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Societal expectations of gender
Societal expectations of gender
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The idea of social rejection, which can be used to describe persons rejected by, omitted from, or mistreated by their peers. Social rejection can be in the form of slavery, shunning, bullying, or in Hannah W. Foster’s novel, The Coquette, the barring of women because they do not conform to the rules of proper society etiquette. Foster’s Eliza Wharton has all the qualities of this kind of societal young woman. As she is entering society, having to obey by the proper society etiquette, she fits into this mold of how a woman is perceived to behave.
One of the roles Eliza must play is the role of a proper young woman. She is expected to behave a certain way, treat men a certain way, and be married by a certain age to a Reverend. She feels that she must do this in order to please her family and friends, “To them, of course, I sacrificed my fancy in this affair; determined that my reason should concur with theirs; and on that to risk my future happiness”(5). She is sacrificing her happiness so; therefore, she is conforming to the proper role of being a young woman in society.
Foster uses Eliza’s personality to push the boundaries of the way women were expected to behave in society. Eliza was faced with the
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She lives her life on her own terms than that of the views of society. She is the minority in her way of thinking that is okay not to have love and life figured out by the time she is 30 years of age. All her aspirations are laughed at by her friend Lucy, whom puts her down for trying make a better life for herself instead of following with the etiquettes of society. “Forgive my plainness, Eliza. It is the task of friendship, sometimes to tell disagreeable truths. I know your ambition is to make a distinguished figure in first class society; to shine in the gay circle of fashionable amusements..(Foster 27). Instead of encouraging Eliza, Lucy dashes her
The exterior influences of society affect a woman’s autonomy, forcing her to conform to other’s expectations; however, once confident she creates her own
Eliza Wharton has sinned. She has also seduced, deceived, loved, and been had. With The Coquette Hannah Webster Foster uses Eliza as an allegory, the archetype of a woman gone wrong. To a twentieth century reader Eliza's fate seems over-dramatized, pathetic, perhaps even silly. She loved a man but circumstance dissuaded their marriage and forced them to establish a guilt-laden, whirlwind of a tryst that destroyed both of their lives. A twentieth century reader may have championed Sanford's divorce, she may have championed the affair, she may have championed Eliza's acceptance of Boyer's proposal. She may have thrown the book angrily at the floor, disgraced by the picture of ineffectual, trapped, female characters.
In society, there has always been a gap between men and women. Women are generally expected to be homebodies, and seen as inferior to their husbands. The man is always correct, as he is more educated, and a woman must respect the man as they provide for the woman’s life. During the Victorian Era, women were very accommodating to fit the “house wife” stereotype. Women were to be a representation of love, purity and family; abandoning this stereotype would be seen as churlish living and a depredation of family status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Henry Isben’s play A Doll's House depict women in the Victorian Era who were very much menial to their husbands. Nora Helmer, the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” both prove that living in complete inferiority to others is unhealthy as one must live for them self. However, attempts to obtain such desired freedom during the Victorian Era only end in complications.
Dorothea Brooke is a very bright and beautiful young lady that does not much care for frills or getting ahead in society. She wants more than anything to help those around her, starting with the tenants of her uncle. She desires to redesign their cottages, but Arthur Brooke, her elderly uncle with whom she and her younger sister Celia Brooke lives with, does not want to spend the money required. So Dorothea shares her dream with Sir James Chettam, who finds her fascinating, and encourages her to use the plans she has drawn up for the tenants on his land instead. He falls in love with her, but does not share his feelings for her quickly enough. Edward Casaubon, an older scholarly clergyman asks Dorothea to marry him, she does not accept until she finds out Sir James means to seriously court her, then turns around and tells Casaubon yes. What she does not te...
In her final letter to her mother, Eliza admits her wrong doings. She tells her mother she ignored all the things she was told. All their advice fell on her deaf ears. She explains that she had fallen victim to her own indiscretion. She had become the latest conquest of “a designing libertine,” (Foster 894). She knew about Sanford’s reputation, she knew his intentions, and she knew that he was married, yet she still started a relationship with him. And her blatant disregard for facts and common sense caused her unwed pregnancy and premature demise. Eliza Wharton had nobody to blame for her situation but herself. She ignored warnings, advice, common sense, and other options available to her. She chose her ill fated path and had to suffer the consequences.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
...es for love and overcame the social expectations of the quintessential woman in the nineteenth century; whereas their counterparts around them would have chosen class and wealth. Edna Pontellier’s decision to move into her pigeon house and away from her husband’s rule and the vexing job of caring for her children was viewed as societal suicide, but to her liberation and self-actualization as a woman was more important. Elizabeth Bennet ultimately disregarded her mother’s wishes, and passed over Mr. Collins, she initially disregarded Mr. Darcy as a possible suitor but love proved otherwise. These women were on a path of destruction to free themselves from a long reign of oppression, their challenge of conventional methods within the nineteenth century, proved successful not only to them, but for a future collective group of women who would follow in their footsteps.
