The mystery crime television series, Murdoch Mysteries, is set in the late nineteenth century, specifically the 1890s (IMDb, n.d.), and centers on the Toronto constabulary, Station House 4, where Detective Murdoch works and gets occasional visits from his fiancée, Dr. Julia Ogden, the previous coroner of the constabulary. As Detective Murdoch investigates the murder of a wealthy merchant, Julia joins the Suffrage Society along with the current constabulary coroner, Dr. Emily Grace. The group of middle and upper class women gathered with one purpose in mind, which was to convince the premier of the government to give women the right to vote for the upcoming provincial elections. Despite all their effort into gathering several signatures of women …show more content…
In other words, learning about the structure of society will provide insight to the conduct of different genders. Social stratification is a system that ranks people according to their measure of power, property and prestige and exists in all societies to which the 1890s Toronto setting of Murdoch Mysteries is no exception of (Henslin, 2014, p. 112). The class system is a fluid system where the individual is assigned the same status as their birth parents, but as the individual grows to become an adult, their status can change for better or for worse or stay the same depending on the capital they own (Henslin, 2014, p.114-115). The class system is evident in the show when Detective Murdoch investigates Mr. Dawkins’ life in the harbor, far from the heart of the city, and he passes by a street riddled with the lower class people, which can be identified by their unclean clothes, disheveled hair and thievery. In contrast, the middle and upper class citizens occupy the heart of the city of Toronto, where females dressed …show more content…
Even though, wealth is a major factor in an individual’s status, but it is not the only defining feature (p.117) since the accomplished women of Murdoch Mysteries express their status through their luxurious gowns, hats, gloves and other expensive accessories, but are still not fully respected as equals by all the men they encounter, such as the government official, Mr. Foster, or assistant prosecutor, Mr. Garland, or crown attorney (Henslin, 2014, p. 117). To determine social class, prestige and power must also be taken into account (Henslin, 2014, p. 117). An occupation with a greater degree of education, autonomy, reasoning and salary should give an individual like Dr. Ogden, Dr. Grace or Ms. Martin a great amount of respect or prestige (Henslin, 2014, p. 122), yet they still faced degrading speech that belittled women as a whole when they protested in the streets of Toronto. Basically, there is a status inconsistency or difference in ranking for the three factors, which the accomplished women of the series score very high in ranking for prestige and wealth, but are given a very low rank in terms of power (Henslin, 2014, p.123). According to C. Wright Mills, power is the ability to execute one’s own choices despite obstruction (Henslin, 2014, p. 121). Evidently, the power given to the women of the Suffrage Society, or the city of Toronto as a whole, is very minute since
The characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ are mainly upper-middle class (Mr and Mrs Birling, Gerald, Sheila, Eric), but the Inspector is middle class and Eva Smith is working class. Most of the characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ have varied opinions about social classes, but there are mainly two sides. The first main opinion is that the upper-middle class are the most important and the lower working classes are not important and that it doesn’t matter what happens to them (this is the view of Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald). For example Sheila and Mrs Birling need to be protected from the horrid things such as Eva Smith’s death because they are upper-middle class, whilst Eva Smith doesn’t need to be protected from horrid things in life because she is working class. The other opinion is that although they are working class, they should still be treated fairly even if they are different classes and that Eva Smith’s death is very tragic even if she wasn’t upper class (this is Eric, Sheila and The Inspector’s...
Morris, M. (2000). Some facts and dates in Canadian women’s history of the 20th century. Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, 20(1). Retrieved from http://criaw-icref.ca/millenium.
In Murray’s period, women were always inferior to men in terms of not only physical strength but also intelligence. This writing make today’s society realize that many women have been struggling with the social burdens so that women today receive rights and better opportunities for education and jobs in the society. With her essay Judith Sargent Murray helped to the structure of women’s equality and rights which makes today’s world see women more greatly appreciated and
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
Within the limits of comprehension the bases of power that an individual strives for is derived from predetermined events in one’s own childhood. In the case of Ellsworth Toohey and Gail Wynand it isn’t much different. The drive for power that each individual strives for comes from the circumstances they were raised in. The anguished for power that each of them desire is fueled by the actions of the public.
Suffragette Sally was a story of various women involved in the suffrage movement in England during the early 1900s. We follow the lives and times of Lady Hill, Sally Simmonds, and Edith Carstairs. Each of these ladies represent a different social class. By giving us a representative from each main social class Colmore deals with issues that varying classes may bring up in the movement. Throughout the stories of each character we see how each level of society viewed the suffrage movement and the women involved in it. The involvement and others perceptions on said involvement varied based on both the class of the woman and whether she was a suffragette or a suffragist. Despite differences in class and therefore lifestyle, these women at times dealt with very similar situations and problems.
