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Patriarchal traditions and the role of women
Patriarchal traditions and the role of women
Women in patriarchal societies
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For a young women, the idea of motherhood means taking on the ultimate responsibility of caring for a defenseless child in spite of the youth and inexperience. To complicate matters, include the social norms of the 19th century that young women should not have children out of wedlock and a lack of personal independence since most young women do not have livable income and a space to call her own. These norms are enforced upon young women so much that typically their only hope of survival is with the help of a patriarchal figure. Thus, we are introduced into the struggle of Charity, the young female orphaned protagonist of Edith Wharton’s Summer, who is faced with how to make the best “decision” on how her child should come into her world. The …show more content…
Royall became the ideal “decision” for Charity after she had finally left her town home to “return” to the Mountain to seek the help of people outside of the patriarchal norms. The perceptions given the Charity of the Mountain people included, “No school, no church-and no sheriff ever goes up to see what they’re about” (Wharton 25). The Mountain is also a place where Charity feels she should belong since she was brought down from the Mountain by Mr. Royall as a child. The Mountain then is a “haven” for anyone needing to get way to a place that is accepting of outcasts from the constraints of society. Thus, Charity is faced with the decision to remain within a society that will judge her harshly for her pregnancy, or have her baby outside of these norms, protecting it from the constraints she had felt within a more “civilized” …show more content…
She realizes it was an act of great kindness and understanding by her mother to take advantage of the opportunity to have her own daughter be taken away from the harsh reality of her world: “What mother would not want to saver her child from such a life? Charity thought of the future of her own child, and tears welled into her aching eyes, and ran down over her face” (Wharton 92). However, upon seeing the terrible condition of the Mountain, Charity once again makes a choice to leave the Mountain and try to find a solution elsewhere. Yet, this is also when Charity realizes that good mother may have taken extreme measures to ensure the safety of her children. Charity’s lifelong attempt to understand her mother’s ability to relinquish her care over to Mr. Royall was satisfied when she realized it was not a lack love from her mother that instigated the act. Before this moment, Charity still held the belief that maybe there was something wrong with her, or her mother was making a selfish decision. Charity realized her mother had done her best as a mother when she gave her to Mr. Royall. Therefore, this moment then helped solidify Charity’s resolve to do what she could, no matter how undesirable, to continue that theme of a mother’s sacrifice for the sake of her
what the reader once thought of Dorothea, a woman of dignity, into a naive child.
He spends a considerable amount of time reflecting on what happened and how it has changed his life forever. Krakauer struggles with survivor's guilt and a redefined view on mortality and addresses questions about events on the mountain that perhaps don't have answers. Krakauer acknowledges and apologizes for any pain or anger his book might arose in the friends and families of victims, but is undeterred from detailing the events, be they heroic, selfish or tragic.
Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth presents an interesting study of the social construction of subjectivity. The Victorian society which Wharton's characters inhabit is defined by a rigid structure of morals and manners in which one's identity is determined by apparent conformity with or transgression of social norms. What is conspicuous about this brand of social identification is its decidedly linguistic nature. In this context, behaviors themselves are rendered as text, and the incessant social appraisal in which the characters of the novel participate is a process of deciphering this script of behavior. People's actions here are read, as it were, according to the unique social grammar of this society. The novel's treatment of this conception of social reading is brought to the fore through its devaluing of written texts in favor of legible behaviors.
In the 1800’s, women lived under men’s rules and ideologies and were forced to conform to the social “norms” of the time. To women, these rules seemed normal as they were used to them. In the story, Jane is put in a nursery because she is said to be sick and
In an old society such as 1799 having intimacy with someone and not being marry was unacceptable, it questioned the integrety of the woman and values of the family. It was a shame and even more if got to be pregant ,no man will take her has wife and single mother will not be easy. Eliza Wharton´s a fiction character made up from the novel ¨The Coquette¨ by Hanna Webster Foster a higher educated woman lived in 1758-1840 published The Boarding School; or, Lessons of a Preceptress to Her Pupils, a commentary on female education in the United States and her more famous ¨The Coquette¨ inspired in the gossip around the city about women who where easy lovers. It is a common case with a more complex message for the young ladies in which morals are
Victorian Literature is often characterized by decisive natural imagery. One of many authors to explore this form of rhetoric, Edith Wharton employs such imagery in several of her texts, including her 1912 novella Summer. Despite the novella being written after the technical end of the Victorian Era, Wharton transferred the influence of the time period into her work. The use and manipulation of plant symbolism, widely accepted in Victorian literature, reveals hidden meaning within the text and subtly conveys clues to the underlying meaning of the novel. Using historically and mythologically accepted symbolism for various flower and tree species, Edith Wharton effectively integrates specific plant examples to foreshadow Harney's false intentions
The narrator, Twyla, begins by recalling the time she spent with her friend, Roberta, at the St. Bonaventure orphanage. From the beginning of the story, the only fact that is confirmed by the author is that Twyla and Roberta are of a different race, saying, “they looked like salt and pepper” (Morrison, 2254). They were eight-years old. In the beginning of the story, Twyla says, “My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick.” This line sets the tone of the story from the start. This quote begins to separate the two girls i...
