Femininity In The Bacchae

Moreover, the two female protagonists’ control over their sexuality seems to grant them a unique form of ‘power’ in relationships with men who are sexually attracted to them. It is hence obvious that there is a direct relationship between female sexuality and power that is portrayed in the two

“Fear of the archaic mother turns out to be essentially fear of her generative power. It is this power, a dreaded one, that patrilineal filiation has the burden of subduing.” (Kristeva, 1982, p.77) Freud argued that woman terrifies because she is castrated. “Castration fear plays on a collapse of gender boundaries” (Creed, 1993, p.54) She suggests, that Freud misread Han’s fear in the Little Hans and that Han’s viewed his mothers as the castrator not his father, that his mother’s lack of phallus is seen not as a castrated organ but that of a castrating organ.

They use their sexuality to control and manipulate the man into doing her bidding, often these tasks are immoral acts that will benefit her, however, it would bring eventual destruction for the man. The femme fatales is often brought to justice and punished by the protagonist, ultimately she gets destroyed. Beckman adds that “the dangerous woman is almost always punished for her threat to masculinity and male power. The strong, independent, and sexually provocative femme fatale is typically subdued toward the end of the film noir, through her death, her abandonment, or her "rescue" from moral decline by a man. If it is correct that a certain Hollywood realism tends to confirm a patriarchal status quo through coordinating the gradual unmasking of the sexual power of the woman with the "epistemological drive of the narrative," then this tradition of narrative continuity itself must be of interest” (p 26-27).

First is the idea of merit, that bad things happen to bad people (1, 1985). The main example for this is sexual assault of a woman wearing a provocative outfit. This notion is full of oughts. Women ought not to wear provocative outfits, because, as we know from porn, a provocative outfit is a communication to men about openness to sex. The raped woman’s gender performance was wrong, it sent the wrong signals.

The Great Gatsby, therefore depicts “the new social and sexual freedom” enjoyed by women through the lives of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson who are “the focus [of both] romanticism and the moral indignation. They are symbols and are seen as objects which speak to the still unstable role of women in the society” (Fetterley

For instance, Aunt Lydia makes excuse to the men by saying that men by nature are aggressive and cannot control their sexual desire. “Men are sex machines, said Aunt Lydia… It is nature’s way. It’s God’s device. It’s the way things are” (Atwood 168).

Lucy is illustrated as someone who is continuously driven by sexual temptations and flirtatiousness. Stoker puts emphasis on her beauty, which is what grabs the attention of men. Lucy ends up getting killed because her sexual openness was seen as a threat to Victorian society. Stoker uses a character like Lucy in his novel to portray that sexually assertive women who try and use their beauty to win over men will not make it in the Victorian culture. On the other hand, when Dracula intimidates Jonathan during his effort to attack Mina, she reacts in the correct matter of what the Victorian culture would want her to.

When Macbeth displays uncertainty regarding the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses his fear of not adhering to the masculine gender role of being cold-hearted and ambitious and only “when [Macbeth] durst do it, then [he was] a man”. (1.7.56) Upon first glance, it would seem as though Lady Macbeth is strong and powerful. However, Shakespeare uses the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to display that women in power are dangerous and corrupt. Due to Lady Macbeth’s coercion into the murder of Duncan, she allows and essentially encourages Macbeth to ravage all of Scotland.

The Weird Sisters answer to Hecate and her need for control is evident when she is infuriated by their dialog with Macbeth. By speaking of “riddles and affairs of death,” (Shakespeare 373) the Weird Sisters stepped out of line without their leaders’ permission. Being the “close contriver of all harms,” Hecate is enraged at the fact she was “never called to bear [her] part” (Shakespeare 373) in the handling of Macbeth’s prophesy. She wishes to control everything under the “umbrella” of spells and witchcraft. Although she is considered a goddess, the simple principle of her sexuality and influence coincides with female dominance.

Stereotypically, if not saint, the woman must be deceitful, manipulative, dangerous for men and it is possible to interpret the Wife of Bath in this way. However some may say that she is a feminist heroine, expressing her feelings and desires openly, rebelling against the domination of men. This interpretation has some evidences, for example, she evokes arguments with her last husband over a book Valerie and Theofraste which contains a stories about the most untruthful wives in history. Frustrated Alisoun wants to destroy the book, she provokes Jankyn and in a result of the fight, she loses hearing in one ear. Nevertheless, her behaviour cause laugh rather than admiration for her attitude to life and marriage.

The question of whether Bertha and Lady Audley are actually mad is somewhat alluded to in the novels. Braddon’s and Bronte’s novels pose the question of what causes one to be declared insane. Both Lady Audley and Bertha go against society’s expectation of the pure and pious woman. It is because they go against these ideals that they are placed into captivity and deemed as being mad. They cannot be contained within the boundaries of proper femininity for they are wild, lustful, and impious, so are therefore are considered a threat and thus need to be constrained by the repressive patriarchal society

His plays are based on the combination of different kinds of humor and political and social satire. One of his most important plays is Lysistrata. In the lysistrata, it is about women withholding sex from their husbands to end the Peloponnesian war. Lysistrata persuades the women to not have sex with their husbands to basically have some peace, but it only caused problems between the sexes. This play shows how much mind control women have over men.

As a woman, she is seen as weak and dependent. However, Lady Macbeth is actually the stronger willed character. She, while not the dominating motivation for Macbeth’s wrongdoings, corrupts him and convinces him that he is capable of doing these evil things. Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth comes from her own selfishness. She wants to be queen above all else, which drives her to commit murder.

The women that are being trafficked around from state to state have to have sex the way the customer wants it even if it means unprotected. Men don’t care for the women that they are having relations with so they force them to have sex knowing that they might or might not have any kind of infection. “Gita contracted HIV as a direct result of her status as a victim of sex trafficking. She, also, unknowingly and unintentionally, may have spread HIV to customers who bought her after she became infected”, (Kloer 2). This is a clear fact showing that the people who commits these acts are people who only care about putting money in their pocket failing to realize that those girls can die from this.

Greek mythology is best defined by the gods and goddesses who have played the protagonists and antagonists that weaved the Greek tragedies and heroism that has shaped and influenced European culture from the beginning, and cultures all over the world ("Greek Mythology"). Although Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, is one of the most prominent characters in ancient Greek mythology, her impact on the modern day world and the role of women in society, is her real influence. Aphrodite, proclaimed goddess of love and beauty due to her numerous romantic affairs, lead a life filled with passion, mischief, and the pursuit of eternal beauty. The poet Hesiod developed the most popular account of how Aphrodite came to be.