the laws of man cry out against it. the voice of God cries out against it- and so do I.”(284) This humorous approach of satire to pointing out society's general misconception of females is again present when Howe discusses a woman's viable options to get what they want and how to achieve there desires. She goes on to say “Women, we don't need vote in order to get our own way”(288), but rather cry ,“crying always brings them around. get what you want.”288) “Make a scene.”(288) “That is so much more dignified and refined than walking up to a ballot and dropping in a piece of paper.”(288)
Throughout The Odyssey, written by Homer, the treatment of women plays a key role in the overall outcome of the story and is a central issue presented in this poem. In many scenarios it is evident that men are treated with superiority to women. During the era that this story was written, men played the dominant role. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Questia states, “Despite their vital role in Ancient Greek and Roman society, women were not considered full citizens and in most instances required a guardian – their fathers, and later husbands – to represent them” (“Women in Ancient Greece and Rome”).
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.
Feminism itself can be viewed very differently and it entails many ideas. Feminism in its most basic form is women being considered by society to be equal to men in every aspect of life. Feminism is a simple idea but actually applying it was very difficult for society. Men and women being equal was not the norm in society many years ago. Today, there are still problems but for the most part, women are equal to men in every way except maybe physically.
Women have long been considered to be part of the lower status when it comes to jobs similar to men. In Arlie Hochschild’s vies, “The feelings of the lower-status partly may be discounted in two ways: by considering them rational but unimportant or by considering them irrational and hence dismissible” (172). This “doctrine of feelings” has been seen to permeate the workforce in such a way that it becomes impossible for women to be respected when they display any sort of emotion. In this essence, women who are considered the lower class in the working environment are oppressed in two ways. The first such way is to ignore any legitimate concerns women have; the second way is to classify any emotion as unnecessary and “irrational.” Women get taken advantage of solely because society has considered them emotional, which in today’s modern society is often mistaken for being unstable.
All that chaos contributed to the male chauvinism we see in our current society. Women had to handle that change without any moral support. It is also important to remember the important role women took in both world wars. A “Jury of Her Peers”, demonstrates how hard marriage was for all women who did not enjoy their relationships. Women in those types of relationships were treated as objects instead of being valued as women of freedom which represent intelligence, compassion, love and beauty.
Transitions are generally used effectively. The essay identifies the name of the poem and the author, but it may not do so at the beginning. The essay presents a thesis but it may not be in the introductory paragraph, or the essay may have a concluding paragraph that does not restate the thesis. Most of the body of the essay contains paragraphs that support the
He depicts women as completely sexual creatures and also devalues women in the eyes of men. The way we have viewed women from the 1600’s to now has changed dramatically. In the 1600’s, the approximate time period Shakespeare had written Hamlet, women where viewed as helpless, dependent and had no place in society. Women today are looked upon with respect and dignity because they have earned self respect, value and a place in society as hard working, knowledgeable and yet compassionate. I believe Gertrude from Hamlet, is a depthless individual who only thinks about her body and external pleasures.
There was inequality between men and women in society. It is therefore possible to read Wuthering Heights as an extraordinary critique of the social conditions for women since, Victorian women writers had been largely prevented from writing social or political criticism in their novels. The rural setting of wuthering heights can be seen as indicative of the position of women as isolated from culture and modern industry. A women’s sole purpose was to marry and reproduce and if a women were to remain single, this would result in social disapproval and pity. This could explain some of the reasons for the choices Catherine and Isabella make, as women of the late 18th century.
In Simone De Beauvoir’s From The Second Sex she claims “man represents both the positive and the neutral” (Beauvoir 287). This claim is validated by the fact that the word “man” is used not only to describe gender, but also to refer to human beings as a whole. A man representing both the positive and the neutral leaves no true identity for women, other than being different from man. De Beauvoir argues that men oppress women by characterizing them as the “Other”. By accepting the role as the Other, a woman is seen as incomplete, giving up part of her humanity.