American was a nation built on the backs of women. The persecution of women has had a profound effect on the attitudes many Americans still carried about women to this day. Over the course of the semester we have seen countless examples of how the early settlers of the Americans used their religious values to dominate and oppress women. Since the dawn of time men have placed themselves at the top of the social pyramid. As the Christianity spread globally, many cultures began using their faith to reinforce these ideals of male supremacy and dominance. As these values carried over to the new world and many began to take root in these land we began to see documentation of just how things where. Not only was this oppression being document but people would write in support of it, but even more shocking people began to write against it. . There were few writers who pioneered the efforts to exhibit the struggles women where place in. We are also able to see in other text how oppressive some of the people of the time where. We can see in the writings of Nathan Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter, the Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court of Newton, The Secret Diaries of William Byrd of Westover and Sarah Pierrepont .This text can be easily examined from the feminism perspective and with this perspective we can see the oppression of women in full swing.
With our first example we see that, the Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court of Newton, can most defiantly be examine threw the feminism perspective because of the persecution it exhibits in the trail of Anna Hutchinson. On an early November in 1637 Mrs. Anne Hutchinson heads in to the Court of Newton to answer to chargers brought on her by Governor Winthrop. Mrs. Hutchi...
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...tment of slaves. A brutal treatment he often blames his wife for. Out of all the examples this has to be my favorite because we see the bigotry of the times in full swing.
Thought all these examples we see countless reasons why the feminist criticisms can be applied to these text. In the writings of Nathan Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter, the Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court of Newton, and The Secret Diaries of William Byrd of Westover we see a true oppressive nature that society permits, Men often would used their faith to give reasoning to hold women down or act inappropriate towards them. As I said, as the Christian spread across the globe many men began using the Christian faith to assert their ideals of male supremacy and dominance. This is why the feminism critic can be used to enhance and expose all of the text from each man.
Anne Hutchinson was a remarkable colonial woman who first came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1634. She is less remembered for her contributions in the new world as a wife, mother of fourteen, and midwife to many than for her eventual trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was interested in writing a paper on a colonial woman and chose Anne Hutchinson after a "Google" search turned up a very good review on a recent book about her life. I have been intrigued by the fact that the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely, yet allowed no freedom to question their doctrine. The book, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans, is an excellent examination of this lack of religious freedom and the life of a woman that intersects it.
However, while embracing the often axiomatic freedoms of today, women everywhere should take time to acknowledge the struggles of previous generations. If one were to delve into the history of early American society, they would surely discover a male-dominated nation where women were expected to tend to their kitchen rather than share the responsibility of high government. During this time, a woman was considered the property of her husband, and was to remain compliant and silent. Nevertheless, two brilliant writers, Lydia Marie Child and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, resolved to confront and address the oppression afflicting America’s women. Although these two women have different styles of writing, they both advocate similar contentions.
Literary historicism, in the context of this discussion, describes the interpretation of literary or historical texts with respect to the cultural and temporal conditions in which they were produced. This means that the text not only catalogues how individuals respond to their particular circumstances, but also chronicles the movements and inclinations of an age as expressed in the rhetorical devices of its literature. Evaluating the trial of Anne Hutchinson within such a theoretical framework means speculating on the genesis of her theological beliefs with recourse to prevailing theories of gender, class, and interpretation. Because texts are self-contained spheres of discourse, nuanced interpretations of them can be undertaken with greater assiduity than in the case of individuals whose private experiences remain largely concealed from the interpreter's knowledge. A historical analysis of Anne Hutchinson herself is hence, in the present discussion, secondary to the analysis of how she comes across in textual discourse as a palimpsest of seventeenth century gender controversy.
Women rights have always been a conflict in the United States. So hearing about two extremist who believed men were superior over women, the kingdom they created and then an ex-slave turn servant turn abolitionist leader, puts the concept into perspective. Many changes occurred during these stories and they show case women’s lives in America during the early 1800s.
