Gender Bias in the 1920’s as Portrayed in "A Passage to India"

2299 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays gender inequality between men and women introduction

Today, for the most part, women are seen as equal to men. Women are given the same opportunities as men, and an equal chance at getting a job. In today’s society, women no longer have one role, which is to have kids and raise them, but they can pursue any career they wish. However, it was not always this way. According to feminist theorists, western civilizations were patriarchal, meaning they were dominated by males. Society was set up so the male was above the female in all cultural aspects, including family, religion, politics, economics, art, and the social and legal realms. The patriarchal biases of gender between male and female said that a male must be active, dominating, adventurous, rational, and creative.

In the novel, A Passage to India, E. M. Forster expressed this male dominance during the 1920’s by writing, “He took no notice of them, and with this, which would have passed without comment in feminist England, did harm in a community where the male is expected to be lively and helpful” (Forster 52). They say that to be female is to be passive, agreeable, timid, emotional, and conventional. The feminist theorists’ argument of a male-centered society is definitely present in Forster’s novel, where he reveals cultural, economic, and educational factors within the patriarchal society of India that limit women. In Forster’s novel, A Passage to India, Forster exposes derogatory stereotypes of women to uphold the view of women during the time period.

In A Passage to India, Forster shows bias against women. One of the derogatory stereotypes Forster uses is lack of intelligence. While reading the novel, Forster gives the reader the impression that the female characters are not smart or important in society. Ma...

... middle of paper ...

...chnique 20.3 (1990): 331-41. JSTOR. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

Sharpe, Jenny. “A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. James P Draper, Jennifer Brostrom, and Jennifer Gariepy. Vol. 77. Detroit: Gale, 1993. 253-57. Rpt. of “The Unspeakable Limits of Rape: Colonial Violence and Counter-Insurgency.” Genders 10 (1991): 25-46. Literature Criticism Online. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

Silver, Brenda R. “Periphrasis, Power, and Rape in ‘A Passage to India.’” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 22.1 (1988): 86-105. JSTOR. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

Walls, Elizabeth Macleod. "An Aristotelian Reading of the Feminine Voice-as-Revolution in E. M. Forster's A Passage To India." Papers on Language & Literature 35.1 (1999): 56. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Women's Rights Dbq

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history women have been regarded as inferior to men, giving them a disadvantage when it came to every aspect of life. However as time passed by, many outstanding females have shortened that gap between men and women, thus giving women a better quality of life and more opportunities of success. Women’s role has evolved throughout time as they gained and improved labor and education rights, the opportunity to influence the succeeding generations and their status in society.

    Read More

  • Gender Theory Gender

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The world one lives in it happens to grasp that all humans are designed as equals. This is far-off from reality based on how this society is operating. The principle of equality does not imply that everyone is the same, nevertheless that everyone should be treated as equals unless special circumstances apply. When it comes to the two sexes, everything that comes in its bounds is either biased intentionally or unintentionally, either way it continues. A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating what is acceptable or appropriate for a person’s sex. One could be aware of the characteristics and factors of identity that enables others to treat another differently by analyzing the aspects of society through race, religion, language, sexual orientation, economic status and also the level of education. The theory of equality is somewhat understandable, but what about the female population? Where is their equality in this society?

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Anne Bronte's Agnes Gray

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abstract: Anne Bronte wrote in Victorian England and Preeti Shenoy, an Indian author, is writing in Present time. Both are female authors. Their contribution for women empowerment is undeniable. Anne Bronte penned two novels namely Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Preeti Shenoy has authored five novels till now, viz. Life is What You Make It(2011), The Secret Wish List(2012),Tea for Two And Piece of Cake(2012), The One You Cannot Have(2013) and It Happens for A Reason(2013). They both challenged the male domination through their writings and worked for gender equality. In Victorian England situation was different compare to present time in India. It was much more conservative and difficult. Women were forbidden to express their

    Read More

  • Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions

    2926 Words  | 6 Pages

    Gairola, Rahul. “Burning with Shame: Desire and South Asian Patriarchy, from Gayatri Spivak’s ‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’ to Deepa Mehta’s Fire.” Comparative Literature 54:4 (Fall 2002). 307-324. EBSCOhost.

    Read More

  • British Imperialism And Race Analysis

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the reign of the British empire, masculinity and patriarchy were at the foreground for its development, creating little space for the advancement of feminism. Many British literary works from the imperialist period feature men in the limelight as their male status becomes more valued for it’s ability to further strengthen and spread the power of the British empire. In such a patriarchal society where women were consistently oppressed, the feminist movement transformed into many forms and worked within the constraints to empower and work towards equality. The aftermath of the British reign, especially on India, has greatly impacted the feminist movement and continues to contribute to the place of women in society. While there are countless

    Read More

  • Shakespeare Breaks the Way for Feminism

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sharma, Pankaj. "Depiction Of Woman As Human: A Reading Of Excesses Of Feminist Readings Of Shakespeare's King Lear." Language In India 13.12 (2013): 433-446. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The White Women's Burden Analysis

    446 Words  | 1 Pages

    In "The White Women's Burden,” Josephine Butler Campaign Against Contagious Disease is dissected throughout this reading as a means of exemplifying the rise of imperial feminism and the attitudes of the early British suffragist who bore its “imaginative, no no less hegemonic feminist world order” (301). In this way, Burton uses Butlers campaign and its intersection with the British Empires agenda for India to show how integral Indian women were for British women’s progress. While, Burton sights that the intensions of Butler’s ideologies and purpose for working “behalf of Indian women” came from genuine misperspections about what women were robbed of in Indian cultures, just as we saw in last weeks reading there were an ulterior benefits to

    Read More

  • The Evolution of the Role of Women in British and American Literature

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Vision of Man-Woman Relationship in The Hungry Tide

    2385 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ramamoorthy, P. “My Life is My Own: A Study of Shashi Deshpande’s Women” Feminism and Recent Fiction in English Ed. Sushila Singh. New Delhi: Prestige, 1991.

    Read More

  • Gandhi's intent with Hind Swaraj

    1782 Words  | 4 Pages

    The measured dialogue between Reader and Editor serves as the framework through which Gandhi seeks to discredit accepted terms of civilization and denounce the English. These principle characters amply assist in the development o...

    Read More

  • A Passage to India by Forster

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Silver, Brenda R. “Periphrasis, Power, and Rape in ‘A Passage to India.’” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 22.1 (1988): 86-105. JSTOR. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

    Read More

  • E M Forster and the British Raj in a Passage to India

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crane, Ralph J. Inventing India: A History of India in English Language Fiction. London: Macmillan, 1992.

    Read More

  • A Passage to India

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because there are many points of view and not all of them are explained, therefore, modernist novels often tend to have narrative perspectives that suddenly shift or cause confusion. This is because modernism has always been an experimental form of literature that lacks a traditional narrative or a set, rigid structure. Therefore, E. M. Forster, author of A Passage to India, uses such techniques to portray the true nature of reality. The conflict between Adela, a young British girl, and Aziz, an Indian doctor, at the Marabar Caves is one that implements multiple modernist ideals and is placed in British-India. In this novel, Forster shows the relations and tension between the British and the Indians through a series of events that were all caused by the confusing effects of modernism.

    Read More

  • A Passage to India and Orientalism

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hartley, Leslie Poles. Rev of A Passage to India, by E. M. Forster. Spectator June 28,

    Read More

  • The Fight for Women's Rights

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.

    Read More

More about Gender Bias in the 1920’s as Portrayed in "A Passage to India"

Open Document