Along with the duty as a faithful wife to one’s husband in the Victorian era, women were expected to raise children, attend to household tasks, and ensure the wellbeing of everyone there. Edna, contrasting the expectations set for women of this time, suddenly finds herself dissatisfied with her limited life. Suddenly craving the taste for excitement, Edna embarks on a journey of utter selfishness, abandoning her children for her own physical and emotional desire. Though the children need their mother, she thinks solely of her
Allowing readers to glimpse her own story as she painfully evaluates her role as mother side by side with historical accounts of other women's experiences provides an avenue for understanding that leads to compassion. By the final chapter, instead of falling into the expected trap of revulsion toward Joanne Michulski's heinous crime, Rich's empathy provides the reader with the insight to realize both the complexity of Michulski's situation and to feel comp...
Jonathan Swift and Katha Pollitt, separated by 200 years, share a common interest in the welfare of people. Specifically, the two authors write of different experiences regarding the underprivileged women and children in their particular countries. While my experience might be limited in the environment of poverty personally, I have had some exposure to underprivileged youth and their families. My perception of poverty is based on attending both primary and secondary school in a depressed socioeconomic community filled with single mothers living in government funded housing on the north side of Houston. From my experiences, I have found that, while divorce can be damaging for children, the deterioration of family values in society doesn’t
Growing up as an orphan, Jane longs for someone to love her and care for her. Her benefactress, Mrs. Reed, and her children neglected her. On one occasion, John Reed told Jane, “You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us”(10). Jane endured that kind of treatment for ten years, then she moved to a boarding school where she found a friend. A kind teacher, Miss Temple took Jane under her wing and became like a mother to J...
In the short story, “Girl,” the narrator describes certain tasks a woman should be responsible for based on the narrator’s culture, time period, and social standing. This story also reflects the coming of age of this girl, her transition into a lady, and shows the age gap between the mother and the daughter. The mother has certain beliefs that she is trying to pass to her daughter for her well-being, but the daughter is confused by this regimented life style. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, uses various tones to show a second person point of view and repetition to demonstrate what these responsibilities felt like, how she had to behave based on her social standing, and how to follow traditional customs.
Edith Wharton, was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in literature, she wrote a lot of stories that focused on marriage. Many of her stories are set in the high society world of America in the 1900’s. An example of this, is the short story she wrote called “The Other Two” which takes place in 1904 in New York. “The Other Two” discuss the concepts divorce in the early 1900’s and adaptive behavior which is based on Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the fittest”.
Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.
Evald has repeatedly espoused to her that he does not want children. Thus when she becomes pregnant at the age of thirty-nine, Marianne is in an incredibly difficult position: leave her husband and raise the child on her own, or abort the child and stay with her husband. Neither of these options are ideal; Marianne repeatedly elucidates that she wants to keep the child, and so the decision is not one she can make lightly. This brings to mind other sub-optimal conditions faced by prospective mothers throughout the semester; particularly, the situation of Lucy in Disgrace, pregnant with her rapist’s child, conjures similar quandaries. Neither of these women is a teenager unable to support herself and her possible offspring, but still, the question of impending motherhood is a challenging one. Wild Strawberries tends to portray motherhood in a negative light; motherhood does not seem a harbinger of joy and happiness, but rather a necessary evil that should not necessarily be undertaken. Sarah, Isak’s betrothed who eventually marries his brother, cradles what is supposed to be a newborn child, but is obviously only a facsimile, a doll. Isak’s mother, of advanced age, is frigid and cold towards him, unwilling to show the least bit of affection for her last remaining