This seems to point out her unwillingness to accept the burdens of motherhood. More than anything Hedda desires intellectual creativity, not just the sexual power that keeps her in a limited social function. Since her only way of displaying this power is through a "credulous" husband, Hedda is jealous of Thea's intellectual partnership with Eilert Loevborg, which produces their creative "child." Hedda's use of her father's pistols symbolizes both her entrapment and release. On one hand the pistol she gives to Eilert ultimately finds Hedda in an "unthinkable scandal", which in its own way displays the added burden or control Judge Brack has over her now.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
Offred did not get along with her mother, and since Offred’s mom was a feminist and actively protested for women's rights she had no time for Offred. Ironically enough, Gilead shows that women are important but in the wrong way. Gilead objectifies women as only having one purpose and one purpose only, to reproduce. Women are guarded and taken out of harms way but that is as far as Gilead goes. Men are of real importance in Gilead because they need to “fight the war.” Offred’s mother embodied everything that Gilead condemns.
In the language of the poem “The poet experiences herself as loaded gun, imperious energy; yet without the Owner, the possessor, she is merely lethal. Should that possession abandon her [she would be free to express and live in a manner she desired]--but [that] thought is unthinkable [for Dickinson because for her it lies outside the scope of reality, so deeply ingrained is the system of maleness in her life and experience]: "He longer must than I.” (Rich). There is one poem which is the real "onlie begetter" of my thoughts here about Dickinson; a poem I have mused over, repeated to myself, and taken into myself.
According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dream and impose their will on their wives (149). Chopin depicts marriage as a prison institution that confines women for life. In the story there is no possibility for divorce and death seems to be the only way out. Evidently, since marriage is dictated by society, women do not seem bothered by their lack of freedom since they feel it is their obligation to run homes without complaining. From the story, Mrs. Mallard does not seem perturbed by her present situation until gets a taste of freedom after receiving the news about her husband death.
A man thinks that the ideal image of a woman is one that is “submissive,” which is a female he can just walk all over and not have to consider her feelings and wishes. A woman who is “dependent” is a woman that relies on someone else for support. They are considered to have no willpower to succeed and achieve their own goals, which men feed off of. These women fall into the perfect category for men because they want women that will do anything to be with the... ... middle of paper ... ...ties women can offer. Society should respect women and be more educated on the facts about why women turn to abuse and see their selves as not valuable in the world.
To Francis, Adah was a sexual object. As far as he was concerned, her feelings didn’t matter, she was not a real person. Adah knew she was up against the enemy when she challenged Francis, but she was able to rise about he sexism and leave Francis. Not only does she go against her own culture, but she wants her children to reject the sexist attitude as well: "My sons will learn to treat their wives as people" (Emecheta 121). Adah is a strong women who will not let herself be objectified and will not let the sexism of her culture keep her down.
Women must prove that they are as fit to undertake tasks that a man would typically undertake. Women are forced to become manipulative and controlling. This jeopardizes the integrity of marriage and undermines the honesty of women. The mysterious and seductive archetypal trait of the Femme Fatale is illustrated through the character Jean Muir who chooses to fool men into loving her rather than working hard to prove herself to men to get what she wants, such as money a... ... middle of paper ... ...le. This is Alcott’s warning to the world of what happens when women have no power and are not given the opportunity and ability to provide for themselves.
Men Will be Men in The Handmaid's Tale Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Offred's world is not even its proximity, but its occasional attractiveness. The idea that women need strict protection from harm is not one espoused solely by the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Pat Buchanan, but also by women like Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon. This protectionist variety of feminism is incorporated in the character of Offred's mother, and to a certain degree in Aunt Lydia. Offred's mother is just as harsh in her censorship of pornography as any James Dobson. By burning the works which offend her, she too is contributing to the notion that women's safety is contingent on squelching the Bill of Rights.
However, this wish is in essence to empower herself. The narrator is already afraid of her husband and is suffering mentally and emotionally. She desperately wishes for an escape “through fantasy, into a symbolic version of her own plight: a version in which she would have a measure of distance and control” (DeLamotte 6). Throughout the text, Gilman reveals to the reader that during the time in which the story was written, men acquired the working role while women were accustomed to working within the boundaries of their “woman sphere”. This gender division meritoriously kept women in a childlike state of obliviousness and prevented them from reaching any scholastic or professional goals.