Gender Roles World Literature I: From Ancient World to the Middle Ages ENG2002 UA Gender Roles When looking at Greek behavior in the time this is written it is evident that women were not considered equal to men, and the rules regarding women along with their station in life becomes clear. Greek women were limited in their freedom; often the rules and restrictions were placed on them were strict even by contemporary standards. In the story of Antigone by Sophocles the gender role plays an integral part to the story. Antigone defies gender by defying the king and as a result allows for a conversation on attitudes concerning sex. King Creon’s attitude on gender ultimately leads to his downfall and his ruin.
(1) Apollo’s assertion that mothers are not true parents is a stark indication that the ancient Greek context in which The Eumenides was written was overtly patriarchal whereby men were valued more than women in respect to both politics and kinship. The substantial imbalance between gender roles is blatantly manifested throughout The Eumenides. This tragedy of betrayal and bloodshed encompasses the male ideal of the peripheral nature of women in Ancient Greece. Moreover, this assertion must be regarded within the context in which it was written. That is, what must be taken into consideration is that literature in ancient Greece was an indulgence of the aristocratic male and thus a history of the role of women in Ancient Greece depicted in Hellenistic literature is largely subjective.
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 one could also argue that Larkin seems to justify violence against women by suggesting that access to women is something men have been unfairly deprived of. This becomes evident in the first stanza where Larkin presents the girl in ‘white satin’ suggesting her purity and virginity. One could disagree with this statement and interpret the de-feminizing of women differently. It could be suggested that Larkin combines masculinity and femininity together, ‘moustached lips’, to show his view that men and women should be viewed more equally in society. However I disagree with this alternative interpretation as I feel Larkin tries to portray the attacks ‘snaggle-toothed’ and boss-eyed’ are sadistic and grotesque but he does not disagree with
Although women occupied an entirely different position in society compared to men, they too held a certain sphere of influence and power; they simply exerted it in ways that were distinct from men’s strategies. By examining the character of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, one can see just how women exerted their power and influence in The Odyssey and to what ends. Penelope uses clever cunning and sexual charm to toy with men’s emotions and to meet her own needs while she is waiting for her husband to return from battle. The types of strategies and her relative success in using them will be examined in this essay. Athena is the daughter of Zeus who helped Odysseus throughout his quests.
These examples just shows how confusing it is in identifying sexual harassment today. How would you answer Limbaugh’s points if you were arguing for the opposition to each of the two points you have selected? For the first point, I would argue that women should not have so much power over men because men were created as the head and as such women should respect their authority. For the second point, I would say that sexual harassment should be limited to only sexual behaviors that are forced unto women and not be based on a man trying to win a woman over by his advances. Sexual harrassment refers to sexual actions.
The reaction of the public, mainly the men is shown in the quotations of Source 2 and 3. When reading them we can see that many people felt intimidated by the women’s campaign which did not help them succeed in winning the vote. Although it should be noted that source 3 was from the Times which was against the votes for women; so it’s probably a bias source of information, due to the Times’ belief in the domestic role of women. But this is not important as it still spoke the truth about the unnecessary need of violence while campaigning for the votes for women which would soon be solved by the effort many put in during the WW1. Unlike Emmeline, I think WW1 helped people see beyond the women’s violent actions, and begin to see that women were ready to have the right to vote and be considered as able as men in many ways.
#1 Hamlet portrays how society would perceive a submissive woman in the Elizabethan era. This shows the deception, naivety and sly behaviour women were thought to have. “I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another; you jig, you amble, and you lisp and nickname god’s creatures, make your wantonness your ignorance” (III.i. 143-137) This quote reflects the argument because it is evident that men in the Elizabethan era had a patriarchal attitude which caused them to treat women with no respect.
Lady Macbeth is the wife to the plays protagonist Macbeth. I would consider lady Macbeth as not being such a conventional Elizabethan woman being that women in this time where seen as weak and unable to control manly situations however lady Macbeth is shown to be strong and In control of Macbeth which was unheard of in Elizabethan times. An Elizabethan audience would react highly to the sight of a woman being in control of a man because it was seen to be not right to for a woman to be in control being that a man would normally be in control of a woman. The audience will be shocked an astonished by the way in which lady Macbeth acts. However a modern audience will not react as highly as an Elizabethan audience would, as now day’s people are more familiar to women being powerful of different places within society.
The chosen title Blood Wedding, automatically tells the reader and audience about the story before a page is turned. They can tell the principle themes from the very start, and these are love, death and a hint of tragedy; but how far is the title Blood Wedding a paradox. A paradox, being a contradicting statement, where blood can be looked upon meaning death and violence and wedding having a more peaceful connotation of two people uniting together. However the two words on their own can be explored to have many different connotations, resulting in a vast number of meanings when put together, resulting in the title being juxtaposed. The word blood is widely used throughout the play with the first reference coming from the mother of the bridegroom.