In both poems gender conflict is demonstrated between through the emotion of betrayal in a relationship. For example in Les Grands Seignurs she talks about “little woman” which could show the great depth of thought about how she feels towards men. The word “a toy, a plaything” suggests that’s once she got married she has became powerless and feels like she is a toy, this shows her betrayal as when you get married you expect the marriage to be fantastic and not to feel like a toy. In contrast, Medusa also demonstrates this when she says “wasn’t I beautiful?” this Is effective as I can infer that she feels insecure about her looks. It also suggests that she misses her past through the use of a rhetorical question which makes the reader feel sympathy for her.
Her husbands, all five of them were teased with sex, but they had to provide luxuries that she desperately craved for. The underlying theme of The Wife of Bath relates to power struggles rather than spousal equality in marriage. The Wife of Bath gives an insight into a hard working semi-independent woman of the Middle Ages. She is semi- independent because she is dependent upon her husbands for material goods. "In the words of the Wife of Bath, God has given women three talents- deceit, weeping, and spinning" (Power 118).
Curley’s wife is portrayed as being a whore – but this is only due to the way she dresses, her provocative ways and the way she acts around men, as if she is aware of her femininity. This could suggest that she is only like this because she is bored, like it is something to do – something interesting for a change. She is constantly trying to get people to notice her. But, because of Lennie’s purity and innocence, he doesn’t see her in the way other men do – a sexual object. When Steinbeck quotes “And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him”, it is clear to the audience that Curley’s Wife is using her sexuality as an object to create some sort of excitement for herself.
Beatrice is cynical and witty; she doesn’t conform when it comes to the role of women in Elizabethan time. In terms of how males view females, there is a theme of cuckoldry (men who married unfaithful wives). This is shown in the first scene when Leonato confirms that Hero is his daughter, ‘Her mother hath many times told me so’, a joke at her expense, implying she is unfaithful to him. In a conversation between Claudio and Benedick, they talk about Hero. Claudio asks if he ‘noted’ her, Benedick tells him he did not, but he ‘looked on her’.
He came upon a lady and her maiden, who embody the traditional motif of healing women. Through their care, he fall in love with the gentle lady, and suffer because he could not be with her. Equitan’s symptoms of lovesickness were brought upon his desire to seek out the wife of his vassal. He knew the wrong of coveting his seneschal’s wife, but he felt no wrong when his logic brought him to believe that he could share the woman. Equitan suffered from lovesickness when he fell in love at first sight of the lady, and “through the lady Love caught him unawares.” 2.
Furthermore, this role can be understood as fearful of the criticism that society (during that time period) has when a woman is seen with a man. Likewise, the peculiarity of this aspect can be comprehended within the Egyptian poem “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart”. This ancient poem is centered upon a recalcitrant woman. Her undertaking was to sway the man she loved to engage in an ascetic relationship. The similarities can be evidently understood and recognized within “Zhongzi, Please,” and “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart”.
This enforces the idea that unlike Lennie, she is a complex character in the novel. Steinbeck mentioned that Curley’s wife’s voice had a “nasal, brittle quality” which is a clear sign of her flirtatious behaviour. Although her intentions were flirty, the fact that it was described as ‘nasal’ by the author made it obvious that it was unpleasant to the ears. The reaction from George made it clear to the reader that she was an attractive woman, however he was being apprehensive as he “looked away from her and then back”. This contrasts with Lennies reaction as his “eyes moved down over her body” blatantly checking her out.
Larkin describes one of the girls to be ‘a bosomy English rose’ and the other ‘in specs’, who we feel is less attractive. Larkin objectifies one of the women and pictures her as a sexual object due to her looks, the other women he ‘could talk to’ suggesting this time Larkin is manipulating her personality. In the second stanza Larkin mentions ‘a ten guinea ring’, one could argue this could be a sign of marriage but not actually conforming to her, however this is ambiguous, as we do no know what girl hold this ring. What I find most significant about the ring is the fact Larkin goes against his views on consumerism to try and seduce a women. Nevertheless Larkin ‘got it back in the end’ which illustrates Larkin not fully conforming to her results in rejection.
In addition to the previous paragraph, we also know that Curley’s wife is a married woman, a possession of Curley’s. Perhaps Steinbeck does not give the wife a name throughout the book because during the 1930s, women were regarded as a sign of possession, an object or a personal belonging. This affects the reader by thinking Curley’s wife was nothing more than a sexual tool for Curley. Her character is symbolic to women in the 1930’s which contrasts to the women today and how much respect there is for women now. During the time of sorrow, many people had an imaginable dream to accomplish.
When Lancelot is going to see the Lady of Shallot, she knows she is stepping into dangerous waters, but still goes along with it. Her image of herself turns so bad, that the basically kills herself and unhappy and lonely woman. After she is dead, Lancelot sees her and only says that “She has a lovely face,” demonstrating that he only cared about her looks and not really her inner beauty. The Lady of Shallot is a round character because she changes throughout the short story. At the beginning, she believes in herself and who she is as a person, but she is lonely.