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Women's Roles Then and Now Bob Dylan once wrote, the times they are a-changin', I beg to differ. The 1960's were defiantly a time of dramatic change with the introduction of the women's liberation movement. But has all that much changed? Are all western women really liberated or are they simply being told so and believing every word, like the good little housewives men want them to be? A comparison between the Elizabethan era view of women through a ramble in St. James's Park with the more contemporary writing of The Prize-Giving to show how the patriarchal view of women hasn't changed as they continue to be seen as inferior and objects of sexual desire thus promoting men as superior. Though the subject of both John Wilmot's "A Ramble in St. James's Park" and Gwen Harwood's "Prize-Giving" is women, they both written with different tones, diction, and form which emphasize the different social settings and era's exposed through poetry. Hardwood's poem is about a pompous and conceited professor Eisenbart (dominating male) who is invited to a prize giving ceremony at an all girls' school (subservient female). Immediately we see the masculine figure in the poem in a position of superiority over the female mass, consisting of students and the headmistress who is described as inferior to him in the line the Head in humbler black flapped round and steered/her guest, superb in silk and fur'. He is described in a way to have some form of grandeur over the women in attendance through When he appeared / the girls whirred with an insect nervousness' and also in a more underlying tone through He shook / Indifferently a host of virgin hands.' These lines establish his superiority and also expose the type of society in which Harw... ... middle of paper ... ...man and libertine, from Victorian times, a notably different society with regard to the freedoms and rights of women. All these differences and influences aside, they are still both driving at a similar point, whether obvious or not, which is the seductiveness of women. This opinion even over the three hundred years between their writings has not waned. The same opposition for women possessing independence and expressing their sexuality is still as strong today. Although now in modern times, women can have their own jobs, estates and anything else they wish, they are still connected with the ideology surrounding figures like Eve and of having simple beauty. Intelligence and sexuality are still seen as a masculine trait and although the media encourages the liberation of women, will they ever be as liberated as men?
Although Prize Giving highlights the superiority of the male Professor over the rest of the girls, there is a role reversal towards the end of the poem where the titian haired girl establishes power over him. Through her sexuality and musical talent, the girl asserts dominance in the final stanza and causes the professor to feel inferior for the first time, which comes as an uncomfortable shock to him (Harwood, pg.29). The poem of Father and Child which was published in Harwood’s 2nd Volume of poems continues to suggest a possible social change through the use of a child. Here, Harwood defeminises the child refusing to sentimentalise little girls by referring to the protagonist as a “wisp-haired judge” despite only being seven. The poem then links this to King Lear through the words “Old king” while reversing the relationship and position of power between father and daughter (Harwood, pg.111). These hints for change arise from the female children rather than the adults showing that although Harwood often represents women as subordinate to men, there is a possibility for change through the new
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Frith's article entitled Sex, smallpox and seraglios: a monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was written in order to show the way life was for a woman in the eighteenth century. Her article illustrates what the role of men and women were during the 18th century. Furthermore, it shows what happened to women when they broke through these societal restrictions. There were three underlying points in Frith's article, she mainly focused on; the restrictions that women had in society, the extreme importance of beauty in western society and the societal differences between western society and eastern society regarding women. Frith is also trying to show that our world has not changed that much in the years since Montagu was alive, and that in the West women are still placed below men in many job situations and beauty is still extremely highly regarded. In the East, the world has changed even less in some ways, where many of the customs from the 18th century are still very predominantly practiced.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against, oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structures. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society.
But, let’s focus more towards the gender equality which occurs nowadays. Gender equality plays a big gap in terms of the role of women in the Elizabethan era and the present days. Furthermore, it is an important role of every woman since they gain their justice for having a job or profession they liked or wanted, they are respected by their loving husbands, and they could speak courageously and bravely since they had their freedom; the right to speak up which was not usual or present in the Elizabethan era. Today “anyone could be anything” in many
In chapter two of A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf introduces the reader to the uncomfortable conditions existing between men and women during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Woolf’s character, Mary Beton, surveys books about women at the British Museum and discovers that nearly all of them are written by men. What’s more, the books that she does find express negative sentiments about women, leading Beton to believe that men are expressing “anger that had gone underground and mixed itself with all kinds of other emotions” (32). She links this repressed anger to man’s need to feel superior over women, and, wondering how and why men have cause to be angry with the female sex, she has every right to be angry with men.
