For example, when the witchcraft scholar Hale is asked how such a virtuous woman like Rebecca could be serving the devil he replies that the devil too seemed virtuous. He says that the devil is a deceiver and 'until an hour before he fell, even God thought him beautiful in Heaven" (II. iii. 76). Another one comes when Goody Proctor describes how
The Victorian Era is known for a pious, sexless society where women were considered inferior. While strides have been taken, there is still an inherent bias against sexually liberated women. This shame is still relevant to society today because of its abuse by those in power. Day by day, political scandals involving sexual assault and rape are being revealed on the news. This is only indicative of the willingness of the elite to abuse those working under them- especially young naive women.
Irene Adler only appears in the episode the A Scandal in Belgravia. The producers of the TV show Sherlock made interesting choices with the character, as Adler seems to adhere to the image of a traditionally attractive woman but her occupation as a lesbian ‘dominatrix’ is atypical. Irene is a contradictory character as she is able to outwit Sherlock on their first encounter while she is sexualized as a femme fatale. Unlike Molly, Irene Adler is full of sexual appeal. Adler is portrayed as a seductress that dominates Sherlock and becomes his romantic interest.
Cunegonde could be considered admirable due to the fact that shes’s doing what needs to be done in order to survive like any othere women would have done during that time, even thought she is consistently being raped. Voltaire makes what is considered heinous and monstrous in to something that could be seen as a completely normal occurrence. What I find funny is that Voltaire was an activist for the rights of women yet he protrayed the female characters as being once beautiful and wealthy i.e the old women being the daughter of Urban Pope X and Cunegonde daughter of a German Baron or being a tramp in the case of Paquette which proves how well Voltaire utilizes
Men had dominance over the women of medieval period. Certainly, there were some exceptions that protested this system and claimed that feminist groups had to be dominant in that society. That is also an indicator that even in middle ages, women could disobey the rules. On the other side, although women were obedient and biddable, any severity and tyranny were not acceptable, and the behavior of those kinds led to a serious punishment. Geoffrey Chaucer with his poetic style tried to demonstrate the dreams and hopes of women also their desire related with women’s role and position in society.
However, women found a way to have power anyways, even with non traditional methods. A witch is a person close to God and being close to God is being in a place of high power. So, when rumors of women practicing witchcraft begin to circulate, the town’s biggest fear begins to arise and they quickly tried to put a stop to it, henceforth, the witch trials commenced. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, women are able to take power from their society through various means other than gaining leadership. The ways in which women are able to achieve power include Abigail Williams’ use of dishonesty and manipulation that prompts the witch trials as well as Rebecca Nurse’s refusal of a confession that defies the conventional paradigms of the society.
Power is a huge aspect of how people see an individual and how they are treated in Salem, Massachusetts, which is the setting of The Crucible. Factors such as gender, religion, and how much land one own’s are truly what separate the powerful from the powerless in this Puritan society. However, a surprising person in Betty Parris is able to maintain great power from simply lying “asleep.” Although she must defy the odds of power through gender and age, Betty Parris establishes herself as the most powerful person in Salem through her ability to influence the actions of people around her and cause the town to enter a state of hysteria. By pretending to be asleep, Betty is able to influence the actions of others by playing with there emotions and making them fear for what could potentially happen. Abigail is one of the only people who knows that this whole situation with Betty is simply an act.
These customs and tradition are often nurtured, strengthened and kept alive through violent and unjust actions centred on women. This paper shows how the female body is associated with cultural traditions, such as honour, to lay claims to female sexuality. Shahraz’s female figures find their bodies and sexualities as a means of exploitation which possess a threat to their female identity. Shahraz highlights the restrictive family structures that bind women into submission, who passively accept their fate with little resistance. The Holy Woman reveals male domination over female bodies and sexuality and, as this paper also demonstrates, women remain bound within male-constructed boundaries of piety and honour whereas men hold the ultimate deciding power.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin was during a time when society viewed women as weak individuals. Demonstrates women's struggles for the freedom and individuality they wanted. During this time men had far more power than women did and took advantage of the freedom they had. This took place before the 19th amendment was passed and women were limited to their rights. He “Looks at his wife like a valuable piece that has suffered some damages” (p33).
She tricked the ruler of another kingdom into falling in love with her. This is because the ruler of that kingdom has the ability to control the powerful beings, Ipo-Ipo and Bagyo, by using an object. If Matabagka successfully steals the objects that control the powerful beings, then she can prove to her kingdom that she is worthy of being a ruler and she can finally prove that women are capable of leading a kingdom. The symbolism of tricking the other ruler is that women are step by step trying to move forward and beginning to overpower the men. The men would think that they are still stronger than the women when in actuality they are already equal.