This essay will argue that In both texts motherhood and marriage is shown to be a hindrance to both women’s careers and their female identity. The theme of marriage in The Bell Jar and Top Girls Is shown to demolish the female identity of the women. In The Bell Jar Plath uses Buddy as a symbolic figure to show how even the “clean” men of that time were only out for one
This parody, set in the early nineteenth century, shows the constraints of culture in England, and the tendency to judge others, but not one’s self. In Jane Austen’s Emma, the protagonist influences others into making decisions that fit her beliefs, because of her lack of perception to other’s beliefs, and her disposition to think highly of herself. Emma’s lack of perception that a person could possibly think different than she, ultimately leads to several great mistakes that affect the lives of others. From the start of the novel, Austen explicitly states the character flaws of the perceivably perfect Emma: “The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much of her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments” (4). This revelation made by Austen hints at the future: though Emma appears to be consistently right, her opinions do not always have other’s best interests at heart.
Functionalist Murdock suggested as children we are socialised into societies shared norms and values and he believed that males provide the economic roles and females provided the expressive role. Therefore it is natural for women to play the expressive role in the household looking after the family’s emotional needs. However, radical feminist Ann Oakley argues that the role of the housewife is a social construction and isn’t linked to the female role. The housewife role makes sure that women stay inferior to men making it difficult for them have careers. Women carry out the triple burden in the household; the domestic labour, emotional labour, and paid labour.
Wilde explores the subject of morality frequently within the play and the conflicting ideas surrounding the topic. Wilde particularly explores the idea of women ‘falling from grace’. This can be seen in the character of Mrs Arbuthnot. The character is quite obviously a good, strong woman who has taken her misfortunes in stride and not let them bring her down too much, as well as raising her son to also be a good person. Many people would argue that the blame for her misfortune should solely lay on Lord Illingworth, who, it is obvious to the audience, used her for his own pleasure and satisfaction, abusing her love and trust.
Similarly, source 3 suggests that women should know their place and not seek for ‘anything higher’. This could be referring to women wanting to be able to voice their opinion by voting or at least having a say in decisions regarding their family, however they were not seen as clever enough to do so. On the other hand, source 1 says that ‘to soften each other’ a man and a woman have to ‘unite’, which could perhaps mean marriage and children. The phrase ‘soften each other’ portrays a couple as equal partners with different, but equally as important, features that make a marriage work. In the same way, source 2 says that because of the differences ‘it is impossible to
Pizan so obviously from the start of her writing, introduces how women should behave (from the perspective of a princess), so that her actions shall be beneficial to her and her husband. By talking about the finances, which is radical, Pizan degrades women in all other aspects. Degrading is used in the sense that she does not promote equality in any other way other than the financial aspect. These women could be considered early feminists if they looked for equality in other things as well not just a specific
Tessie Hutchinson, one of the main characters represents women who are being tyrannized by society because of their gender. Devices such as symbolism and plot illustrate the condemned roles of women in the gender hierarchy. Also, the use of ideas such as betrayal within the strong marriage bond due to the traditional sacrifice, the senior figure of society, and the following of tradition passed down from generation demonstrate the power of females in this generation are brought up to the podium to be arguably conversed. The plot of “The Lottery” is that men had the most dominance over political decisions. This left no room for woman’s input or acknowledgment.
Consider the effect conventional society has on the protagonists within both Wuthering Heights and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. In both “Wuthering Heights” and “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” the female characters are seen as subservient to their male counterparts and characters such as Heathcliff and Tess are treated as inferior as a result of their lower status. Both novels were considered to be unconventional because the authors explore taboo subjects such as ghosts, child abuse, rape and murder. The Protagonists are affected by societies expectations of the Victorian era that are forced upon them, which affects their actions; preventing their happiness and true love from flourishing. Victorian society held strong, conservative religious views.
As such, Weldon through her didactic essay disguised in epistolary form places emphasis on the difficulties of marriage for women in Austen’s context, especially legal powerlessness and dangers of childbirth through her cumulative listing of facts: ‘…you could not sue… he could beat you, if he saw fit’ and ‘the mother was the one to go’. She also suggests that women in the Georgian context were marginalised to the point that marriage was considered a great prize since there was no other choice: ‘women were born poor and stayed poor’, further highlighted through Weldon’s sympathetic reshaping of Mrs Bennet who originally a figure of ridicule, is emphasized to be in fact a reflection of the desperation of women for economic security, therefore Weldon highlights ‘it was the stuff of their life, their very existence. No wonder Mrs Bennet, driven half mad with anxiety… made a fool of herself in public’, a New Historicist approach that redefines Austen’s characters through the historical context. In doing this, Weldon essentially fills in the gaps and silences within Pride and Prejudice, highlighting for the modern audience how Elizabeth was in fact a radical hero because women of this time were so
Joe's reasoning for attempting to make Chris feel guilty boil down to the fact that it will ultimately sustain Kate's support for him. The period in which A Doll's House was written was a time of intense subordination for women. As a Marxist would say, women were 'reified' by society due to its ideological nature, restricted to mere commodities. Nora is indeed expected to conform to this principle by the characters of the play as well as audiences and critics of the time, but Ibsen has crafted the character in such a way that it is clear she is against the role