Athenian men thought women were both morally and physically weak to an extent. Laws related to Athenian women suggest women were morally and physically weak. In Athenian Courts, women are debarred from participating in any political or legal processes and if they were involved in any situation of that sort, their identity would go unnamed, if they of respectful/honourable kind. Women were also seen as an asset to the oikos and always need to be under a guardianship of the kurios, which is usually either their fathers and later, after marriage, their husbands. And if a woman succumbs to acts adultery, this is seen as a great threat for the Oikos as the women can no longer be seen as honourable or chase, casting doubt on children’s legitimacy.
This can be shown in the ‘Proof of Marriage’ source as the phratry must accept that a child is legitimate, otherwise property will not be given to the son. However it can also be said that it is in fact wives who fear their husbands and not the other way round. In the Eurastophenes’ murder case, Euphilites laughed at his wife when she suggested he ‘mauled the maid which could indicate women were in fear of how sexually controlling their husbands could be and how they could still get away with it. In the Naerea source is also shows men can be abusive to women with little to no consequence as Phrynion gets away with his abuse towards Naerea. You could also view the violence as a cry of fear and other controlling behaviour could emphasise that.
There is definitely a tendency to mock the remarks made by the females of the play just because they are women. This conduct aids as the backdrop of the play: a male-dominated society which does not respect the rights of women and will never consider their needs as valid. This is what leads the men to take value away from the women's thoughts and opinions. The conflict between justice and law can be seen when the woman start to consider the actions of Mrs. Wright as appropriate. Exposition: -Characterization George Henderson: Mr. Henderson is the county attorney who has been called to
The final line “Who could not say, ‘Tis pity she’s a whore?” can be seen as directed towards her and so she is blamed for everything that has occurred. Throughout the play she is seen as quite powerful and headstrong by refusing many marriage proposals and being quite stubborn in doing so. However, she is reduced to a weak being however upon dying which is a culmination of her passions. It is perceived that women are a danger to men and to society as a whole and so Giovanni’s actions are to be blamed not on himself, but on Annabella because of the beauty she possesses. Giovanni states that Annabella’s “lips would tempt a saint” thus showing the corruption her presence inflicts upon even the supposed innocent of men.
And what is a greater crime than making women hate themselves for reasons that they cannot change? The “anti-narcissism” that men have made consists of women not liking anything about them and wishing that they were the opposite sex just to get more respect. They don’t have any self-respect for themselves because of the nonsense that the “dominant” males have fed them their whole lives. This makes everything hostile for women and while men are busy controlling what the rules are and what can be published, women are struggling with this internal conflict that they’ll never get far in life because of their sex. Cixous boldly declares that women have been “kept in the dark.” What is this darkness you may ask?
Throughout the course of the play, the female characters are seen as powerful figures who are more ruthless than the men. For example, Regan and Goneril are often portrayed as strong and controlling figures, not letting anyone stand in their way of achieving their aims. They see their father as an obstacle, preventing them from getting what they want, and they treat him like this also. Although he was kind enough to give up his kingdom to be shared between two of his daughters, this wasn’t enough. Both Goneril and Regan wanted to grasp all of Lear’s powers, and take them away from him.
Lear is overwhelmed by grief from being betrayed by his daughters. Because Lear gave all control to his daughters, his ability to serve justice was gone. Without his power to serve justice, Lear cannot do much against his daughters’ wills. Justice must exist to shield defenceless people, like Lear, to prevent the people from abusing their powers. It can do this by acting as a weapon that punishes the unjust.
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
For Mrs. Hale, Minnie Wright's murder of her husband is the ultimate rejection of her husband's imposed identity in favor of the memory of the person Minnie Foster used to be. Patriarchal dominance: In Trifles, the men believe that they grant female identity by virtue of the women's relation to men rather than through their inherent qualities as females. Except for the absent Minnie Wright, the women have no first name and take their husband's last names, despite being the protagonists of the story instead of the named male characters. This institutionalized male superiority is so pervasive that the men feel comfortable in disparaging Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale's interest in "trifles," with the clear implication that the women are too flighty and small-minded to worry about important issues such as the investigation at hand. In addition, when the men observe the troublesome state of the kitchen, they immediately conclude that the woman must be at fault in her homemaking abilities because they all know John Wright as a good, dutiful man and in consequence form a unified front protecting John Wright's
[Richard III, 5. 3] moreover, he believes that his authority declares his dominance. The women are presented as being on the sidelines to grieve or complain, in the cases of Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's wife, and Lady Anne Warwick. As a result of Richards substandard view of women; both women are inferior to Richard and lose their strength and integrity to him. "The king's name is a tower of strength".