Investigate notions of sisters and sisterhood within Top Girls
In Act 1 the women at the dinner party, speak of their suffering in the past, but they all relate to Marlene and to each other as a sisterhood of the present, even though the women represent contemporary figures supposedly alive in the early 1980’s in England.
Lady Nijo and Pope Joan are similar in that they both had babies in difficult situations, and both stood up for their rights as women.
The portrayal of these women contrasts with the traditional and
‘classical’ representation of women in plays. In the past women characters have been presented as dependent on men and limited by the conversations of a male dominates world. A typical example of this is seen in Hamlet by William Shakespeare,
…show more content…
The modern women is shown in Top Girls to be living in the time of shifting priorities and expectations, challenging the female ‘roles’. An example of this is Louise in act 2 saying, ‘She has a different style, she’s a new kind…’
Many themes that run throughout Top Girls relate to the time when the play was written. An example of this and also an example of sisters in the play is the argument between Joyce and Marlene. Marlene is an individualistic and through her own determination and effort has managed to lift herself out of working class environment to middle class. Class structure, as seen by Marlene, is the cause of oppression and the row between the sisters is exaggerated and simplified with
Marlene saying ‘I hat the working class’ and Joy replying ‘ I spit when I see a Rolls Royce.’
Marlene shows support for Thatcher saying ‘She’s a tough lady,
Maggie…. Certainly gets my vote.’ Which can be interpreted as, her own success could have been due to the encouragement and initiative of an individual. Act 3 reveals aspects of Marlene’s life that could be questioned. She left home at the age of 17, she cut herself of
A typical afternoon consists of my dad laying on the couch from a long day at work, and my mom in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Although we live in an era that has predominantly nullified sex-specific social norms, a difference in gender roles still exists within households. What exactly are gender roles? They are fixed, gender specific expectations, established, in this case, among families. These roles of what should socially be considered masculine and feminine have existed throughout many centuries. A particular issue regarding gender roles is, do gender roles in households ultimately affect both the physical and mental development of a child? With thorough research and observations conducted by, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Janis E. Jacobs,
The mission of Girls Inc, as stated on their website is, “to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold” (girlsinc.org, 2014). This mission statement can be seen on nearly every publication and public image, it has remained central to the organization, and it continues to be a driving force in the future of the organization. The vision of Girls Inc is “empowered girls and an equitable society,” (girlsinc.org). Girls Inc. has also developed a Girls Bill of Rights, which states that the girls have the right to: “1) be themselves and resist gender-stereotypes, 2) express themselves with originality and enthusiasm, 3) take risks, to strive freely, and to take pride in success, 4) accept and appreciate their bodies, 5) have confidence in themselves and to be safe in the world, and 6) prepare for interesting work and economic independence” (girlsinc.org).
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.
In conclusion, through the lens of Gender theory and examination, this play not only portrays women in a degrading manner, but definitely makes the male characters overshadow the female characters. As shown through two female characters whose parts are both subordinate and very compliant. Both women act like they are suppose to and do not even the slightest but challenge the male characters. Both women by the end of the play have completely lost their identities and have conformed to what society made them into, nothing but a puppet controlled by men. Hamlet is a play that has a clear distinction between male and female roles. The male roles are powerful, dominating, and controlling while the female characters are obedient, fractured and frail. "
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?
This essay will discuss how Shakespeare depicts women in his works including Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. As Shakespeare produced his work during the Renaissance period, this essay will also talk about how Shakespeare’s plays were written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and how Shakespeare’s work may have paralleled the same view that society had of women and their role. Writing techniques used by Shakespeare such as the use of language in dialogue and cross-dressing will be considered in this essay, to show how women were perceived in his work and the controversy it caused to the society.
In life when we are born into society every male and female is assigned to a natural growth theory, which is a gender role. If we convert back to years ago we 'd see a huge difference in our gender roles and equality because men were the proactive providers, protectors, and intellectual figures. For example, men had all the jobs and benefits of living a live life whereas women had to stay at home, take care of the children, cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, do the laundry; you know "women stuff." According to our present day these gender roles has changed because women are unchained now to do whatever they have interest in. Although things has been running smoothly between males and females, our world is still a biased world.
