A scholar may read it that even though the man has given power to a woman it was given by a man who was feministic. King Lear soon chooses to banish his only loyal and loving daughter gives the power to his two eldest daughters. The eldest daughters are now powerful as well as being emotionless. This display of masculine characteristics by the two women also works to create multiply ways to read King Lear. Cordelia the best representation of “female”
When the Knight finally does find out what it is that women want, he is told that it’s power over the husbands, that’s a pretty feminist statement for a time when women were still considered property. But as feminist as that may seem, is the Wife of Bath really a depiction of early feminism, or a crazy lady? While some might see the Wife as a feminist, she really is just an over-controlling woman, in her 6 times being married, reprimanding her husband
A War Must Be Won through an Aggregate of Small Victories In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Hurston describes the struggle that Janie Crawford undergoes to find a voice of her own in a largely patriarchal society. She must resist the tendency that men have in her society to treat her as a status symbol to be achieved or "goods" to be traded. Because she possesses extremely desirable female characteristics, she is well sought after by men who wish to "own" her. This is similar to the dilemma that Gayle Rubin addresses in her essay "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the 'Political Economy’ of Sex." Rubin maintains that in order to change the mentality of such a society, its character must be modified.
A time when the banner of patriarchy flew over the bonnets of subjugated females. A time when you could choose either to conform, or face social rejection. Some women preferred to rebel in their own graceful ways, but most exacerbated their oppression with frivolous attitudes and behaviors. Beginning with the witty opening phrase, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen, 3), the author perpetuates a note on the status of the one track mind held by the female gender of this time. As exemplified in Pride and Prejudice with characters like Mrs. Bennet and her child, Lydia, many ladies put money above love when it came to the subject of marriage.
Women have always been seen as the weaker gender giving all power and control to men in most situations.The theme is shown in many novels in which the idea affects the way men treat women and vice-versa. For example in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, most of the book focuses on Janie learning to take control of her own life instead of relying on a husband. She was raised by her grandmother who insisted Janie get married young because there was no other way for a girl to survive on her own. Janie was treated like a child by her first husband and property by her second, both because the man felt that he was stronger, smarter, and more important than her and Janie accepted this treatment because she was raised by those principles and believed that that was the way things were.The evolution of females and females gaining power and respect is evident in modern writing. As time went on female characters have become the heroines in popular books leading up to The Hunger Games and Divergent .
There is a strong relationship between the Wyf of Bath’s prologue and tale. She has radical views about women and marriage at a time where women are meant to be passive towards men. They are also classed over their sexual activity; they are defined in a relationship to the men that she has slept with, used to sleep with or if she is still a virgin. The Wyf of Bath is an experienced woman for she has wedded five different husbands. In addition she is very clever and often argues with sophistry.
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
On King Solomon she exclaims “I trowe, he had wives many oon, As wolde God it leveful were to me, To be refreshed half so ofte as he” (ln 36). She relates her own wants and ideals of love and sexual pleasure to that of King Solomon and questions that if he should have such gifts from God, why not she. She declares that of Abraham and Jacob “eech of them hadde wives mo than two, And many other holy man also” (ln 62) again, trying to defend her numerous marriages. The Wife of Bath battles with wanting to live by societal norms, yet her own moral judgment and actions defy those traditions. Societal views of women were very strict during the Middle Ages.
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.
However, this period where so many great changes had been made in the church, in literature, and in all other artistic areas, women took a big step backward in their fight for equality. Women were thought of as property, owned first by their fathers, and then their husbands. This is only true, however, for the upper-class. Commoners during this time were not affected by the new social reforms. Lower class women still could own properties and shared many responsibilities with their husbands.