Magdalene Laundries: Society and the Catholic Church

1058 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The catholic dominence on irish social policy

The 2002 film, Magdalene Sisters, written and directed by Peter Mullan, portrays the experiences of four young women who were sent to Magdalene laundries where they were expected to work to gain redemption through intensive labor, typically for the duration of their lives. These women were considered “fallen” for committing sins such as promiscuity, pregnancy out of wedlock, flirtatiousness and even for being victims of rape or incest. These inmates were beaten, dehumanized, humiliated and stripped of their dignity. This film, based on the documentary Sex in a Cold Climate, highlights the reciprocal influence of the Catholic Church and society that formed the views and treatment of women, which ultimately led to the creation and perpetuation of Magdalene laundries until 1996. Following the creation of the Irish Free State, the heavily intertwined nature of Irish society and Catholicism allowed for a strict interpretation of Catholic teachings which overtly condemned, dehumanized and sexually repressed women. Distorted catholic teachings that formed expectations for women deeply affected all levels of the operation of laundries including the greater society, the inmates and the nuns in a way that perpetuated and facilitated oppression and abuse.
Society viewed a respectable woman as having utility for marriage, reproduction within marriage and domestic work (McLoughlin 81). If a woman did something to violate her obligation it was as if she faced a moral death, losing all her value and connection to her previous life. These values are based on the extreme interpretation of Catholic teachings which were exerted on society following the independence of the Irish Free State in the 1920s and 1930s (Hayes and Urquhart 96). The unrestr...

... middle of paper ...

...100 years, it is vital that viewers understand that this is a flawed system and that this is not only the fault of the church. Despite this fact, most viewers will likely make the inference thatthe nuns were partially victims to this system themselves.
Overall, this film does an excellent job at integrating many components that contributed to the cycle of abuse in laundries. The director demonstrated how the teachings of the church were distorted in a way that controlled Irish society and created deeply intrenched situations of abuse. These views were not only held by society, but many many of the girls themselves who began to view themselves and dishonorable and undeserving. The unrestricted power of the church in the Irish Free State gave church leaders the power to shape societal views, which ultimately led to the desexualization and condemnation of many women.

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Marginalization In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most of the women are portrayed negatively and often referred to as either “bitch” or “ball-cutter.” Specifically, the head of the hospital ward, Nurse Ratched, is often targeted. In an ironic twist, the only nicely-portrayed female characters in this story are the two “whores” that come down to take the men fishing. This is interesting because even though the men seem to like these two women, they still refer to them as “whores.” However, the interesting aspect of marginalization in this story comes in two forms. These two forms are both based on gender roles. The men in the story are marginalized because they are all patients in a mental ward. This leads them to be considered less than others in society because they are locked up and have very little free will. The women in the story are marginalized by the men because they are considered cruel and are also the

    Read More

  • One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Analytical Essay

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Misogyny in this text is represented through many factors showing how women can only prove their dominance by removing the men’s sexuality and freedom of independence. It is also represented in the fact that Nurse Ratched is seen as perfect except for her breasts, her outward mark of being a woman. “A mistake was made somehow in manufacturing, putting those big, womanly breasts on what would of otherwise been a perfect work, and you can see how bitter she is about it.” (6) The fear of women is usually stemmed from ...

    Read More

  • The Cult of True Womanhood and The Yellow Wallpaper

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prior to the twentieth century, men assigned and defined women’s roles.  Although all women were effected by men determining women’s behavior, largely middle class women suffered.  Men perpetrated an ideological prison that subjected and silenced women.  This ideology, called the Cult of True Womanhood, legitimized the victimization of women.  The Cult of Domesticity and the Cult of Purity were the central tenets of the Cult of True Womanhood. Laboring under the seeming benevolence of the Cult of Domesticity, women were imprisoned in the home or private sphere, a servant tending to the needs of the family.  Furthermore, the Cult of Purity obliged women to remain virtuous and pure even in marriage, with their comportment continuing to be one of modesty. Religious piety and submission were beliefs that were more peripheral components of the ideology, yet both were borne of and a part of the ideology of True Womanhood. These were the means that men used to insure the passivity and docility of women.  Religion would pacify any desires that could cause a deviation from these set standards, while submission implied a vulnerability and dependence on the patriarchal head (Welter 373-377).

