The Role of Women in The Rape of the Lock

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On the surface, The Rape of the Lock is a retelling of an episode that caused a feud between two families in the form of an epic. One might believe that in his version, Alexander Pope portrayed the women of the story as shallow, vain little girls, however on a deeper level the women are crucial to the story. Aside from not being as helpless as they appear, each woman possesses a different kind of power that contributes to their character greatly. Rather than being the conceited and shallow figures expected of the time period, the women in The Rape of the Lock posses more power than meets the eye.
First of all, the poems main focus is Belinda. She is presented as an upper class aristocratic woman with no real duties or concerns. She is constantly surrounded by Sylphs who's only purpose is to protect and pamper her. This is one example of her importance, the fact that she requires such protection suggests a certain level of importance to begin with. As she goes about her day, she sleeps in quite late, takes her time getting ready and being pampered, then she sets out to enjoy her afternoon with friends. Not once does she have to ask permission from anyone or answer to any man. For a woman in this time, this is a big deal, women were usually seen as dependent upon their husbands, but here Belinda can do as she pleases. She also gets into a heated argument with the Baron, "See, fierce Belinda on the Baron flies, With more than usual Lightning in her Eyes;" (Canto V, 75-76). Although Belinda may not be triumphant in the end, her power of free will is in stark contrast to most representations of 18th century women.
Another important female character in this story is Thalestris, one of Belinda's friends. She is also portrayed as rather...

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...dence that he believes women can in fact have a power similar or even greater than men.
In the end, a story that appears to poke fun at the carefree lives of upper class women actually gives great appreciation to the subtle powers women hold over men. It could be argued that one of the most important powers of women is that of controlling men with their trivial problems and needs. Perhaps Pope was demonstrating women's skill in controlling men by simply playing the part of the vain shallow debutant. Whatever his intentions were it is clear that Alexander Pope did not in fact find the women of his time to be completely powerless, instead they were the driving forces of the household and of society.

Works Cited

"The Rape of the Lock." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 1137-1155. Print.

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