The domestic sphere, or the house, is the main focus of the poem. While it represents a confining space and a confining societal role, the women inside of it represent a synthesis of the spheres in their activities. In the harlots, Wilde creates characters that exist in their gendered sphere, but also transgress it. The feminine sphere is akin to the idea of a perfect housewife: a woman who can cook, clean, take care of the children, and do it all with a silent smile. By making the location a brothel, Wilde presents the reader with the image of the Victorian angel in the house but makes her an Aesthetic portrait of womanhood. The image of the harlot is a twisted version of the angel in the house. She is not a perfect, modest housewife but in …show more content…
The harlots seem to take the humanity out of anyone they come into contact with. Sally Ledger discusses the popularity of this female character in Aesthetic literature and cites “numerous examples of the exoticised, vampire-like sexuality that became associated with […] the decadent movement more generally” (7). Wilde’s “The Harlots’ House” features this vampire-like sexuality. The speaker says to his lover, “The dead are dancing with the dead” (line 26). In this line, he associates the men who visit prostitutes and these women as the same; they are both dead somehow – dead morally or dead to society as deviants. The harlots have sucked the humanity from their visitor and themselves. In regards to women’s status in Victorian society, Jennifer Kelly writes, “the social structure encourages seduction while appearing to condemn it, and women are judged by a moral double standard: when a woman commits a sexual transgression, she is damned forever in the eyes of society” (368-69). The woman is always associated with her sexual activities; they define her – as their seductive dancing and mechanical sexuality define the harlots. Their sexuality is negative because they are not the traditional pure and innocent women. The speaker can only see them then as …show more content…
We see this through one of the themes in the poem that turns women into puppet or dolls controlled by a higher force. The obvious meaning of puppets is a moveable human-like doll, but it can also be a derogatory term for a woman lacking individuality (Oxford English Dictionary). The harlot’s are described as “wire-pulled automatons” (line 13), “a clockwork puppet” (line 19), and “a horrible marionette” (line 22). All have definitions with some reference to control. An automaton is a moving device that resembles a human. A clockwork puppet is a puppet that acts on a regular mechanical basis. A marionette is a puppet with jointed limbs operated by a string or a person who is easily controlled. Even the word harlot once meant actress, as well as strumpet (OED). The women are controlled in two ways. In her encyclopedia entry about brothels in Victorian England, Carolyn Egan writes, “brothels functioned as the women selling themselves had to work under the supervision of a madam or pimp.” Literally the harlots work under another dominant force in the form of a madam or pimp, and they also work under the constraints of society. The characters of the harlots have moved as far away as they could from a Victorian morality system, and yet are still judged by it and subjected to a form of domination. For example, the speaker criticizes the
At the start of the novel, Eliza Haywood places her protagonist in a very interesting, unique position, with regards to society of the time. The nameless main character is first illustrated in a playhouse, observing the interactions of the strangers around her. She notices a prostitute, surrounded by a swarm of men. “She could not help testifying her contempt of men who...threw away their time in such a manner, to some Ladies...the greater was her wonder, that men, some of whom she knew were accounted to have wit, should have tastes for very depraved” (257-258.) “Fantomina”, as she later comes to be called, oversees all of this. Haywood seems to put her above this crowd of men and prostitutes, while she observes and makes judgments on the nature of their behaviors. She expresses that she is disgusted by the mindlessness of the men in this situation. One might argue that this depicts a reversal of gender roles. Typically, men would look at women in this way, and the male character wo...
Both Vanity Fair and A Room of One’s Own explore and challenge the idea that women are incapable of creating a name and a living for themselves, thus are completely dependent on a masculine figure to provide meaning and purpose to their lives. Thackeray, having published Vanity Fair in 1848, conforms to the widely accepted idea that women lack independence when he makes a note on Ms Pinkerton and remarks “the Lexicographer’s name was always on the lips of the majestic woman… [He] was the cause of her reputation and her fortune.” The way that a man’s name was metaphorically “always on the lips of the majestic woman” and how he was the source of “her reputation and her fortune” expresses this idea, especially through Thackeray’s skilful use of a sanguine tone to communicate that this cultural value, or rather inequality, was not thought of as out of the ordinary. From viewing this in a current light and modernised perspective...
Children’s literature of the Nineteenth Century is notoriously known for its projection of expected Victorian gender roles upon its young readers. Male and female characters were often given specific duties, reactions, and characteristics that reflected society’s particular attitudes and moral beliefs onto the upcoming citizens of the empire. These embedded concepts helped to encourage nationality and guide children towards their specific gender roles which would ensure the kingdom’s future success. Even in class situations where the demanding gender roles were unreasonable to fulfill, the pressure to conform to the Victorian beliefs was still prevalent.
In the novels, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, and the play, The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare, all had protagonists who were affected by gender expectations in their novel or play. Dante lacks the gender expectation of being physically strong in your society, while Ari does not, which proves to be a benefit for Ari, showing the men in his society that he is capable of becoming one. Esperanza is given the expectation of becoming a housewife in her society, as this is the only job a woman has. For Katherine, by the end of her play she has been tamed by Petruchio, her husband, and has become kind and obedient.
