When authors write women’s literature they have options of either writing romance or realism. In a romance story the main characters or hero and heroine end up together and live happily ever after as in a fairytale. On the other hand in a realism story the author makes us face reality of life. In A Secret Sorrow by van der Zee and A Sorrowful Woman by Godwin they both have many similarities but also many differences. One story is what we would call “Romance Literature” and the other one is more “Realism”, in one the characters names are given and the other they just go by “the husband” and “the wife.” The way both male characters express their feeling or love to their wives is completely different from each other, although they both do love them like crazy.
Swain also states that “in this patriarchal world, women find space for private emotions and friendships flourish…within the fixed frame of gender stereotypes, complicity, generosity and passion among women explodes” (30). This being said, without that emotional intimacy that a wife should get from her husband, the wife would turn to other women and form an emotional bond with them in order to satisfy the craving for emotional stability and sanity. Out of these bonds, would come very strong friendships among married women, bonds that would last a lifetime and friendships that women would not find in their marriages with their husbands. Some critics
The importance of marriage is shown in a variety of different ways. For example, at the very beginning it is acknowledged that marriage is solely for the purpose to increase one's social and financial ranking and security, not mentioning love at all. Some of the characters, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, put pressure onto marriage to keep up the social status or wealth of a family. A couple married for that reason would be Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, whom she had married to secure her future. However, other characters, like Elizabeth Bennet, represents the value of marrying for love with her argumentative attitude towards the act with superficial feelings and it being forced.
She feels that in order for her to marry him she has to prove her self-importance to herself. Eventually Jane receives inheritance and feels equal with Rochester. Due to her sudden wealth she feels the marriage can be between two equals. Another significant theme is religion. In the novel Jane struggles between moral duty and obligation to faith.
Thus, the thoughts and behaviors of both Ms. Loisel and Ms. Mallard should not be surprising considering the era in which these stories were written. Nineteenth Century Women: Trapped, Limited and Restricted The idea that marriage is governed by male perennial authority that is better, simply because they define an unchanging aspect of society, is a consistent theme often hidden throughout each story. In “The Necklace”, Monsieur Loisel makes it his obligation to make his wife happy. The reader is first introduced to him when he comes home with an invitation to a grand social event and anticipates that this will please his wife. He continues this pattern when he acquiesces to her demand for a party dress that they cannot afford.
Austen uses her novels to interpret her feelings on the subject of marriage and relationships; concluding that marriage is only satisfactory when there is love between the two people involved. There are several examples found in Austen’s work of the way marriage was convicted in her time. However, behind the writing of Austen, can be seen her own personal experience with love and marriage, which helped shape my understanding of her attitude towards betrothment. According to Fraiman, Austen has a “complex understanding of marriage as an economic and social institution”. One may read Austen and not look beyond the pages, but while reading Pride and Prejudice I became curious as to her own personal experiences with the main theme of the novel.
Mr and Mrs Bennet’s marriage is the perfect example of marriage for lust. Mr Bennet admits marrying Mrs Bennet because he was ‘captivated by youth and beauty’ but Mrs Bennet’s ‘weak understanding and illiberal mind’ and her deteriorating beauty prevented them from enjoying each other’s company. Mrs Bennet is a very annoying woman, whose intention is to get all of her daughters married off, probably because she felt a social and financial pressure pushing her to do so as women could not acquire money on their own without inheriting or marrying into good fortune, but she doesn’t realise it is partly her fault that they are not getting any offers. Mrs Bennet is not very intelligent, it was just her beauty and youth that caught Mr Bennet’s eye. She is an embarrassment to the family with all the gossiping she does and is one of the main causes Darcy does not find Bingley and Jane’s relationship acceptable.
You don’t have to marry me, Kai” She thinks that in marriage, she should be able to give her spouse what he wants, in this case giving birth to their future children. So in respect to marriage, she gives Kai the choice not to marry her. Kai also has a high regard for marriage because he believes that he should marry someone that he truly loves. He doesn’t marry for other reasons like for money, a better social status, or just for the sake of having
It seems as if women are plentiful and men are rare. The man has freedom and the option to choose any girl that he wants, while the women are desperate and fight for whichever man they can get. Jane Austen points this out and shows how dependent the woman is on a man in her English society. This dependence is viewed as a necessary part of upper class England by most and was not criticized. If Jane Austen had written a book simply about English society, these sentiments would not have showed up.
Some of these depictions can be found in Ruth, Oliver Twist, East Lynne, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. In the Victorian novel, women were stereotyped to ensure the dominance of the patriarchy. Presented as a role model and ideal for the family fireside readers, the sweet and beautiful angel is the arbiter of domesticity in the face of an uncaring world. In return for her loving devotion, she is rewarded by a marriage that provides her security and identity. In contrast, those women who are too willful or intelligent