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)
With the increasing popularity of female-oriented post-secondary education, the growing number of women working outside the home in professional occupations and the newly granted right to suffrage, women directly challenged the traditional notions of American Womanhood in the 1920’s. In just seventy one years since the Seneca Falls Convention, feminists in America accomplished sweeping changes for women politically, economically, and socially. Attempting to reconcile the changing concept of womanhood with more traditional female roles, male writers often included depictions of this “New Woman” in their novels. Frequently, the male writers of the Progressive Era saw the New Woman as challenging the very fabric of society and, subsequently, included
This discrimination towards this sex was reinforced by the idea that women was made for man. Not only was this idea prevalent within society but it furthermore is resonated through the laws and documents the government put in place. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fought to establish equality between both sexes within the nation. This is illustrated within the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions at Seneca Falls when these women stated, “The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object he establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” This quote expresses the past of women rights and how from the beginning of time women have been seen as inferior to man. This furthermore resonated to express the idea that women were not only inferior but also a material object in a man’s life. Stanton and Anthony put a large emphasis into this ideal, making it their driving force into establishing women’s rights in America.
Overall, the value of the American Identity is found in literature such as The Awakening, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Great Gatsby. Different historical events such as the Women’s Suffrage Movements define America as a male driven nation. These few evidences of many provide an explanation of how men came to control a lot of the activity in the nation and its impact. Currently, women are treated with more respect, have equal rights, and can do many of the things that men can do. However, there is still a great amount of gender inequality in many various aspects and it will remain that way because this nation has been male dominated since it’s independence. History and literature are two aspects of our nation’s cultures that have demonstrated the gender inequality and contributed to the strengthening of this male dominated society in the course of time.
...Throughout American history, many men and women have faced difficulties such as inequality, and discrimination. However, with perseverance and determination, both early colonists, and women, have overcome these things. Women, now have every right that men do. As for the colonist; we have our own government, not a British one. “The Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson uses pathos and diction to express why the colonies need to be free and independent from British rule. “The Declaration of Sentiments,” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott uses logos and analogies to reveal how unequally women are treated. Finally, “A Disappointed Woman,” by Lucy Stone uses ethos and imagery to describe how women were treated and to demand equality for them. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal” (Stanton and Mott).
Wollstonecraft is considered, in many cases, to be the first feminist, but rather should be considered the first liberal feminist. There are two options as to why, frequently throughout her texts, she pities and occasionally vilifies women; either that, through socialisation into the rather patriarchal middle class life of the 1700s, she genuinely believed herself to be one of the only middle class women aware of her own suffering and have a desperate need to change it; or, as this analysis will henceforth assume, that she dulled down her more feminist ideas to compensate for her generally male
Upon her arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, Anne Hutchinson was a much respected member of her community. As time went on, her dealings with the religion began to be...
In Mary Wollstonecraft’s The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria and Mary Robinson’s The Natural Daughter women are subject to many hardships economically, simply because they are women. Women are not given sufficient opportunity, as men are, to pursue a living. Even if she is a woman of taste and morals, she may be treated as though she is a criminal and given no means to protect herself. In order for a woman to be sustained, she must marry into slavery, dishonor herself through unsavory work, or be lucky enough to be properly educated and given proper reference.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Women have always been essential to society. Fifty to seventy years ago, a woman was no more than a house wife, caregiver, and at their husbands beck and call. Women had no personal opinion, no voice, and no freedom. They were suppressed by the sociable beliefs of man. A woman’s respectable place was always behind the masculine frame of a man. In the past a woman’s inferiority was not voluntary but instilled by elder women, and/or force. Many, would like to know why? Why was a woman such a threat to a man? Was it just about man’s ability to control, and overpower a woman, or was there a serious threat? Well, everyone has there own opinion about the cause of the past oppression of woman, it is currently still a popular argument today.