Marie de France does this to criticize and combat the societal expectations and inherent inequalities in Norman England. The poem begins by Marie immediately introducing and defending herself as a writer. She declares that in her culture, People should praise anyone who wins admiring comments for herself but anywhere there is a man or a woman of great worth, people who envy their good fortune often say evil things about them. (5-10) This introduction reflects the negativity her society has against female writers. Where Marie de France comes from, many people disagree with women having power through literature.
I felt that she brought a very different and enlightening perspective, and had some interesting ideas. The very title, for instance, is thought provoking: “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem”. The idea that our society’s rigid, harsh, and downright expectations of women’s bodies create an environment as restrictive and demeaning as a harem. In her article, Mernissi talks about how women are negatively affected by body image, and how their self esteem suffers as they strive to imitate what they think people want.She states, “Being frozen into the passive position of an object whose very existence depends on the eyes of its beholder turns the educated modern Western women into a harem slave”. She places the blame on both men and women.
She shows how women can only be categorised as either an angel or a whore. It shows the way that women can only be judged at the time. She also frequently alludes to the “bad” women in literature to show how women could only be categorised in those binary opposites like Lady Macbeth or Eve. She uses rhetorical devices to explain how bad women are needed to disrupt the static order which is Patriarchy. Atwood also shows her opposition to the extreme feminism that existed in her time where feminism was influencing the creation of literature at the time.
- Baroque had a negative connotation: It signified distortion, excess, and extravagance... except when we get to Vivaldi and Bach. -The Doctrine of Affections held that different musical moods could and should be used to influence the emotions, or affections of the listener. -Musicians spoke of the need to dramatize the text yet maintain a single effection--be it rage, revenge, sorrow, joy, or love--from beginning to end of a piace. - The single most important new genre to emerge in the Baroque period was opera. - The Baroque gave rise to a remarkable variety of musical style, ranging from the expressive monody of Claudio monteverdi (1567-1643) to the complex polyphony of J.S.
#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.
In fact, the imbalance of power between western men and oriental women in the western literature not only reflects the westerners’ ethnocentrism but also their belief of western culture’s dominance over oriental culture. The Westerners are said to be masculine and powerful while the Orientals are perceived as feminine and feeble. Thus, it is natural for them to think that the west should conquer the east and make Orientals their appendages and trophies. The stereotype and prejudice mentioned above may have its cultural origin as Orientalism, which depict the relationship between west and east
In Octavious’s speech to the Romans just before he declares war on Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, he creates a negative imagery of Cleopatra. He uses the words, ‘...bewitched by that accursed woman, enslaved by her’ and ‘slaves of a woman’. (Kilvert, S I. (Trans) (1987, pp52, 53, 54 &55) Cassius Dio: The Roman History: The age of Augustus, Harmondsworth, Penguin). Even though Cleopatra is already disliked by the Romans this creates an even worse imagery, it shows Cleopatra as the person with the power.
In saying this, Helmer embodies the societal value of gender inequality by implying that Nora, his wife, is not his equal but is an expensive accessory that belongs to him. Furthermore, Isben uses this dialogue to present the idea that Nora - and many other women like her - were locked away like caged birds. Symbolism is used through the characterisation of Torvald Helmer. Helmer represents the patriarchy and his
Also it would have been seen as being deeply unnatural because women were seen to be of a much lower status than any man. Monstrosity is also shown through Lady Macbeth when she comes across as being deceitful. For example, she says “Look like innocent flower but be the serpent unerd’t”. This biblical reference portrays Lady Macbeth to be immoral as the blasphemous remark can be seen as her devaluing religious beliefs. The monstrous language Lady Macbeth voices is demonstrated through her use of euphemisms and puns.
In Lepines’ letter, he sites how feminists had ruined his life and they were the reason he committed this crime. Feminist theory on crime explains this thought clearly. Lepines’ ideas about the roles of women were formed by a patriarchal society leading him to believe in some that women were not equal to men and should not be given all the opportunities of men (Knuttila, 305). These women wanted to be educated and become engineers; Lepine could not cope with this fact and blamed women, namely feminist for his short comings in life. Did Lepine come up with these ideas himself or was he a product of a society that dictated classical roles and oppression of women?