The female gender role in society has created a torturous fate for those who have failed in their role as a woman, whether as a mother, a daughter, or a wife. The restrictive nature of the role that society imposes on women causes extreme repercussions for those women who cannot fulfill their purpose as designated by society. These repercussions can be as common as being reprimanded or as severe as being berated or beaten by a husband or father. The role that women were given by society entails being a submissive homemaker who dotes on her husband and many children. The wife keeps the home impeccably neat, tends to the children and ensures their education and well-being, and acts obsequiously to do everything possible to please her husband. She must be cheerful and sweet and pretty, like a dainty little doll. The perfect woman in the eyes of society is exactly like a doll: she always smiles, always looks her best and has no feelings or opinions that she can truly call her own. She responds only to the demands of her husband and does not act or speak out of turn. A woman who speaks her mind or challenges the word of any man, especially her husband, is undesirable because she is not the obedient little doll that men cherish. Women who do not conform to the rules that society has set for them are downgraded to the only feature that differentiates them from men; their sex. Society’s women do not speak or think of sex unless their husband requires it of them. But when a woman fails to be the doll that a man desires, she is worth nothing more than a cheap sex object and she is disposed of by society.
Throughout the historical literary periods, many writers underrepresented and undervalued the role of women in society, even more, they did not choose to yield the benefits of the numerous uses of the female character concerning the roles which women could accomplish as plot devices and literary tools. William Shakespeare was one playwright who found several uses for female characters in his works. Despite the fact that in Shakespeare's history play, Richard II, he did not use women in order to implement the facts regarding the historical events. Instead, he focused the use of women roles by making it clear that female characters significantly enriched the literary and theatrical facets of his work. Furthermore in Shakespeare’s history play, King Richard II, many critics have debated the role that women play, especially the queen. One of the arguments is that Shakespeare uses the queen’s role as every women’s role to show domestic life and emotion. Jo McMurtry explains the role of all women in his book, Understanding Shakespeare’s England A Companion for the American Reader, he states, “Women were seen, legally and socially, as wives. Marriage was a permanent state” (5). McMurtry argues that every woman’s role in the Elizabethan society is understood to be a legal permanent state that is socially correct as wives and mothers. Other critics believe that the role of the queen was to soften King Richard II’s personality for the nobles and commoners opinion of him. Shakespeare gives the queen only a few speaking scenes with limited lines in Acts two, four, and five through-out the play. Also, she is mentioned only a few times by several other of the characters of the play and is in multiple scenes wit...
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
In Shakespeare’s dramatic works there is no room for the heroic or the strong woman, and therefore many of his plays can be perceived as being antifeminist. Often he portrays women as weak, mad, sexual, and as even witches. Hamlet is no exception. The only women in the play, Ophelia and Queen Gertrude, are given confined and limited roles. These roles are from a male-dominated viewpoint and only add focus to the male characters instead of incorporating the insight and the impact of the women as well.
For many years in the past women played a small role socially, economically, and politically. As a result of this many works in literature were reflective of this diminutive role of women. In Elizabethan theatres small boys dressed and played the roles of women. In contrast to this trend, in Shakespeare's Hamlet the women in the play are driving factors for the actions of many other characters. Both Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and Ophelia, Hamlet's love, affected many of the decisions and actions done by Hamlet.
In Barbara J. Risman Article Gender as a Social Structure theory wrestling with activism, Risman argues the importance of recognizing and developing gender as a social structure. The author outlines the dimensions of society and argues how defining the social structure can help understand how gender relates to each. The dimension of society includes institutional,interactional and individual. Risman in the article also discusses the roles and norms the social structure has created in society for men and women and the idea that these roles and norms have created categories. “A theory of gender as a social structure must integrate this notion of causality as recursive with attention to gender
Boys like blue and girls like pink. Men should not cry and women are sentimental. The primary responsibility of female is to stay at home and take care of the children while the primary responsibility of male is to work and to support the family. Those are stereotypes cause by traditional gender role. People should stop teaching children the traditional gender role because it leads to discrimination, limits personal development, and starts a vicious cycle in adulthood.
Men have so much control in this society and Shakespeare has a little bit of a change in the women in his play.