Women’s role in society was restricted and they did not have the freedom to do as they please. The stories were set in the late 1800’s. It was a time where women had few rights at that time. The women in these stories had no say in what they could or could not do. They had to be submissive to their husbands. Women at that time could not simply do whatever they wanted. Some rebelled against the norm; but others were completely brainwashed due to society telling them what they could or could not
Between 1770 and 1860, the role of women in society transformed from their expected position as republican mothers to a new place as advocates for reformation. While republican mothers focused all their attention on domestic matters, the reformers of the antebellum era became public figures. Society persisted in its expectation that women be nurturing of others and dependent on men. However, female antebellum reformers defied society’s expectations by going outside the home in order to nurture a larger number of people in the society and promote the God-given rights they shared with men.
In the mid-1800s, many Americans had concerns about the issues occurring and the impact they made on the United States. To put an end to these numerous issues, many Americans decided to form groups, organizations, and also individuals. They would come up with a variety of strategies to make a change. One of the many issues was women rights. In the mid-1800s, women had a hard time being a woman back then.
During the 19th century, women were overshadowed by the men of their household, therefore they had no sense of independence nor dominance. In Mary Freeman’s short story, “The Revolt of Mother,” the author presents Sarah Penn, a woman who takes a stand against her husband. In the beginning, the reader learns that Sarah is a hardworking mother and wife. She maintains the household work and meets her children needs. She is suddenly confused of her husband’s actions concerning their future.
During the late 1800s, women made it clear that they wanted their equal rights. Women had no power compared to what men had. If women started looking like they had power, it was said that they started to look more masculine. Women began to fight back and attempt to reform the government. In this political cartoon, the artist shows his view of life before and after women were able to vote.
Women in the United States have been the subject of inequality for centuries. Since the country’s inception, have faced unjust social and economic discrimination, a lack of voting rights, limited educational opportunities, forced traditional gender roles, and the inability to own property. In the 1800s, women in the North began to reject traditional gender roles and saw their quest for equality like that of enslaved people, who were shackled and controlled by white men. Many abolitionist women began to challenge the male-dominated society they lived in by taking direct action by advocating for women's rights, and this fight for equality would eventually lead to massive reform in women’s rights and change American history for the better.
Men treated women as second class citizens in society during the early 1900s. Even with the oppression of women in society in this time, many women have struggled to expand their roles, and acquire additional rights. From my perspective, the authors of these stories are indirectly trying to tell us how much oppression the women have been through during the time. “The Thing on the Doorstep” is a short story about a woman, Asenath, who is not in control of herself because her father, Ephraim, possesses her body after he is deceased. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story about a woman who suffers from mental illness.
Katie Bardaro, from Pay Scale Human Capital, once said “The real issue here is not the gender wage gap, but the jobs wage gap. People are filling positions according to gender, with higher-paid positions being filled by men and lower-paid positions being filled by women. That needs to change” In addition, men and women have differences on how they get paid. People think that men should get paid more because they think that they can do so much more, when women can do the same amount as a man can.
During this time, people believed that women were only good at cooking, cleaning, or nurturing their children and couldn’t do much else. Because people thought this way, women were uneducated unless they were in the upper class. Wealthy women would sometimes have private tutors that would teach them.
The Roaring Twenties were a time of change for all of America. It was a time of new morals and political change. America was becoming a more urban and wealthy nation. The twenties were a liberating time for most Americans, especially women. Life improved for women in the 1920s because they gained a new freedom in society and they were guaranteed the right to vote, even though they were still considered inferior to men in the workplace.
The 1800s marked a period in history when women and enslaved people in the United States experienced a great disparity in rights, privileges, and opportunities compared to their white, male counterparts. According to historical records, women and enslaved people were often subjected to harsh treatment and discrimination, indicating a largely negative experience in the 1800s. Women were often confined to domestic roles and were not allowed to pursue education or careers, Enslaved People were treated as property and were forced to work in grueling conditions without any pay, and both were subjected to physical and emotional abuse that was considered legal and had little to no rights especially when it came to voting. In addition, The government
Women were treated a lot differently than men were. Men controlled everything that went on. They made all of the decisions, and women did not have a say over
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.
A historian by the name of Ed Ayers once said “The exploitative natures of women’s work throughout history has been enormous.” I believe that this statement is true because after looking at history it shows that there were so many things that they had to overcome to get to the rights that they have today. Women during the 1700’s and 1800’s were challenged with expressing themselves in a social system that refused to grant women the right to express their views. Many events during these centuries which included things such as social and political movements that increased attention to women's issues like education reform. By the end of the 1800’s women were finally able to speak out against the injustices aimed at them.
Furthermore, the author displays a dystopian society completely dominated by a totalitarian and theocratic state. The main subject of this novel is the role assigned to women, mainly represented by the handmaids. In Gilead, the made-up country where the novel takes place, women are completely subjected by the government, and especially by men, who clearly have a higher status than women. Moreover, women’s freedom is entirely restricted, as they cannot leave their house at their will, they are forbidden to hold properties or jobs, they cannot read or write, and they are treated as sexual slaves whose only purpose in life is to bear children for elite spouses. The other option is a miserable, short life at the Colonies (a type of concentration camp), and death.
During the 1890’s until today, the roles of women and their rights have severely changed. They have been inferior, submissive, and trapped by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can represent “feminine individuality”. The fact that they be intended to be house-caring women has changed.