Contrastingly, Mrs. Darling, his wife, is portrayed as a romantic, maternal character. She is a “lovely lady”, who had many suitors yet was “won” by Mr. Darling, who got to her first. However, she is a multifaceted character because her mind is described “like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East”, suggesting that she is, to some extent, an enigma to the other characters, especially Mr. Darling. As well as this, she exemplifies the characteristics of a “perfect mother”. She puts everything in order, including her children’s minds, which is a metaphor for the morals and ethics that she instils in them. Although ...
Women in the 19th century were not treated much better than property. A woman had absolutely no rights. She was not her own person, she was the person that everybody else expected her to be. Women did not have any power over the man in a public or private setting They were treated as property and were supposed to do as the man said. Also, women were not allowed to have jobs, and expected to keep to the house and raise the children. While today it is harder to comprehend the treatment of women in the 19th century Henrik Ibsen does an amazing job portraying this in his drama, A Doll House, with one of the main characters Nora.
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s right and is on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Centuries ago, women did not share the same equality as men. Men and women’s gender roles were practiced with greater acceptance than by today’s standards. More-over, gender roles among women decades ago, were wrapped within the limits of their political, economic, and social rights and freedoms. The man’s role was to work and to make important final decisions for the family. Were-as, the wives were to stay home with the kids and obey her husband. Feminism changed all those aspects in the world for men and women to be treated to have the same rights. “A Doll’s House” is a profound play to make direct connection on why feminism started. The main character in the play Nora is wife and a mother that struggling to gain equality in her life. In
Society set a standard many years ago that in a relationship, the woman depends on the man. In The House on Mango Street, woman tend to trust and not have power in relationships. Sandra Cisneros develops the theme that women are inferior to men. This is based on men’s view on power and women accepting their role through the motif of gender roles throughout the novella The House on Mango Street.
No matter where you look, whether it’s the media, kids toys, fashion, or personal care products, gender roles are somehow affecting the world we live in; both directly and indirectly. For almost all of human history women have had their obedient role to play and men have the dominant one. Products for females are dressed in pinks and flowers while those for males are constructed of blue, green, and various metallic hues. Of course, gender roles always come back to the people themselves; they affect our attitude, relationships, and most situations and environments in our everyday lives. Some believe that gender roles, the stereotypical way a female or male behaves, are what are best for both society and all individuals. But as most feminists
After reading “The Doll House” and “Trifles”, the idea of females being inferior to men is portrayed. Both plays, are in a much older time period. But from a feminist view, females are still sometimes given the doubtful role in today’s society. Both plays, are very different, but much alike in the ways the females are treated, never taken seriously, nor are they appreciated.
Lady Bracknell represents the typical aristocrat who focuses the idea of marriage on social and economic status. She believes that if the men trying to marry these girls are not of proper background, there is no engagement. Through this major exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the irrational and insignificant matters that the upper class society uses to view marriage.
Today women are being mistreated for just the gender roles and stereotypes that revolve in the human society. Depending on the time period and culture, women are expected to act in a certain way. Throughout history, many relationships can be found in different cultures regarding the way women were treated. In Ibsen’s A Doll’s house, Nora reflects the responsibilities and roles of Norwegian women during the late 1870s. Torvald, Nora’s husband, also shows the way men treated women and what roles they played in a marriage. Here, women are portrayed as dependent on men, they don’t have much freedom, and they are not allowed to have opinions. Women are taught to rely on men and be acquiescent to their husbands. Many stereotypes and gender roles found in A Doll’s House can also be observed in
A Doll’s House and The Importance of Being Earnest were both written in the late nineteenth century at a period in time when gender roles in society were not only significant to the structure of society but were restrictive and oppressive to individuals. This was particularly true in the case of women who were seen as the upholders of morals in polite society and were expected to behave accordingly. A Doll’s House and The Importance of Being Earnest challenge society and its inclination to categorise and expect certain behaviour of individuals based on their gender.
The first thing that the reader will notice regarding gender is the title of the play “A Doll’s House”. This reveals to the reader, Nora’s and possible Torvald’s status within the play. Nora is unable to be herself as she is not seen as an equal in her marriage. Instead, she is something to be admired and flaunted. This need for her to be something that Torvald can show off. Both Nora and Torvald are living lives based on illusion. Torvald has made Nora his perfect little doll so that he can look good. She thinks that he is a person with incredible strength, she becomes disillusioned with him at the end of the play when he exposes himself as just a man. This paper will look at the way that society’s expectations of gender roles are perceived
Henrik Ibsen published A Doll House in 1879, which was a time period of intense debate over women’s rights. Ibsen believed in the equality of people; consequently, the play displays the unjust inequality between men and women during the 19th century. Women were expected to fulfill the roles of a daughter, wife, and mother. However, to conform to the standards of the time women would repeatedly sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of men (Shahbaz). Nora attempted to fulfill the roles society expected of her, but she could not. Henrik Ibsen demonstrated how a woman has a duty to herself first by showing the negative effects of restricting women to the subservient roles of a daughter, wife, and mother in A Doll House.