Whores and Housewives in From Here to Eternity

920 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women during worldwars

From Here to Eternity follows the story of numerous Army men and their exhilarating experiences during 1941. James Jones’s dense novel is filled with a spectrum of emotions from pure anger, violence, racism, suicide, happiness and depression that by the end of the novel the reader experiences an emotional roller coaster. The Army men in this novel are portrayed as strong, independent, and in charge. On the other hand, women in From Here to Eternity are seen as subordinate and treated like objects that can be bossed around by men. The women in this novel are living in a hierarchical male dominated society where they are seen as objects of desire for men. It appears there are only two options presented at the time for women in this novel; they can either be a prostitute or a housewife.

Alma Schmidt and Karen Holmes are two examples of the oppression that women face in From Here to Eternity, which places Alma as a whore and Karen as a housewife. Both women are controlled and live in a society were men are dominate. Alma and Karen struggle to find their individuality and identities through much of the novel and both women have negative self-images of themselves because they believe all of the destructive things they hear directed towards them. Majority of the characters in From Here to Eternity feel trapped and are discontent with their current lives. These individuals feel like they all have something better to discover and amount to in life. I believe the two individuals who are the most trapped and unhappy are Alma Schmidt and Karen Holmes.

Alma Schmidt is described as “nothing but a common whore” (Jones 235) by Prewitt and is later referred to as a “professional whore” (Jones 671) throughout much of the novel. These objectify...

... middle of paper ...

... this novel. It appears that economic and social classes do not matter in this novel if you are a woman; every woman still receives the stigma of being a whore. Even though Karen grew substantially and became independent, it is ironic that she found her independence through the relationship of Milt Warden, a powerful and influential man, who still dominates Karen. Overall, the women in From Here to Eternity face oppression by men, which results in a loss of self- esteem and individuality. Women had a limited range of opportunities during this time and were expected to become housewives. James Jones overall impression towards women appears to be negative and there are rarely any moments during the novel where the women are glorified or treated fairly.

Works Cited

Jones, James. From Here to Eternity: A Novel. New York: Dial Trade Paperbacks, 2012.

Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Murder of Helen Jewett, Patricia Cohen uses one of the most trivial murders during the 1800’s to illustrate the sexiest society accommodations to the privileged, hypocritical tunneled views toward sexual behavior, and the exploitation of legal codes, use of tabloid journalism, and politics. Taking the fact that woman was made from taking a rib from man was more than biblical knowledge, but incorporated into the male belief that a woman’s place is determined by the man. Helen had the proper rearing a maid servant, but how did she fall so far from grace. Judge Weston properly takes credit for rearing her with the proper strictness and education. Was Helen seduced at an early age and introduced to sexual perversions that were more persuasive that the bible belt life that the Weston’s tried to live? Was Helen simply a woman who knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted? Through personal correspondence, legal documentation, census reports, paintings, and newspapers we are able to make our own determinations. Cohen provides more than enough background and history to allow any one to make their own opinion how the murder of a woman could be turned into a side show at a circus.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried by Tim O´brien

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book “The Things They Carried” four female characters played an important role in the lives of the men. Whether imaginary or not, they showed the power that women could have over men. Though it's unknown if the stories of these women are true or not, they still make an impact on the lives of the soldiers and the main narrator.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.

    Read More

  • Sandra Cisneros's “Never Marry a Mexican”

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others.

    Read More

  • Women In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nd bloodshed. Women gave a reason to go to war, a reason to come back from the war, and oddly, a reason to want to return to the war. The men were in a fraternity of life, and with no women around for so long they began to rely on themselves, and no longer had the needs that were provided them by women. They wanted to play in the jungle with their friends, only this time with no guns. They missed the life that they spent together eating rations and swapping stories. When they went home they were veterans, like the old men of the World Wars. If they stayed, they were still heroes, warriors, and victims. They still loved deeply the women at home, because they had no reason to fight or bicker, or possibly realize that the women they assumed would be waiting for them had changed in that time. The men were torn between love of women, and the love of brotherhood.

