Patriarchy And Property Analysis

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Patriarchy, Power, Property
Through feminist theory we experience this story as something greater than a tragic slavery narrative; instead we can examine how power intersects with gender in producing a woman’s experience. Valerie Martin’s novel Property explores the continuous struggle for attaining power and the complexities in the moral structure of society, which rests upon the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. These societies consist of “any culture that privileges men by promoting traditional gender roles” (Tyson 85), roles that have been used to validate the inequalities between men and women. Patriarchy by definition is sexist, promoting the belief that women are innately inferior to men. This dichotomized thought has created a patriarchal order within all western (Anglo-European) worlds, objectifying and marginalizing women and only seeing them for what they lack in comparison to men (Tyson 92). Property demonstrates the power stratification during the time of slavery and the struggles to abandon femininity to attain masculinity, and consequently gain access to power. The main character’s efforts for control are displayed through her drive to marry, own property, and achieve sexual dominance.
The year is 1828, and slavery dominates the United States. Manon Gaudet, a women of beauty and intelligence, is fixed in a hellish marriage to a failing Louisiana sugar plantation owner. Manon has a privileged position within the plantation but is simultaneously at the mercy of the Victorian Ideal of the true woman, “submissive, fragile, and sexually pure” (Tyson 106). During this time, power is strongly stratified based on gender; therefore, a woman is nothing without a man. Manon’s dreadful marriage began due to her h...

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...of power and masculinity.
While Property reveals the corrupting and dehumanizing power of ownership on those who own, it also explores the stratification of power between femininity and masculinity. The novel makes readers reflect on the post-slavery constructions of gender and how the patriarchal systems still stands in effect today. Manon is an unsympathetic heroine and her moral blindness and casual cruelty makes it hard to connect with her. However, she is a product of her society, and without hurting others to get power, she would be forced into submissiveness. The stand she takes against the patriarchal order should be commended, but the steps she must take to reach her goal are repulsive. Manon is one example of the many women who are caught in the vicious circle of being viewed as weak and powerless but are ridiculed for their attempts to rise above it.

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