Gilman provides the point of views of these women who know nothing of marriage to allow us to see our own society’s faults in the way we think things should be. By denying the men’s proposition of name change, the women point out the idiocy of the concept we accept to be the norm in our society. This problem of possession and power shows up in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” as well. The husband in that piece has possession of his wife by controlling her every move. The men in “The Yellow Wallpaper” make the decisions and control their households.
Pizan so obviously from the start of her writing, introduces how women should behave (from the perspective of a princess), so that her actions shall be beneficial to her and her husband. By talking about the finances, which is radical, Pizan degrades women in all other aspects. Degrading is used in the sense that she does not promote equality in any other way other than the financial aspect. These women could be considered early feminists if they looked for equality in other things as well not just a specific
Motherhood and marriage is seen to be a key factor in the society of which The Bell Jar is set ,and is portrayed as one of the things that supresses female identity when Esther is asked to be “Mrs Buddy Willard” as if she is owned by Buddy and not her own person. Even though Top Girls is set in 1980’s England while Margret Thatcher is Prime Minister, it shows direct correlations to the ideas shown in The Bell Jar. Just as the bell jar itself portrays motherhood and marriage to be a hindrance to Careers In the form of Dodo Conway, Top Girls protagonist Marlene symbolises the other option women have in the choice between a career and a family. Marlene, unlike her sister Joyce, is shown to have given up her child for the chance to pursue a career as if having both is impossible; a lot like Jaycee is in The Bell Jar. This essay will argue that In both texts motherhood and marriage is shown to be a hindrance to both women’s careers and their female identity.
However, not everyone agrees with the heavy stereotypes laid down by the social order such as male dominance and proper courting. Marie de France is one of these people. She depicts her views of gender expectations through literature. Within the poem Guigemar, Guigemar and his lady fulfill and contradict what would be considered as gender norms within society: female inferiority, traditional courtship, and male dominance. Marie de France does this to criticize and combat the societal expectations and inherent inequalities in Norman England.
Typically, a husband who can’t consummate a marriage should be abandoned without hesitation. When Bertrande is “urged by her relatives to separate from Martin, she firmly refuse[s]” (28). This decision reveals Bertrande’s “certain character traits…a concern for her reputation as a woman, a stubborn independence” (28). Bertrande cleverly calculates the advantages she possesses as a result of Martin’s incompetence. “Her refusal to have her marriage dissolved…freed her temporarily from certain wifely duties…gave her a chance to have a girlhood” (28).
“Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if could.” –Abigail Adams In this quote Abigail Adams was stepping up for women to put a stop to their inequality for fairness and equality. She was an advocate for many women who are out there married with no education nor rights. She wanted them to be capable of standing on their own feet without hesitation or discourage towards their husbands. Abigail Adams believed women should be educated and be recognized for their intellectual capabilities, so they could guide and influence the lives of their children and husband instead of being companions.
“Dear Harriet, I give myself joy of this. It would have grieved me to lose your acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr Martin.” (Page 52) This scenario conveys Emma’s concern about society as she expresses that she cannot keep friends of lower class than her. Emma’s behaviour reflects her society’s values towards the importance of social order. In this way, Austen criticises yet, by eventually uniting Harriet and Mr Martin in marriage, ultimately reaffirms the harsh divides within the social hierarchy of Highbury, a microcosm which represents the values of Regency England. While Austen questions her society’s views on social order, Amy Heckerling also challenges social
It illustrated how men had taken away the right for women to earn money from working, and men had also taken away the opportunity for women to get an education if they desired. This is what Stanton was fighting for, the right for a women’s freewill. If all men and women are created equal women should be able to attain anything a man can such as earn money and get an education. The final view on women’s rights in the nineteenth century is calmer than the previous two. Whereas the first two authors both preach for equal women’s rights and for better treatment for women this author, Catharine Beecher, is more discreet about woman’s rights.
Adams continues his onslaught of anti-matriarchal values and sexism by upholding “his commitment to the social hierarchy…based on the belief that women along with other disenfranchised groups must remain subordinate because they lack the capacity for reason, and therefore, for the responsible use of liberty” (Martin 332). His wife, Abigail Adams, resorts to feebly admitting and even pleading, “That your sex are naturally tyrannical is a truth so thoroughly
In Jane Austen’s Emma, Austen expresses the importance of not judging others based on class, their employment, or events of the past. This belief of Austen’s, is shown throughout the novel: from the opening when Emma discourages Harriet to marry the wonderful Mr. Martin, based on his employment, to insulting the kindly Miss Bates because of her tendency to speak dully. Ironically, Emma judges others so harshly, when she does not heed nor take criticism aimed at her lightly. Austen employs motifs to further show this tendency to judge others in the form of reoccurring insight to the judgmental mind of Emma. This parody, set in the early nineteenth century, shows the constraints of culture in England, and the tendency to judge others, but not one’s self.