    Read More

  • How Were Widows Cared for in the Victorian Era?

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author's thesis is that by examining the plight of widowed middle-class women a better understanding of Victorian era beliefs can be had. Victorians believed that there were separate spheres for the sexes, men had the public arena and women had the home. Victorians also believed that thrift was essential and poverty was always the fault of the poor individual, the poor could choose to better their situation. Not only is Curran looking to further the understanding of middle-class Victorian values but she is also trying to argue against the historical view that middle class women were cared for if widowed through either family generosity, their late husbands life insurance, or remarriage.

    Read More

  • Dichotomy In Jack The Ripper's

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Victorian era was marked by an aggressive belief in the purity of women. Queen Victoria herself, the most powerful matriarch of the time, perpetuated the image of a docile, subservient woman serving as the perfect help-meet for her husband. Women were viewed as “angels of the house” and anything that failed to fit this ideal image was ostracized or rationalized into erasure. The most notorious serial killer of the time, Jack the Ripper, chose prostitutes as his victims. Not middle-class wives, but women of “sin.” This exemplifies the pervasive stigma attached to any person who strayed from the Victorian Era’s stringent standards and persists to this day. The binary perception of virginity constructs a false dichotomy; one is either a prude or a slut. However there exists a

    Read More

  • Rosalind Sydie Sex And The Sociological Fathers Summary

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the argument presented was controversial, it nevertheless constructed many sociological concepts for my understanding of their defense of a patriarchal regime in society. It is useful to learn that our realities and those of the past are constructed by individuals who are extremely subjective and bias. This allows me to be more critical of sociological claims and arguments instead of taking it at face value. Despite its negative implications reflected upon women, the argument was still able to give us a comprehensive reasoning as to what male scholars believed during the nineteenth century, why they believed in what they believed in and gave a detailed plan as to how society should be constructed in order to maintain in what they claim as the “ideal society.” The author’s presentation of this quote in the article broaden my understanding of women’s subordination as a mean to not only upkeep the male’s position in the community but it’s essentiality to the maintenance of the society as a

    Read More

  • Yaeger’s Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “‘A Language Which Nobody Understood’: Emancipatory Strategies in The Awakening,” Patricia Yaeger questions the feminist assumption that Edna Pontellier’s adulterous behavior represent a radical challenge to patriarchal values. Using a deconstructionist method, Yaeger argues that in the novel adultery functions not as a disrupting agent of, but, rather, as a counterweight to the institution of marriage, reinforcing the very idea it purports to subvert by framing female desire within “an elaborate code [of moral conduct] that has already been negotiated by her society.” A reading of The Awakening that can envision only two possible outcomes for its heroine – acquiescence to her role as good wife/mother or “liberation” from the marriage sphere through extramarital passion – suffers from the same suffocating lack of imagination that characterizes the most conventional romance tale. Thus, Yaeger contends, Edna Pontellier’s extramarital dalliances with Alcée Alobin and Robert Lebrun are hardly “emancipatory” or “subversive” as critics such as Tony Tanner would see them.

