Support of Male Dominance in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma
While there is no shortage of male opinions concerning the role of females, which usually approve of male dominance, there is a lack of women expressing views on their forced subservience to men. This past subordination is the very reason there were so few females who plainly spoke out against their position, and the search for females expressing the desire for independence necessarily extends to the few historical works by women that do exist. Jane Austen is a well-known female author, and it is natural that her novels would be studied in an attempt to find a covert feminist voice. However, though certain feminist elements may exist, one common theme found throughout the novels Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma, makes it impossible to label these works as completely supporting feminism. The idea that women should not be allowed to have power, should be controlled by men, and that males should use their power to the fullest extent is inescapable. This idea is raised repeatedly throughout these novels.
One aspect of this theme expresses the belief that women should not have power since it causes women to corrupt themselves and harm those around them. In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine are prime examples of why women should not be allowed to have control. Though she is not the head of the household, Mrs. Bennet does have control because her husband would rather watch than participate in the family. This is shown when Mrs. Bennet was embarrassing the family by her transparent attempt to give Jane and Mr. Bingley more time together after every one else had left the ball, and Mr. Bennet did not try to c...
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...rests of women are served by being controlled and encouraging the full use of male authority. Though this idea is supported by the characters of her imagination and has no basis in reality, it does further advocate the patriarchal power system. Whether Jane Austen was conscience of this theme is unknown, but even if she did not intend for it to occur, it is no less real.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norton Critical 3rd edition, ed. Donald Gray New York and London: Norton, 2001.
Austen, Jane. Emma. Norton Critical 3rd edition, ed. Donald Gray New York and London: Norton, 2001.
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Norton Critical 3rd edition, ed. Donald Gray New York and London: Norton, 2001.
Trilling, Lionel. "Mansfield Park". Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ian Watt, ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1963.
Arlington National Cemetery Website “Medgar Wiley Evers: Sergeant, United States Army Civil Rights Leader .” 29 February 2004 . . 3 Feb 2005 .
Fidel took part in the revolutions in Cuba from 1947-1950 and was very badly beaten in some of the early clashes with some of the government officials bodyguards. After the failure of the early rebellions he travelled to Colombia and took part in the communist revolution there, and returned to Cuba a well known and prestigious figure. He married into an upper cl...
Frustrated by the economic domination and policing of the United States, Castro started to cut the U.S. out of the economy and find sources elsewhere, the Soviet Union. This eventually led to the end of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Castro’s popularity grew considerably, making him a “heroic symbol of anti-imperialism.” (Charlip)
Southam, B.C., (ed.), Jane Austen: The Critical Heritage. Landon, NY: Routledge & Kegan Paul - Barres & Nobel Inc., 1968.
The problem set at the beginning of the play is that Jason has decided to marry another wife, Glauce. Medea is angered and will not let Jason off without punishment. The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jason's decision to take a new bride. Her pride shows again when she refuses Jason's aid. Though her situation is difficult, she would rather destroy all than accept help from one who has wronged her so horribly. Living as a barbarian among Greeks has made her more defensive, more full of hurt pride. To punish Jason, Medea had her children deliver poisoned gifts to the new bride, to kill her children, Glauce, and Creon. . Medea is not without feeling, nor is she a sociopath. She comprehends the difference between right and wrong, but chooses to follow the dictates of rage.
New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1979. Le Faye, Deirdre, ed. Jane Austen's letters, 3rd. ed. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Morella, M. (2012, January 6). How America Changed After Pearl harbor. Retrieved from U.S. News: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/01/06/how-america-changed-after-pearl-harbor
That’s why when someone does something extremely violent against their bullies or the person they are obsessed with, more often than not they then turn the gun on themselves.
Medea is a typical Greek tragedy. The opening monologue sets the stage for the rest of the play, a typical prologue. The speaking characters can be played by a few as four actors, each wearing a mask to identify themselves to the audience. All of the action takes place in front of Medea's home, which would allow for a very simple set. The most complicated scene comes at the end of the play when Medea flies to Athens on a chariot pulled by dragons. Euripides could have used a mechane to lift her and the bodies of her children off the stage. There are several violent deaths in this story. All violence takes place off stage, in the case of the death of Creon and his daughter, a messenger brings the news to Medea and the audience. When Medea murders her children, the children's voices can be heard from offstage and the chorus debates saving them. In both cases the violence is described, but never shown, characteristic of Greek tragedy.
Despite the contrast in the characters of Euripedes' Medea and Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the two playwrights depicted how gender inequality can start a fire. As with Medea and Jason, the battle between the two lead to former's madness, leading to the death of the enemies she considered, and, unfortunately, leading as well to the death of her own children. Medea felt betrayed and left behind by her husband Jason, as well as continuously aggravated by Creon despite the fact that i...
...play has many significant decisions but the decisions by Medea to get revenge, which leads her to murdering many people in the process, is the most dramatic decision of all. It shows all the horror that can come from our decisions, and that we should not let revenge rule our lives as it did Medea’s. Overall, the story was very entertaining with all of Medea’s unthinkable decisions and she received no punishments for what she did, really made the play unpredictable. Euripides used a variety of concepts throughout the play that leaves it up to the audience to interpret Medea, in a variety of ways. Revenge, betrayal, passion, love, etc. are all feelings portrayed in Medea and they are what help shape the overall meaning of the play. In conclusion, one can feel that Medea’s focus of revenge took over her life, and she made the decision to choose passion over reasoning.
In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: WW Norton &. Company, 1996.
Fergus, Jan. “Biography.” The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen. Ed. Janet Todd.
Mansfield Park is a complete socially oriented novel. In this novel Jane Austen closely describe the everyday life of rural middle class society, its gaieties and hardships, describing a distinct system of moral and social principles influencing people’s lives in that period, women status in the system and female life expectations. In the novel Austen shows the efforts of some trying to break the predetermined limitations in order to improve their social class and rank. Austen pointed out the social threats that might ruin the women’s lives permanently (Johnson, Jane Austen: women, politics, and the novel / Claudia L. Johnson 1988). Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park is a classic text. The text almost absolutory concentrated on a small section of society including, the upper middle class of rural England, to which Jane Austen was belonged to Jane Austen’s writing demonstrate beliefs, values and represent an ideology that accentuate devoting principles along with economic and social power, with little citation to the miseries of the working class.