She deliberately follows through with her marriage to Edgar Linton, despite her open proclamations of love for Heathcliff, with whom she grows up and loves irrevocably, only to unceremoniously abandon because of his insufficient societal rank. She knows that Heathcliff feels devastated, yet does not believe that she has been disloyal to him. She is too blind to see past her own momentary desires. As a result of her betrayal, Edgar and Heathcliff are tossed into a downward spiral of competition, jealousy, and heartbreak. Edgar loves Catherine unconditionally, but knows he has been rendered second-best to a man for whom she holds deeper affections.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is not in the death of two young lovers, but the failure of society to overcome the social barriers that would have prevented the loss of so many innocent lives. Lord Capulet followed his social role of the father, and felt it was his duty as the man of the house to protect his family and their reputation. His wife, Lady Capulet, took it as her role to sit back and obey her husband, even if in the end it would mean the death of her only daughter. Friar Lawrence's role as a peacemaker leads him to see Romeo and Juliet’s relationship and marriage as an opportunity to stop the family feuding than as two
Ismene wants Antigone to accept Creon's decree regarding their brother. In her opinion, women should not interfere with man's laws and that a subservient mind is best applied to men in general which she bases on the “fact” that men are stronger than women. Antigone, being the strong willed woman that Ismene isn’t, ignores her sister and continues on her objective. Even though Ismene is disregarded by Antigone, she still attempts to help her (she does not help in burying the body, but she insists on sharing the blame with Antigone. Ismene's conflict revolves around both her sister Antigone and Uncle Creon.
Moral Ambiguity Morality, a person’s standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do, is a foundation to one’s character. Passed down through different time eras, morals have adapted while ultimately containing the same basic function of judgment between right from wrong. Euripides’ Medea and Shakespeare’s The Tempest come from explicitly different time periods, yet a common theme of a dearth of morality is expressed in both stories. Medea ravaged by a desire of revenge on her ex-husband and Prospero who, “by foul play, as thou say’st, were we heav’d thence” (76), desired to seek revenge on those who ousted him from power nearly twelve years ago. Prospero using a tempest to shipwreck is previous offenders and plotting to sabotage them, and Medea plotting to kill Jason’s new female interest and her kids to avenge her husband’s mistreatment, are both using unjust acts to retaliate their offenders.
Revenge is often seen as a person’s way to “get even” after he or she has suffered, in attempt to harm the wrongdoer in retaliation. The only purpose of revenge is to gain satisfaction in seeing the wrongdoer suffer. Through ethical, religious and legal perspectives, revenge is not ever justified. The act upon taking revenge is unethical. For instance in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the feud between the Montagues and Capulets caused pain and suffering towards the innocent characters such as Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt.
The Scarlet Letter as a Love Story The Scarlet Letter is a story that can be perceived in many ways; it is a story of revenge, a story of sin, but most important it is a story of love. Chillingworth’s characters whole body and mind is consumed by revenge and his pure and sheer hatred towards Reverend Dimmesdale. In the novel there is sin all around the story’s main plot was sin, but that’s not the only sin that is committed. Evert Duyckinck wrote that “The Scarlet Letter is a psychological romance. It is a tale of remorse, a study of character in which the human heart is anatomized, carefully, elaborately, and with striking poetic and dramatic power” (Duyckinck 181).
1. Winthrop uses an analogy to the status of women within the family to explain his understanding of liberty in that the woman’s own choice makes such a man her husband yet being so chosen, he is her lord, and she is to be subject to him, yet in a way of liberty, not bondage, and true wife accounts her subjection her honor and freedom, and would not think her condition safe or free, but in her subjection to her authority to her husband. Such is the liberty of the church under the authority of Christ, her king and husband… 2. Winthrop considers “natural” liberty dangerous because it is corrupt. It is common to man beasts and other creatures.
These oppositions of values offer the reader a chance to balance their own views on the sanctity of marriage. They also have the chance to empathise with Elizabeth as she declines Collins' offer, which could seem selfish as it not only risks her future security but that of her families as well. Austen has already made the reader aware of Darcy's affection towards Elizabeth however. “Elizabeth could not help observing... how often Mr. Darcy's eyes were fixed on hers” (p45)3 making their relationship inevitable from early on in the novel. Austen introduces the character of Elizabeth indirectly through her father.
As well as the Athenian law, gender played a role in the course of love, as women were not allowed to confess their love or speak up against a man. A woman’s gender also prevented her from experiencing the freedom of the choice of love a man had. In the play Hermia is forced to obey her father because she is female and Helena who loves Demetrius has no say for her love. “We cannot fight for love as men may do”. Helena says this because she cannot gain her lost love back who has been unfaithful to her in spite of her faithfulness to him, such as when Lysander “loved” her when he was under the influence of magic because of the fairy, Robin Goodfellow’s careless mistake while he was intervening in the love life of the couples.
Don Pedro is the prime example of this masculine and primitive patriarchy. Don Pedro fiercely believes that it is he who is in charge of choosing what his sisters did with their life, because of his position of power of his sisters. It was he who chose a life of nunnery for Hellena, which clearly was not what Hellena wanted. Hellena, being the free spirit that she is states “I hope he has some mad Companion or other, that will spoil my devotion,” blatantly expressing her desire to lust and to not be a nun. Florinda on the other hand, is treated like a puppet with her father and brother being the puppeteers of her love life.