What haven't women done for civilization? From writing the first book about integral calculus to inventing windshield wipers. Women have changed the world for the better. Women have clearly done so much for us, but at one time, they weren't even considered "persons." World War 1 was a devastating war for Canada with so many soldiers dead. One good result from the Great War; women's movement. During world war one; men who left for the war in Europe, left jobs at home in Canada. With the increasing demand from Great Britain for food and munitions from Canada, someone had to take over the jobs left. With most of the men gone, the Canadian government turned Canadian women. Opportunities in the job market were opened up to women that were previously closed. This was the greatest change for women in WWI, the tremendous expansion for employment. For women who use to be housewives or in jobs with poor pays, this was an amazing improvement. This one event to allow women to work by Borden started the women movement by the Alberta 5 and the change in a women's traditional role. All efforts made by women at home and overseas started a movement and without their help, an Entente win would have never been in sight. Women's effort and contributions at home in the work industry and overseas as nurses, their home comforts for the soldiers in Europe, and the movement lead by the famous Five, were crucial to the win of the allies in World War One and the change in a women's traditional role.
The Enlightenment is known as the revolution that brought to question the traditional political and social structures. This included the question of the woman’s traditional roles in society. As the public sphere relied more and more ?? and the advances in scientific and educated thinking, women sought to join in with the ranks of their male counterparts. Women held gatherings known as salons where they organized intellectual conversations with their distinguished male guests. Seeking to further their status, enlightened women published pamphlets and other works advocating for educational rights and political recognition. Even with this evolution of woman in society, many still clung to the belief that the role of the woman was solely domestic. The females that spoke up were usually deemed unnatural. However these women used the time period of reason and science that allowed them the opportunity to break away from their domestic roles and alter the view of women in society.
Women roles have changed drastically in the last 50 to 80 years, women no longer have to completely conform to society’s gender roles and now enjoy the idea of being individuals. Along with the evolution of women roles in society, women presence and acceptance have drastically grown in modern literature. In early literature it was common to see women roles as simply caretakers, wives or as background; women roles and ideas were nearly non-existent and was rather seen than heard. The belief that women were more involved in the raising of children and taking care of the household was a great theme in many early literatures; women did not get much credit for being apart of the frontier and expansion of many of the nations success until much later.
In an essay on feminist criticism, Linda Peterson of Yale University explains how literature can "reflect and shape the attitudes that have held women back" (330). From the viewpoint of a feminist critic, "The Lady of Shalott" provides its reader with an analysis of the Victorian woman's conflict between her place in the interior, domestic role of society and her desire to break into the exterior, public sphere which generally had been the domain of men. Read as a commentary on women's roles in Victorian society, "The Lady of Shalott" may be interpreted in different ways. Thus, the speaker's commentary is ambiguous: Does he seek to reinforce the institution of patriarchal society as he "punishes" the Lady with her death for her venture into the public world of men, or does he sympathize with her yearnings for a more colorful, active life? Close reading reveals more than one possible answer to this question, but the overriding theme seems sympathetic to the Lady. By applying "the feminist critique" (Peterson 333-334) to Tennyson's famous poem, one may begin to understand how "The Lady of Shalott" not only analyzes, but actually critiques the attitudes that held women back and, in the end, makes a hopeful, less patriarchal statement about the place of women in Victorian society.
The Victorian Era perpetually changed the history of literature; ironically, it was also a time period in which men heavily defined the status of women. A woman was at the mercy of her father before marriage and after marriage was dependent on her husband. Woolf asserts through her literature, that men historically belittled women as a means of asserting their own superiority (Roseman). This masculine desire for status and seniority may be exemplified best in a set of Woolf’s extended essays titled, “A Room of One’s Own.” In these essays, Woolf constructs a metaphor of a looking-glass re...
During the 1950’s and 1970’s the greatest change for women was politically due to the fact that women were given more privileges. Women had wanted to become equal to men for so long and now they had their chance to become the same.
Mary Wollstonecraft was an author during the Romantic Period. This was a time that put an emphasis and feeling and personal reflection. A shift in values led for the mind to be filled with ideas of individual liberty. These ideas were not immediately projected towards women, and advocates for women’s rights argued that if individual libe...
A women's role has changed tremendously and is making its greatest impact in our society today. Many years ago, women's contribution to society was limited and controlled by men. Women are standing tall and are playing a major role in many important areas. Women's role has changed at an accelerating rate and have part in areas such as Politics, Professional Training Jobs, Medicine,Business and Law. Formerly they were not part of any political matter, but they have advanced in many aspects. For example, women have attained power and have been growing in political office.
Women have always been essential to society. Fifty to seventy years ago, a woman was no more than a house wife, caregiver, and at their husbands beck and call. Women had no personal opinion, no voice, and no freedom. They were suppressed by the sociable beliefs of man. A woman’s respectable place was always behind the masculine frame of a man. In the past a woman’s inferiority was not voluntary but instilled by elder women, and/or force. Many, would like to know why? Why was a woman such a threat to a man? Was it just about man’s ability to control, and overpower a woman, or was there a serious threat? Well, everyone has there own opinion about the cause of the past oppression of woman, it is currently still a popular argument today.