The Role of Men and Women

In order to fully comprehend and appreciate the implication of literature and the power it has to elucidate upon life’s various facets, it is imperative to compare and contrast various works, which possess certain concepts and beliefs that are common. No Exit by Jean Paul Satre and Night Flight by Antoine De Saint-Exupery are two works of literature that share certain ideas and concepts, one of which is the exemplification of the different roles that men and women play in society and how they have been conformed to occupy certain positions. No Exit and Night Flight are two stories that explore the roles of men and women in society. However, a literary analysis and comparison of these two works reveals two very different sides of the notions regarding gender roles, as Night Flight defends the traditional roles occupied by the two sexes and how people inadvertently assent to them, while No Exit disputes these notions and asserts that there are many individuals who contradict them.

Eagly and Steffen state that “According to stereotypic beliefs about the sexes, women are more communal (selfless and concerned with others) and less agentic (self-assertive and motivated to master) than men” (735). They further observe that “(a) Women are more likely than men to hold positions of lower status and authority, and (b) women are more likely than men to be homemakers and are less likely to be employed in the paid work force.” However, one will find that there are times when certain individuals will choose to diverge from these preconceived notions regarding men and women and chart a different image for themselves.

This subject is important due to the fact that the roles of men and women have great implications upon us as they govern the very...

... middle of paper ...

...ners, women are required to take up the responsibility of running the household. The two works, No Exit and Night Flight explore these roles that society places upon men and women. However, while the latter challenges the norms by depicting women to be capable of sin and men to be cowardly, the latter conforms to social compulsions by portraying them as society expects. Therefore, the two works though interlinked, demonstrate very different yet truthful aspects of the conformation to gender roles.

Works Cited

Bowles, Paul & Satre, Jean-Paul. No Exit. New York: Samuel French Inc., 1958.

Eagly, Alice H. & Steffen, Valerie J. “Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46.4 (1984): 735-754

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de & Gilbert, Stuart. Night Flight. New York: Mariner Books, 1974.