Modern Australia And My Last Duchess

During the nineteenth century, possessions, including women, and the home represented status, wealth, and power that only men possessed. In The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, becomes highly conscious of herself as an individual who has the potential to be self-sufficient and do as she desires. She begins to defy the standards of woman during the nineteenth century through iconoclastic beliefs that eventually lead Edna to participating in an affair and leaving her husband, Leonce. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the motif of the home to highlight Edna’s responsibilities as a mother and wife and to also track the progression and evolution of Edna’s state of freedom. Mr. Pontellier takes great pride in his household possessions, including Edna, so as his wife, she is obligated to perform her duties that are expected of her, which limits her free-will.

The fact that she was a female and went against a man’s power makes it seem worse than it actually has to be, all she did was pay her respect to her brother because no one would. Him putting Antigone to death because she went against his power clearly shows his feminism towards women. This also shows that all males had full power over society, economy, and women, which isn’t fair. Antigone displays her feminist qualities when she goes against the most powerful male, the king Creon. Her going against him shows her disrespect for Creon, her doing this and speaking like a male figure shows her push for equality between the sexes.

The reader can imagine her as constantly-shifting in appearance, which adds to the horror of her looks. Both Arthur and Guinevere attempt to convince Ragnelle to hold the wedding privately to preserve both Gawain and Ragnelle’s honor, as other courtiers will no doubt ridicule them for the odd couple they make. Arthur’s knights are meant to be the best in England, with the most beautiful, noble wives. Certainly, Ragnelle is not the bride Gawain would have picked, given a real

She uses this reference to show how women have been stripped of their natural rights, yet expected to combat the trials brought by life. Cady Stanton eventually states her belief that someone has to struggle in life in order to survive, whether it is a male or female. This natural event clearly promotes equality that should occur between the two genders. To support this belief, the writer states: “It matters not to whether the solitary voyager is man or woman; nature, having endowed them equally; leaves them to their own skill and judgment in the hour of danger, and, if not equal to the occasion, alike they perish.” The author is saying that all humans deserve the same rights because every person is unique, alone, and individually responsible for itself. Elizabeth Stanton also states the fact that women didn’t have political rights and the right to vote, and that changes should be made in that field.

Daisy, going back and forth between Tom and Jay, only wanted whichever man could support her with the most wealth. Whereas Zelda was said to have had an affair. “An affair with a French naval aviator strained their marriage,” Willett wrote, explaining how Zelda found other ways to fulfill her life after the strain was created (Willett). Zelda, mirroring Daisy, was also said to have harlot-like

CQ: Creole culture values place women in a submissive role while granting men the ability act as dominantly and freely as they wish. Why does the Creole society isolate Edna while idolizing Adele? In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Creole culture and norms subjectify women through the imprisonment of the Creole culture and norms. These cultural norms confine women to the every wish of their husbands. Thus, women who aspire to be individualistic suffer under the intense regulations of the Creole culture.

Decisively, it can be concluded that the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning builds the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. By Edna conforming to society’s expectations, she was able to question what she truly desired. If Edna did not conform, then Edna would have not understood that she longed for independence and the novel would have no solidified

Throughout the entirety of her lengthy Prologue, the Wife of Bath boasts of her experience and mastery in controlling the male sex. Rather than being characterized by her weakness, the Wife of Bath is portrayed as a dominant and sexually powerful woman, thus contradicting the stereotypical portrayal of women as inferior beings. Throughout the Middle Ages, women were expected to submit to their husbands. The Wife of Bath, however, expects her husbands to submit to her, “An housbonde I wol have, I nyl nat lette, / Which shal be bothe my dettour and my thral” (155-156). The Wife characterizes her husbands as both her “debtor” and her “slave,” suggesting a severely unbalanced relationship in which the Wife has complete control.

Dystopian societies, conveyed through The Handmaid's Tale and Bumped, often control women’s relationships and bodies to stay in power. In Handmaid’s Tale, there is a hierarchy based on gender, where the men are placed at the top or near the top. Women are lower, thus tend to end up being treated like property and have many more restrictions placed upon them. On page 28, Offred mentions, “Modesty is invisibility, said Aunt Lydia. Never forget it.

In the Victorian era, gender inequality was daily life. Men were most often the dominant power in a relationship whereas women were expected to be pure and innocent. In an era of arranged marriages, women belonged to their husbands and were attached to their households. However, Wilde has questioned these gender roles and created rather independent and powerful female characters in the play. Though Lady Bracknell and Jack have to give their consent as an approval of marriage to their wards, Gwendolen and Cecily, women show dominance over men in each relationship.