Inequality is defined as “an unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people.”(Definition of Inequality, 2016) Inequality comes in many forms, which include gender, race, status, religion, wealth and etc. This paper aims to analyze both the ideas of Virginia Woolf and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and utilize them to understand the origins of inequality through what both authors view as social dependency. Through analyzing both of these authors’ perceptions on inequality, Rousseau seems to provide a more concrete idea of the origins of inequality. First, a brief summary of the writers’ ideas will be provided. In specific, the paper will assess the strengths and weaknesses of each in terms of how they can help us understand inequality in contemporary Egypt and how to combat it. The paper will conclude with a comparison of how each writer’s ideas contribute to the understanding of inequality in the 21st centaury. Throughout A Room of One’s Own, the writer, Virginia Woolf, emphasizes the fact that women are treated unequally in her society which has led to the production, by women, of less prominent works in comparison to men. Woolf explains the difference in success between man and woman in two parts. She first explains that the values of women differ very often from the values of men, and goes on to say that in any case it is the masculine values that prevail and feminine values are devalued. (Woolf, 1929, 74) Masculine values
In ‘A Room of One’s Own’, Woolf explicates the patriarchal system which evokes male dominance over women making them inferior in every aspect. She writes about some real-life encounters of gender discrimination she faced while exploring her thesis that for a woman to write fiction, she must have intellectual as well financial freedom. She makes use of logos, ethos, and pathos to make her argument more appealing to the readers. According to Aristotle, ethos is the most compelling factor out of three mentioned above because it appeals to one’s ethics, morals, and values. Therefore it is important for a writer to establish credibility early in the text.
Marilyn Frye and Jean-Jacques Rousseau have diverse views on who is oppressed and how oppression functions. Even with their differences, I believe that Frye’s structure of oppression can still account for how oppression works in Rousseau’s Second Discourse. I will prove this is my explanations below and integration of Frye’s beliefs into Rousseau’s views. In the second part of Rousseau’s Second Discourse, a great deal is discussed about possession of property and how that largely defines society.
All throughout time women have been treated differently from men. They were not given a voice or trust but was it for the better? I am deciding to defend feminist because women need to be treated better and in this essay i will show you how women were treated and why it 's wrong. Although i believe in defending feminism some believe women should not be treated equal. I am explaining this through showing that men were not expected to love their wives.
John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government is most known for his justification of private property, but there are many other theories, though not as popular, that are equally as important. One of these is his justification of inequality, which will be covered in this essay. Locke says that until the invention of money, there was no point to accumulate more property, or wealth, than one could use because it would spoil. That changed after the introduction of money because money does not spoil, which allows people to accumulate more than they need. Locke argues that since men agreed to use money as a way to fairly possess more than they could use, they also agreed to the consequence of inequality.
In two passages, Virginia Woolf compares meals she was served at a men’s and at a women’s college. The contrasting meals reveal Woolf’s frustration at the inferior treatment that women face. The first meal at the men’s college is elegant, enjoyable, and satisfying while the second is plain, cheap, and bland. This clearly juxtaposes the expense and luxury afforded to the men with the “penny-pinching” nature of the women’s in order to show Woolf’s underlying attitude of dissatisfaction against the inequality that women are not granted the same privileges and investment as men.
The author offers an example of the sons of a farm laborer and a minister to discuss the inequality of the human's value. She portrays the picture where the sons switch places for each other, the result is that it is "very dangerous degree of social constraint" (Weil 572). By constructing an image so that the reader can clearly witness social value often comes from a man's paycheck, Simone Weil communicates that all men deserve equal respects. Furthermore, Joseph Stiglitz also contributes to the idea of inequality by pointing out the unfairness in the economy and the government, which furthers suggests that society tends to diminish one's equal opportunity. He explains how a man can take other's opportunity to gain his own benefit.
Similarly, Virginia Woolf’s essay “Professions for Women” explains the maltreatment of women within the twentieth century and the
In the nineteenth century, woman had no power over men in society. They were limited in their freedom, as their lives were controlled by their husbands. Some women did not mind this lifestyle, and remained obedient, while some rebelled and demanded their rights. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are short stories that exposes the lifestyle women lived in the nineteenth century. The protagonists from both stories, Jane and Georgiana, similarly lived a male dominated lifestyle.
In the discussion of social inequality, one cannot leave out the sociological theories and models proposed by Karl Marx and Adam Smith. Generally, social inequality refers to the presence of unequal treatment, opportunities and rewards tied to people of various social standings within the hierarchy of a community group or society. Some common types of social inequality include wealth and income disparity as well as social class stratification. For Marx and Smith, both had explored the various types of social inequality in society.
The inequality of women has been a long-lasting issue since its existence, with the issue still persisting today. Women have gained more rights over time in great part to efforts made by feminists, however, much progress still needs to be made. Mary Wollstonecraft, often cited as one of the founding feminist philosophers, is a notable feminist whose advocacy and ideas on femininity have acted as a strong influence for the modern conception of feminism. One of Wollstonecraft’s most prominent works in regards to feminism is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In the piece, Wollstonecraft uses and critiques philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work titled Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, in order to build a case in defense of a woman’s
Mary Wollstonecraft an early feminist philosopher, writes about the ideals of equality and freedom both in her political rebuttal essay “Rights of Men” and her follow-up essay “Vindication of Women” in response to philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Writing the “Vindication of the Rights of Men”, has led her to explore and express her opinions about the inequality of women during the Romantic period. As the opposition to post-revolutionary sentiment, extending rights as a just act to include the upper middle class of men, over maintaining the traditional rights given to men of nobility. Wollstonecraft interjects that women are also a vital importance to society and also deserve allowances of rights.
The essay, A Room of One’s Own makes a claim that the identity of a woman is what holds her back in society, even though according to Woolf, a woman has the ability to write more intelligently, as “women have come to have the habit of writing naturally”. The issue, Woolf argues, is that most women throughout history are not awarded the tools in which is necessary to write well, because women were not expected to do anything but serve the family, let alone write. Woolf argues that in order for a woman to overcome this identity of lesser-than, she must have at least 500 pounds a year and
From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth
By using casual diction, simple sentences, and well-known allusions, Woolf is able to shift the audience’s attention from the gender of the
The literary text Woman at Point Zero by Nawal Al Saadawi, portrays women in a victimized manner corresponding to the social and historical context of Egypt in the 1970s. Through the first-person narrative of Firdaus, Saadawi portrays the social context of Egyptian women in the 1970s. The literary techniques used help define and characterize women in the text. Saadawi uses a variety of themes and motifs in order to further portray the role of women in Egyptian society as well as the use of symbolism. Dialogue throughout novel help highlight the separation between the genders and their roles.