In Trifles, the women come to a realization that they must bond together against their clueless husbands to see justice done. In the Yellow Wallpaper the narrator frees herself from her jail and jailer and builds herself an alternate reality, free in her own mind from what is oppressing her in spite of her actual captivity. However different the authors tell their stories, both expose male superiority to be an illusion and its inevitable by-products of estrangement and loneliness to be very real. A feminist critic reading these two stories would immediately recognize the author’s attempts to portray the male
They also believed that they were superior to women and that women should remain obedient and oppressed, and not question their husbands or fathers. The conversations that the females in the play have when they are not in the presence of men seem to prove that they have accepted society’s expectations of them, and that when they are in the company of men, they behave the way men believe to be natural. It is for this reason that when Desdemona married Othello without her father, Brabantio’s consent, he states that her actions were “against all rules of nature” (I, iii, 101). Many feminist critics view Desdemona as submissive and oppressed. Desdemona, herself, gives evidence to this claim when she states that she is “obedient” (III, iii, 89) to Othello no matter what.
The male dominance within the Stepford community highlights the enforcement of patriarchal laws, creating a divide between genders. The lack of individuality represented through Carol Van Sant and the transformed ladies of Stepford reflect the want for female beauty and the characterisation of the Stepford families reflects the want for a nuclear family. Through the characterisation, The Stepford Wives intertwines the concerns of the 1970’s to create a fierce reminder of the freedom women have gained and is a critique of the world, which the author knew so well. Despite having gained the right to vote, during this time, women felt trapped within a domestic sphere. The women became wives and mothers without a voice.
First, Farrell uses a concern tone to make his audience aware of his argument against the status of a man to a woman. Farrell states, “Men see bringing home a healthy salary as an obligation, not an option” (186). This shows concern for men who live up to a woman’s expectations, which can cause a man to be overwhelmed. Men now believe that having a high-paying job will get them the woman of their dreams, which Farrell believes is “good-looking.” Farrell is also concerned about the status of a man in today’s society. Farrell tells his audience, “acknowledging the working mother ("Superwoman") without even being aware of the working father” (186).
There is an illustration of a demonstration in which women are being beaten with clubs and stabbed for not wearing their veils. Women wore the veil for two main reasons: 1. their husbands/fathers/brothers forced them to wear it and 2. They were afraid of the outcomes of not wearing a veil. Some women supported wearing the veil because they shared the fundamentalist view. Satrapi shows her opposition by portraying these women with eyes
Being in a position where a male is not the dominant sex can really make one begin to doubt their masculinity. In a society where males and females compete for everything, it is hard for a male to establish himself. This can be seen metaphorically through Fight Club when Marla Singer invades The Narrator’s support groups. Those meetings allow him to sleep at night and this is his peace. He goes on to talk about how much she hates her for being a faker and plans on saying, “…Marla, you big fake, you get out” (Palahniuk 24).
Curley’s Wife Curley’s wife is an extremely complex character in the novel “Of Mice and Men.” Steinbeck excellently portrays this throughout the novel with the detailed ways in which he describes her looks and everyday behaviour. Before we even meet Curley’s wife we know that George thinks she will be trouble. This prepares the reader for future events and we begin to dislike her immediately. Curley’s wife is treated with so little self respect, hence why she is never referred to by her first name; this highlights the prejudice against women in the novel and shows she has no importance amongst the ranch workers. She is also a good-looking lady who wears a lot of makeup, form-fitting dresses, and ostrich feathered-high heels.
The main character suffers from depression. Her husband wants to help with her illness, but only helps make her worse by preventing her from enjoying what she loves the most. "There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write words. "(Gilman,Charlotte) John does not think that his wife should write, rather he wants her to rest everyday in the room with yellow wallpaper. The wallpaper however begins to take a toll on the woman’s life.
Both Benedick and Beatrice hate the idea of marriage and continuously express this view throughout the play by saying things like “I’d rather hear a dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me”. Here, Beatrice clearly turns away the idea of love and marriage, going against the status quo. However, once Beatrice hears that Benedick loves her, her views suddenly change, she conforms to the pursuit of marriage and begins to fulfil her socially sanctioned, womanly role. The play at this point becomes conservative, as all the characters are conforming to society’s norms. In Much Ado, Hero is referred to as a “jewel”.
Men can have an adverse effect on women’s lives, these relationships can cause inner turmoil in the lives of those women involved. Ophelia from Hamlet and Linda Lowman from Death of a Salesman are prime examples of how these relationships can turn their lives for worse. Many do no realize what they are giving up to keep the calm, or are so blind that they feel a sense of normality in their lives. Both of these women let their men basically have total control of their entire being, which resulted in both their lives ending in tragedy. These women are both heading for disaster; they let these men treat them as they see fit and do not take Linda and Ophelia’s feelings into consideration.