’ proposal is a prime example; “marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want” (p105)1. Austen makes use of Charlotte's character to illustrate the social norms for women of the time. Charlotte's reaction to Collins' proposal is cleverly juxtaposed with Elizabeth's own values and more romantic views on marriage, as she is offered his proposal first; “You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world that could make you so”(p92)2. Elizabeth's concerns are predominately her overall happiness and mental wellbeing, as opposed to her anxieties about her future financial security. These oppositions of values offer the reader a chance to balance their own views on the sanctity of marriage.
It’s is amazing that the facts he refers to from the 19th century that were actually accepted as scientific evidence are laughed at today. Nobody in today’s world would say that women are less intelligent then men, simply because their brain is smaller in size. Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House also shows this how women were seen, however Ibsen also helps to change the way that women were perceived. The story centers around a young girl named Nora Helmer, who is constrained to society s view of her gender’s role, and desperately tries to find herself in the midst of it all. In the attempt to save her husband s life and pride, she secretly borrowed money to use for his recovery from a deadly illness.
Top Girls – Cary Churchill “The fragile relationships between the sexes are a dominant theme in modern literature” Evaluate this opinion by comparing and contrasting how relationships between the sexes are presented in Top Girls and Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. Top Girls was first performed in the 1980’s, a time of social-political change. Margaret Thatcher being the first female prime minister brought about a change in society’s values and the gender oppression towards females. This pushed forward the idea of feminism as the women’s liberation movement had been a great step forward for women as a whole. The social context of the play sets a platform for Top Girls to be presented as a feminist play.