Throughout time women have been written as the lesser sex, weaker, secondary characters. They are portrayed as dumb, stupid, and nothing more than their fading beauty. They are written as if they need to be saved or helped because they cannot help themselves. Women, such as Daisy Buchanan who believes all a woman can be is a “beautiful little fool”, Mrs Mallard who quite died when she lost her freedom from her husband, Eliza Perkins who rights the main character a woman who is a mental health patient who happens to be a woman being locked up by her husband, and then Carlos Andres Gomez who recognizes the sexism problem and wants to change it. Women in The Great Gatsby, “The Story of an Hour,” “The Yellow Wall Paper” and the poem “When” are oppressed because the fundamental concept of equality that America is based on undermines gender equality.
... She first criticizes Hero’s choice of a ruff; then she indirectly denigrates Hero’s wedding gown by contrasting its simplicity with the duchess of Milan’s lavish garment (3.4.14-23); finally, she mocks the prim and proper Hero by making a coarse sexual allusion (3.4.27). When Hero rebukes her, Margaret refuses to be shamed and defends herself: “[ashamed] of what, lady? Of speaking honorably? Is not marriage honorable in a beggar? Is not your lord honorable without marriage? (3.4.28-31). By implying that honor is achieved not through any marriage but through a “good,” socially suitable marriage, Margaret implicitly criticizes the inequality in her society and expresses her desire for a marriage that will not leave her “below stairs” (5.2.10). But she is acutely aware that she has no such marriage prospects as she resentfully watches Hero’s wedding preparations.
At the start of the novel, Eliza Haywood places her protagonist in a very interesting, unique position, with regards to society of the time. The nameless main character is first illustrated in a playhouse, observing the interactions of the strangers around her. She notices a prostitute, surrounded by a swarm of men. “She could not help testifying her contempt of men who...threw away their time in such a manner, to some Ladies...the greater was her wonder, that men, some of whom she knew were accounted to have wit, should have tastes for very depraved” (257-258.) “Fantomina”, as she later comes to be called, oversees all of this. Haywood seems to put her above this crowd of men and prostitutes, while she observes and makes judgments on the nature of their behaviors. She expresses that she is disgusted by the mindlessness of the men in this situation. One might argue that this depicts a reversal of gender roles. Typically, men would look at women in this way, and the male character wo...
On the surface level, Emma appears to be a novel about the affections and one's struggle to find the perfect mate. However this may be this case, another theme jointly exists with the previously mentioned motif, which happens to be Emma's struggle with self-deception. Emma's life has been hitherto relatively constant and comfortable. With turn of events such as the recent marriage of her governess, she is left alone to deal with it. Although she is greatly distressed by the news, she instantly dismisses it as a simply fact of life. I think it's interesting to see how a natural part of life, i.e. marriage, should so violently disturb the lives of Emma and Mr. Woodhouse, who is in particular a fanatical status-quo character. Emma lead herself to believe that she is solely responsible for the marriage of her governess and is doubly pleased by her matchmaking skills. However her sense of control is greatly altered when she steps into the role of matchmaker to her newfound friend Harriet. Harriet, a young girl of unknown lineage is a student at Mrs. Goddard's school. Emma sees the reformation and refinement of Harriet as a challenge, as she aspires to see Harriet marry a person in a higher social station. In this instance, Emma is acting in contradiction to her own philosophy, and indeed the eighteenth - century belief that people should marry within their own social class. She deludes herself that perhaps Harriet's parents may have been some importance and therefor resolves to marry her to a higher status in life.
... Victorian values. She is supposed to be submissive and delicate, and she does attempt to do what her cousin asks and remain ladylike. Towards the middle of the story Lucy has obviously been thinking a lot about her future and she begins to speak her mind but is usually shut down by Cecil or other Victorian characters. By the end of the novel, Lucy has realized Cecil will never treat her as an equal and she leaves him.
Mr. Woodhouse “is no companion for [Emma]” (2) and “no friend of matrimony” (187). This results in Emma’s blindness and subsequently causes her to feel “marriage, in fact, would not do for her” because it is “incompatible with what she owed to her father” (280). With this induced moral, Emma lacks true happiness due to misconstrued thoughts towards marriage solely to please her father. Mr. Woodhouse’s refusal to lose Emma to marriage as he did his elder daughter, Isabella, blinds her to the real world. By negatively referring to married female characters as “poor Isabella and poor Miss Taylor” (315), Mr. Woodhouse hopes to keep Emma blind to her future happiness that will be found with Mr. Knightley, thus instilling the idea of matchmaking into Emma versus allowing her to recognize her own match. The negativ...
The main protagonist of the story, Elizabeth Bennet (nicknamed both Lizzy and Eliza), is the second daughter in the Bennet family. Second only to her elder sister in beauty, Elizabeth’s figure is said to be “light and pleasing,” with “dark eyes,” and “intelligent…expression” (24). At 20 years old, she is still creating her place in society. Known for her wit and playful nature, “Elizabeth is the soul of Pride and Prejudice, [she] reveals in her own person the very title qualities that she spots so easily” (“Pride and Prejudice”) in others. Her insightfulness often leads her to jump to conclusions and think herself above social demand. These tendencies lead her to be prejudice towards others; this is an essential characteristic of her role
Eliza does not want to continue being part of the high society and has to stay under Higgins watch but wants to return to where she came from (Berst 100).