In his play Death and King’s Horseman, Wole Soyinka shows that women had important and recognized roles in traditional Yoruba society. Women fulfill their social, moral and spiritual roles as mothers, enforces of the discipline, show guidance to the community. Iyaloja, the Mother of the Market, is politically and spiritually critical. Aside from being the enforcer of discipline, her towering image in terms of influence is a great source of nourishment to the entire community. In the play, the women of the market are also capable of assuming positions of power, reducing man’s superiority. Wole Soyinka shows different ways of thinking about power, influence and responsibility.
The play opens with Elesin Oba, the king’s horseman, on the day of his appointed death. The king has died and his chief horseman is expected by law and custom to commit suicide and accompany his ruler to heaven. Walking among the woman of local market, followed by an entourage of drummers and a praise-singer, Elesin proclaims, “This market is my roost. When I come among the women I am a chicken with a hundred mothers. I become a monarch whose palace is built with tenderness and beauty.” Elesin refers to the women generally as mothers. To him, there is no other place that could offer such comfort. Here we see women playing their traditional roles as mothers, not as women who gave birth, but as women who nurture and support morally and spiritually. The women of the market sing his praises, dress Elesin in their richest cloths and dance around him. The women love to spoil their children, just like they love spoiling Elesin.
In the same scene, a young girl catches Elesin’s attention and he convinces the market women that he should be allowed to marry the girl on h...
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.... She accurately picks apart Elesin’s mistakes, and talks to Pilkings as if he is beneath her, even referring to him as a child. The last words in Wole Soyinka’s tragedy are given to Iyaloja. She directs the bride and the audience: “now forget the dead, forget even the living, turn your mind only to the unborn.” In the final line Iyaloja suggests to concentrate on the future, what it holds, and how to carry out their culture. Iyaloja execut
The women in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman have proven to be responsible, strong, and to have will to carry out the future in the play. It is important to note that even the corpse of Olunde, who committed the ritual suicide in his father’s place, is carried in by women. Throughout the play, although women weren’t in the executive position, they have guided including the final passage of Olunde to the other side.
...e women form a crucial part of this society, and are integral to its maintenance. In spite of her early hesitance and her preconceived notions of the status of women within this society, Elizabeth learns that every member has a place within the social hierarchy. While Elizabeth, or Beeja did not manage to change the society of El Nahra as she thought she might, she was given a place within it and granted respect from both the women and men of the society.
The author's views on women may never be fully revealed, but it is clear that he believes in male superiority and that insurgent females ought to be suppressed. Like Wealhtheow, females should only exert minimal power and influence, but they should always keep the drinks coming.
Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.
The novel, The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela is a great perception of the Mexican Revolution. The stories of exploits and wartime experiences during the Mexican Revolution was fundamentally driven by the men. The war was between the people and the government. Throughout the novel, these men had to isolate themselves from their families and battle for a cause they greatly believed in. Even with not enough resources, the people were able to fight aggressively in order to overthrow the government. Regardless of the men who were at war, there were two females who played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution, Camila and War Paint. While the representation Mariano Azuela captures these ladies and their role in society are accurate, he neglects
Throughout the plays, the reader can visualize how men dismiss women as trivial and treat them like property, even though the lifestyles they are living in are very much in contrast. The playwrights, each in their own way, are addressing the issues that have negatively impacted the identity of women in society.