    Read More

  • Society's Conformity is a "Soldier's Home"

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    The adjustment from years on the frontlines of World War I to the mundane everyday life of a small Oklahoma town can be difficult. Ernest Hemingway’s character Harold Krebs, has a harder time adjusting to home life than most soldiers that had returned home. Krebs returned years after the war was over and was expected to conform back into societies expectations with little time to adapt back to a life not surrounded by war. Women take a prominent role in Krebs’s life and have strong influences on him. In the short story “Soldier’s Home” Hemingway uses the women Krebs interacts with to show Krebs internal struggle of attraction and repulsion to conformity.

    Read More

  • Flappers In The Roaring Twenties

    1972 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the war was over, the survivors went home and the world tried to return to normalcy. Unfortunately, settling down in peacetime proved more difficult than expected. During the war, the boys had fought against both the enemy and death in far away lands; the girls had bought into the patriotic fervor and aggressively entered the workforce. During the war, both the boys and the girls of this generation had broken out of society's structure; they found it very difficult to return.

    Read More

  • Feminism in The Things They Carried by Tim O´brien

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...as Mary Ann in the novel show that women can do so much more than sew and cook. Without women, all wars would have been a lot harder. Although men tend to keep a macho facade in order to calm others (such as the women in their lives), inside they may be like glass, easy to break. A society set on the ideal stoic, fearless warrior who acts ruthlessly and saves the damsel in distress (also showing that women are weak) obviously is one where doomed to sexism. Without the comfort and inspiration, men would have deteriorated in the face of death. All and all, women provided the needed comfort, nursing, “manpower”, and love that the soldiers of Vietnam need, something that helped them endure the havoc of war. O’Brien’s expert use of the feminist lens allows the reader to know that women indeed were a powerhouse in the Vietnam war, without whom, men would have perished.

    Read More

  • Treatment Of Women In The Odyssey Essay

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e, women are the weaker of the two sexes. Women are slaves and spoils of war, if they are valued for sex they are used for sex. The universal portrayal of women causes a reevaluation of modern day gender balances by the reader.

    Read More

  • The Role of Female Characters in American Literature: The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...hetypes of these primary characters, both of these novels make a parallel statement on feminism. The expectations of both themselves and society greatly determine the way that these women function in their families and in other relationships. Looking at the time periods in which these novels were written and take place, it is clear that these gender roles greatly influence whether a female character displays independence or dependence. From a contemporary viewpoint, readers can see how these women either fit or push the boundaries of these expected gender roles.

    Read More

  • Class, Exile and Trauma In Rebecca West’s "The Return of the Soldier"

    3136 Words  | 7 Pages

    In Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier the continual coverage made by the media of the war during its occurrence and the infectiousness it had on those back home is portrayed through the eyes of her narrator, Jenny. The use of a female narrator wasn’t uncommon nor new but the way West includes her feminist values into Jenny without making it central to the story is fascinating. Up to this point in history, coverage of a war had never been read about as it was during this period. Because of this advancement in getting news out had improved drastically from the last war, people back home were more aware of what was occurring from reading a newspaper without having to wait for letters from their loved ones out on the front lines. West took this information in full stride and wrote about the emotional turmoil it causes the women back home waiting for their men to come back. She makes mention by focusing and bringing to attention the elements of class, exile from being deployed and the trauma that war causes on the soldier.

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mill

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...em. This is what he is trying to bring up to action of treating women with respect and the same as men treat other men. He concludes chapter one by stating, “But, in that case, all that has been done in the modern world to relate that chain on the minds of women, has been a mistake. They never should have been allowed to receive a literary education. Women who read, much more women who write, are, in the existing constitution of things, a contradiction and a disturbing element: and it was wrong to bring women up with any acquirements but those of an odalisque, or of a domestic servant.” (The Longman Anthology, pg. 527)

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Hurston

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first paragraph of the story reads; “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.” While woman forget all of those things they don’t want to remember. The book compares on many occasions, the wishes and dreams of men and women in an interesting way, using the “sea” as a symbol giving the impression that saving men can never control their dreams, and that they must wait for them to come true. While women can take their dreams into their own hands and mold them as they see fit. As the book unravels the tragedies of sexism and feminism, the main character Janie struggles to maintain balance and control of her life, and those around her. In the book, J...

    Read More

  • Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Being Earnest Marriage Theme Analysis

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Whores and Housewives in From Here to Eternity

Open Document