Society is highly stratified when considering social classes i.e. - upper class, middle class, lower class, and working class citizens. That being said, not everyone has the same access to the superstructure; thus creating tension. The largest problem when considering structure and agency is the constant struggle and negotiation of power inequality. Among the asymmetry of power are two major disparities; class and gender. Thinking as a critical theorist, one must consider the individual’s participation in the public sphere; “The word means a false view of the world that is in the interests of the powerful citizens in order to keep the subordinate classes oppressed” (Habermas, 10). Though the public sphere is virtually a democratic sphere where ideas can circulate and opinions are formed there are certain restrictions when referring to lower classes and women and thus how their agencies as individuals are limited.
House shares multiple themes and parallels with different detective fiction stories. Some of the most familiar parallels are those between house and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes. Along with their names, the two characters have many other things in common, such as an addiction to some type of drug; House is addicted to Vicodin and Homes is addicted to cocaine. They also both have trusty sidekicks of Dr. Watson and Dr. Wilson, and the inept police force of Holmes’ stories are portrayed, as a team of specialists in House’s world. However, these similarities created by the writers are not why House has in a way become its own version of detective fiction. The television show may never be grouped with the detective genre, but the similarities of themes do attach it to the old forms of Edgar Allan Poe and many others. The setting of House M.D. introduces the mood and tone for the work of fiction, but it also depicts the social structure and separation of the different levels of workers in the hospital. Many detective fiction authors focused on the social prejudices and division of the society they were writing for, and the competition that it produced amongst the members of society. In spite of the United States citizens being equal, the actual equality of the different classes is debatable, and the difference is demonstrated in House M.D. depicting the social climate of separation and competition in the modern day that is similar to the separation 150 years ago.
During her lecture, Lisa Vollendorf asked her audience to tell her one word, which they thought described the lives of women living in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Some of the answers she received were ‘difficult’, ‘limited’, and ‘misogynistic’. Some people’s initial thought of women in the seventeenth and eighteenth century may be negative, but there is proof that there were women that made the most of their lives, no matter what issues came up or what challenges they faced. The women in literature as well as the women in real life were sometimes degraded, humiliated, and treated badly. However, some women also were feminists, famous composers, and campaigners for women having greater rights, opportunities, and obligations.
In John Mill 's’ essay, “The Subjection of Women”, Mill evaluates and analyses, the social differences between the sexes of the Victorian era. Mills raises some valid points about the subjection of women pertaining to the 19th century. Mills argues that during this time women are treated by their husbands as slaves to a master, not offered an equal opportunity in terms of employment, and their educational achievements aren’t recognized nearly as much as their male counterpart.
Society has a huge impact on everyone’s day to day lives whether we see it or not. The most obvious manifestation of society’s influence is in things like fashion, art, and music. However, society can also dictate people’s perception of social standing and subsequent capability. This is another injustice that Katherine Johnson faced within the workplace. Being a women, she felt the constant and unrelenting pressures of having to prove herself as equal to her male counterparts. Despite being more than capable to do her job, society dictated her white male co-workers’ perception of her. Not only did the color of her skin influence her perceived intelligence, due to the segregation of schools, but her gender was another opportunity for her to ‘fall short’ in comparison the her cohorts. During her work with NASA in 1953-1958 society told women that their primary role was in the house supporting their husbands and raising their children. This perception of what a women ‘should be doing’ translated into lesser pay for women in the workplace. Throughout Johnson’s career struggles with unfair payment and reward. In Katherine Johnson’s case, society aided injustice and put her in a position of inferiority where she had to work much harder that her male counterparts to achieve the same goal. Unfortunately, this injustice still resides with us today. Although America is in the midst of major progress for women’s
Eds. ), Class, status and power (Pp. 86-96). United States: The Free Press. (Original work
The prejudice the women tolerate is evidenced by their tendency to dress in men’s clothing in order to be heard or considered (Olson). As women, their voices are inhibited or disregarded; they are overshadowed and overlooked by society. Portia, for example, has little choice but to consent to being the prize in her “loving” late father’s lottery. All decisions are made in regard to her future and life is influenced by men. The fact that the father is deceased does not diminish his power. In fact, his status a...
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was first published in 1926, and is one of many of Christie’s Hercule Poirot Mystery novels. In this novel, we obtain a deeper understanding of the impact social standings has and the influence it has on how people perceive you. The mystery takes place in an era where social class was extremely divided, and it is shown throughout the novel how a character’s social class can hinder or help. Even when the characters are faced with a crime, and the person who did it is unknown, social class still plays a magnificent role in unraveling the explanation of who would have committed something as dreadful as murdering a man. The Murder of Roger
arose in response to the changing role of women in society (Rich and Walker 1.)