The Women’s Right Movement changed the lives of the American Women for the better, due to gaining the right to vote, access to higher education, and the opportunity to enter the workforce. Before the reform movements of Women’s right, the American women were discriminated in society, home life, education, and the workforce. Women in the 1800s could not only vote, but they also were forbidden to speak in public. They were voiceless and had no self-confidence, they dependent men, since they had little to no rights (Bonnie and Ruthsdotter). Before the reform movement, the American Women were voiceless, they had no say in society, however the reform movement will soon change that.
Females were controlled by the males in their lives; first, by their fathers, brothers and male relatives and finally by their husbands. Women were expected to find a husband, marry and reproduce and serve her family until they died. Education for women at the turn of the century was a luxury not afforded to many, and if one chose to be single and seek education over domesticity, she was often pitied or ridiculed by both her peers and community. Emily Dickinson is one example of a woman who was able to choose a significantly different path for herself. Because Dickinson was born into a wealthy and affluent family she received the opportunity to be formally educated.
The government saw women in the workforce as a temporary change. After experiencing independence, women were no longer willing to accept being second best. Women in the 1940s and 50s faced many social, physical and emotional challenges in their lives. These challenges are expressed in three texts: the film text Mona Lisa Smile directed by Mike Newell, the song At Seventeen by Janis Ian and the Diary of Anne Frank. A challenge is an obstacle that prevents an individual from reaching their goal.
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
This causes Jing-mei to do less than her best throughout her life as she grows into a Chinese woman of America. “Two Kinds” represents the difficulties o two distinguished views and how they should or should not coexist with each other. In the story, Jing-mei’s mother has set unrealistic goals for her daughter to reach and achieve. Her mother came to America to start over and create something that is great in her eyes. America was seen as a clean slate and Jing-mei’s expectation level is set lower than her mother’s because she sees herself from a different perspective.
Women’s rights in 19th century and 21st century There is no secret that throughout the world’s history women have been considered as the weaker sex; mostly by having less opportunities and rights than men. However since the nineteen-century women have fought for a more equal society and a more equal role by accomplishing a significant amount of goals that increased women’s opportunities. The life of an American woman in the nineteen-century was full of gender inequalities. Before, women were not even allowed to vote; the access to education was very limited; salaries for women were extremely unfair, and men had total control over women lives. Women were relegated to house and family duties such as cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids.
Maybe improper education, and years of living in a subjective civilization have changed the immediate thoughts of the mother. The situation above is not the only judgemental one in the story. At the bottom of page 87, Mrs. Wilson asked, “’What about all your [Boyd] other brothers and sisters?’” Actually, Boyd had only one sister, Jean, who is going to become a teacher. Mrs. Wilson was obviously judging Boyd in her conversations, yet Boyd did not assume
In this period of time women were not allowed to work. They could not inherit wealth from their father, and the Bennet sisters were no exception therefore Mr. Collins was their heir to Mr. Bennet’s property. Hence, the ambition of finding ‘good husbands’ to her all five daughters of Mrs. Bennet’s is fair in the sense of security. Some women in 18th century were willing to marry just because marriage was the only allowed route to financial security, or to escape an uncongenial family situation. This is the dilemma is expressed most clearly by the character Charlotte Lucas, whose pragmatic views on marrying are voiced several times in the novel: "Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated
In “Little Women: Alcott’s Civil War” (1979), Judith Fetterly argues that the four sisters of Alcott’s Little Women (1868) are denied their dreams because “Little women marry, however, not only because they lack economic options, but because they lack emotional options as well. Old maidhood obliterates little womanhood and the fear of being an old maid is a motivating force in becoming a little woman” (377). I conclude that these strong women chose their life outcomes due to their own maturation. Maturation is realizing things we wanted before aren’t always what we will want in the end, a trait Meg exhibits when she comes to realization about loving Mr. Brooke. Meg’s dream was to be rich so that she would not have to work, with “a lovely house, full of all sorts of luxurious things; nice food, pretty clothes, handsome furniture, pleasant people, and heaps on money”(140).
This segregation between men and women is still a major problem in United States because working moms do not receive extra institutions, women are treated lower when they have received same amount of education as men, and women received less income than men. Long after the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote in 1920, women were prevented from fulfilling professional ambitions by a set of assumptions about their "proper" role in society, which was largely defined as being mothers and taking care of the household. (Lee, Wagner) There still aren’t many changes on what people think the role of a woman is. Gender segregation in modern society is a problem because in this day in age, both men and women need to work to support their family. Working mothers are now a common part of society that reflects both economic necessity and new-found freedom for women to go beyond their traditional role in society.