Many readers feel the tendency to compare Aphra Behn's Oroonoko to William Shakespeare's Othello. Indeed they have many features in common, such as wives executed by husbands, conflicts between white and black characters, deceived heroes, the absolute vulnerability of women, etc. Both works stage male characters at both ends of their conflicts. In Othello, the tragic hero is Othello, and the villain is Iago. In Oroonoko, the hero is Oroonoko, the vice of the first part is the old king, and the second part white men in the colony. In contrast to their husbands, both heroines—Desdemona and Imoinda—seem more like "function characters" who are merely trapped in their husband's fates, occasionally becoming some motivation of their husbands (like Desdemona is Othello's motivation to rage, Imoinda's pregnancy drives Oroonoko restless to escape). While Shakespeare and Behn put much effort in moulding them, to many readers they are merely "perfect wives". This paper aims to argue that, Desdemona and Imoinda's perfect wifehood may be the product of compliance to male-dominated societies, where women are
Women in most cultures have been designated as second to men and in some instances, considered below male children as well. With the passage of time women gained respect and the right for equality. Although gender discrimination remains, a lot of progress has been achieved. Literature is a one of the facets of the human race that reflects the culture change of people. William Shakespeare’s King Lear portrays the patriarchal system of the Renaissance era, which leaves women completely dependent on the male head of household. In Henrik Ibsen’s Doll House, set in the modern era, there is still a patriarchal system but women have just a little more freedom. The article, The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen by Joan Templeton, analyzes the gender subordination in A Doll House. Comparing and contrasting the themes of the two plays followed by consideration of the article’s research on the theme in A Doll House, assists in developing an understanding of the gradual progression of women’s freedom to be their “true selves” through equality with men. The “true self” is a person's character that is masked by a false portrayal designed to appeal to others.
In the book, the women portray the role as caregivers. Firstly, The women would help any way possible with the yams. In the book it says “ The women weeded the farm three times a definite periods in the life of yams, neither early nor late.” This shows they were dedicated to do such work even thought it was a mans job and it was extremely important, understanding the fact that if the task wasn’t don’t correctly the crops would fail. Secondly, the women play a role as educators to children. In the book it says, “ Low voices, broken now and again by singing, reached okonkwo from his wives’ huts as each women and her children told folk stories.” The education is shown in story telling rituals, which show they are caregivers. Lastly, The mother is there to protect you. In the book is says, “It's true that a child belong to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supre...
...e role of a married woman throughout the entire play. She is a concerned mother, who desires the traditions to be maintained by her son’s offspring- her grandchildren. The Bridegroom, influenced by his overbearing Mother, follows the cultural roles to a tee also. He dreams of having a family with children who are raised in the same atmosphere he was, one that embraces the gender-polarized roles and creates a father-dominated environment.. He is willing to have a bountiful amount of children so that the ideology he passes down to them, will therefore live on. The Servant also conveys the cultural role. She unfortunately was unable to live the norm Andalusian life that she dreamt of. She still reveals the facts of the culture, and tries to influence the Bride to follow those ways. The characters passionately devote their lives to the culture and want others to follow.
These ‘roles’ are divided into six legitimate categories of Wives, Daughters, Aunts, Handmaids, Marthas and Econowives. Each category of women is required to perform their task properly, whilst obeying the rules set down for them by the patriarchal government. To illustrate, each group has different functions in the society, but still no one woman is able to act as an individual. The handmaids, for example, have been reduced to the ability to create another life, their fertility –
The roles of women was an issue in medieval times and in The Canterbury Tales. In A Knight 's Tale, the women were portrayed as objects. To men they didn 't mean much. Women for them were there to help only when needed and didn 't hold an important role in society. Women were treated differently and had not much of importance.
This fact plays a crucial role in the mood of the play. If the reader understands history, they also understand that women did not really amount to any importance, they were perceived more as property.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
The only glory and satisfaction enjoyed by the women portrayed in Things Fall Apart was being a mother. They receive respect and love from their children. They are strong for their children. The women are viewed as very gentle and caring. They are expected to take care of their children with the best of their ability and are trusted totally by their children. This honorable presentation of women is used by Achebe to identify women's role in the Ibo society. This presentation is necessary to show that women indeed play an important role in society.
Lakunle was a poor village school teacher who had greater admiration for Sidi, “THE VILLAGE BEAUTY WHO WANTED EVERYMAN TO LOOK AT HER SO, SHE MADE A SHOW OFF” when carrying a pail of water, through her way of walking and improper dressing which did not cover the parts of her neck and shoulders. Sidi wanted to attract Lakunle also and “BEING LITTLE INFLUENCED BY HIS LOVE BUT DID NOT ACCEPT HIM FULLY AS HE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO PAY A BRIDE-PRICES FOR HER”.