    Read More

  • Movie Analysis: The Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sofia Coppola’s movie, The Virgin Suicides, 1999, brings to the forefront the reality of what life is like for five oppressed teenage girls living in suburbia in the mid-70’s. After examining numerous articles, a few of them made an impact on my perspective. The first of many articles is Todd Kennedy’s piece, Off with Hollywood’s Head: Sofia Coppola as Feminine Auteur. Kennedy discusses how Coppola has a tendency to lean toward directing films that cater toward females’ interest, either because of the visual imagery or women’s feelings of connectedness with the characters. The author reveals that The Virgin Suicides portrays women as becoming dominated by the environment surrounding them. The author gives an interesting point of view when he claims, “The film tells a story of the five Lisbon sisters whose identities exist only insofar as they are defined as the objects of the masculine desire” (44). Furthermore, the Kennedy asserts how the film serves as a prolonged exploration into the degree to which female characters are idealized, objectified, and defined by the image that the film- and their society- imposes upon them.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In A Knight's Tale

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    They were held to lower standards and believed to be nothing but an object for men. The women were treated very poorly and were treated differently than the men. In many ways the women were shown to be little compared to the men. Since they didn 't have anything important in society the actions that were towards them were as if they 're peasants Woman had no possibility of ever been treated differently since they were ever going to have a better role in society. This movie portrayed how women weren’t held to higher standards but men

    Read More

  • Paris is Burning

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    By dissecting the film, the director, Jennie Livingston's methodology and the audience's perceived response I believe we can easily ignore a different and more positive way of understanding the film despite the many flaws easy for feminist minds to criticize. This is in no way saying that these critiques are not valid, or that it is not beneficial to look at works of any form through the many and various feminist lenses.

    Read More

  • Purity Balls and Chastity Among Girls

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rose, Dawn. "'Purity' Myth Hurts Young Women." 31 January 2013. Social Action. 5 March 2014

    Read More

  • Cinderella, Pretty Woman and Feminism

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pretty Woman is a modern take on the classic Cinderella story where a poor misguided girl meets her prince and her life is dramatically changed. This film has fairy tale elements, but the biggest element in the movie is the use of sex; Vivian, the main character, is a prostitute. She meets her “prince” and is swept off of her feet, but what this really means is that she is bought for an entire week by a handsome, wealthy business man. One would assume that he was buying her for sex, but this is not your average prostitute transaction. This movie has a lot of third wave feminism ideals. Third wave feminism deals with using the female gender and sexuality to further the cause and portray their views. The ultimate goal of this paper is to show that Vivian Ward (portrayed by Julia Roberts), is the poster girl for third wave feminism.

    Read More

  • Three Themes In James Dyer's Essay On Male Sexuality

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gay reminds us that, “womanhood feels more strange and terrible now because progress has not served women as well as it has served men” (Gay 2011, 132). In other words, women have been portrayed as degrading and inferior to men due to the inevitable consequence of patriarchal western societies, in which women have traditionally been correlated with a less status than men. Women’s Realities, Women’s Choices demonstrates this theory as a conventional view of sex and gender by emphasizing that “women have been associated with the body and nature and men with ‘self, ’soul,’ and culture, profoundly affecting how women have been valued, treated, and constrained in their opportunities and choices” (Hunter College Women 's Studies Collective 2014, 152). In addition, an origin myth for Christians is that Eve was made as a companion to Adam, and by defying God, eating the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge and convincing Adam to do the same, she brought evil into the world. This suggests that “it is men, not women, who engage in productive labor and that women deserve the pain of childbirth” (Hunter College Women 's Studies Collective 2014, 28).This myth originated from Christianity is generally held to be acceptable at the expense of individuality and has had influence on society, which has lead the authors to question views of sex and gender. Therefore, in the film Coffy, men played a role of dominance in demanding women to satisfy their sexual

    Read More

  • The Presentation of the Patriarchy in Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Patriarchal society is the social construction of male authority over women in an attempt direct their behaviour. In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy presents a story of suffering and pain caused primarily by the men in the novel. Hardy’s bitter critique, mocks the Christian ideals of Victorian thinking (1) which brings about Tess’ demise, a once “innocent country girl”. Similarly, in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Süskind portrays Grenouille, a child of the gutter who is brought up and dies in hate through social condemnation.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Society

    374 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Magdalene Laundries: Society and the Catholic Church

Open Document