Abusive Relationships In 'Death And The Maiden'

In the surreal, dim lighting of her bedroom Paulina is shaken by a strangely disturbing laugh upon recognising Roberto Miranda's voice as that of her tormentor. This moment sees the birth or manifestation of another facet of Paulina's character, the part of Paulina's mind that fantasized about doing to her torturers what they had done to her. This is the unbelievably unreasonable Paulina; she is a Fury, a mythical deity, the embodiment of vengeance, unsusceptible to male logic or opportunistic, careerist rationalisation. Polanski makes Paulina throw the car over the cliff-edge. In doing this she is not only destroying a phallic symbol, and thus undermining Roberto's sexuality and any claims he has on sexual dominance or superiority, she is destroying a perfect symbol of the male thirst for power and control, and the pragmatic logic to which her need for revenge has been sacrificed, into the infinite, chaotic abyss that defies all these principles, and unquestionably swallows it up. In doing this she breaks the railing, civilized society has created to guard itself

stubborn she is in staying in them: “For days, she went silent with rage” (10). This reveals just how far Estrella will venture to seethe in her emotions— and so much so, in fact, that her mother “believed her a victim of the evil eye” (11). To be in one emotion, and to not explain it to others, speaks volumes about Estrella— she is persistent about how she feels and will stay this way for days. In other words, this use of selective detail portrays how Estrella is quick to swell with passion about how she feels— by “becoming very angry,” merely because she saw Perfecto’s tools and assumed it was a secret being kept from her, her character is portrayed as someone who easily feels upset, or moody, by things that she may not even know for certain. To reword, through selection of detail, Viramontes is able to develop Estrella’s character because she describes particular instances where Estrella’s fragile temper is aroused by unfamiliar, or unfair, concepts or objects. This use of selective detail furthers her character because it conveys how Estrella is stubbornly consumed by her emotions even when she does not have the full story.

In addition, one can also argue about Paulina’s love-hate relationship with Gerardo, as she is clearly very emotionally attached to him, yet seems as though she treats him with a sort of disrespect or harsh manner. Paulina’s strange relationship also brings the audience to question this woman’s sense of judgment, and maybe even her past. Ironically, later she refers to him as ‘my little man’, contrasting with how he called her, and making sure that Gerardo knows that he is her husband, and she’s in charge.

This passage gives the reader an initial insight on the central conflict in the novel, Tita’s fight for freedom from Mama Elena’s suppression. Mama Elena is portrayed to have characteristics which resemble to that of the stereotypically domineering, abusive male figure. Tita must tread waters very carefully when she is anywhere near Mama Elena, otherwise she would be beaten for any reason. Yet as the novel progresses, Tita undergoes a change due to exposure and desire. With the introduction of Pedro (Tita’s lover who ends up marrying Tita’s sister), Tita experiences new emotions, desire and lust. Previous to meeting Pedro, Tita never felt the desire to defy Mama Elena, yet her new found love - lust - for Pedro gave her a reason to rebel. The introduction of the emotion of desire, a need sparked the flame of change in Tita. This concept of women in oppression finding something to strive for, even at a risk, gives women courage. As the age, old saying goes ‘if they can do it so can I’. By creating a relatable scenario, Esquivel hopes to show women that even if the task seems too great to overcome, they

The novella tells the story of a young migrant worker who is faced the the responsibility to help care for her family not only financially but in a manner of leadership as well. Throughout the story the character of Estrella changes drastically from a timid outcast to an outspoken leader. In the beginning Estrella is portrayed as a quiet young woman who is defined as an outsider. When looking at the character of Estrella she is characterized in the category as powerless. One reason that we can attribute Estrella’s state of power is her socio-economic circumstances. Coming from a family of five, Estrella assumes the role as the oldest daughter as well as second mother due to her father’s recent abandonment on the family. It is because of this abandonment that Estrella resents her mother’s older boyfriend Perfecto, who in return has gotten her mother pregnant.

As a Renaissance woman protagonist, she acts within an completely male world: "I do not know/ One of my sex; no woman's face remember" (3.1.48-49).  While no other women appear in the play, references are made to other women, but the count here is still minimal and sums up to three.  Miranda speaks of the lack of female companionship around her because of her location, but simultaneously the audience sees that the references to women that do occur within the play often have a sinister purpose for appearing within the lines.  The other women mentioned in the play seem to provide a sort of dark cloak over the proceedings of the play, even if they are completely absent.  Regardless, Miranda, as the only physical woman in the play the audience actually sees and hears, is described by Prospero with kind words, and few, if any, negative imagery revolves around the appearance of the innocent Miranda.  For example, Prospero informs Miranda that this "Art" is prompted by his concern for her; "I have done nothing but in care of thee" (1.2.16).  Prospero also tells Miranda that his mistreatment and harshness toward Caliban stems from the fact that Caliban attempted to rape Miranda and Prospero wants to protect her from any harm that could come about from Caliban.(1.2.347-51).  Prospero also indicates that Miranda, to him, is "a third of mine own life,/ Or that for which I live" (4.1.3-4); therefore after she is

To arrive in a bar alongside her father to obtain money is not a desire for Jeannette. When her father’s friend exclaimed, “I’m going to take your girl upstairs,” Jeannette becomes aware of the reason why her father had brought her which is to use her for distraction in order for the father to earn money. Though Jeannette realizes the reason, she forgives her father. When Jeannette discusses with her mother about the lack of responsibility her mother has, Jeannette receives a punishment of being whipped by her father. Jeannette states, “I expected him to turn and walk away but there were six stinging blows on the back of my thighs, each accompanied by a whistle of air.” (220) Due to the act of whipping by her father, Jeannette is unable to forgive her father for a period of time. However, the love Jeannette has for her father is extremely utmost that she forgives him for whipping her. Regardless the mistakes Jeannette’s father creates, Jeannette holds a place in her heart for her father thus enabling her to forgive her

Both girls obtain their own jobs to make their own money, but their fathers respond negatively towards their independence. When Jeanette works, her father “[slashes their piggybank] apart with a knife and [steals] all the money” (250). When Miranda works, her father is unappreciative and doesn’t understand why she needs a job. In addition, Jeanette's father tells many stories where he is always portrayed as the hero. However, time after time, he isn’t there for his children, and yet he still asks, “Have I ever let you down?” (248). Sadly, Jeanette never has the heart to tell her father that he has indeed let her down, several times. Her father makes many empty promises, like the glass castle for example. Her father told her he would build her a big, beautiful castle made of glass, but Jeannette’s hard work on the foundation ended up becoming a trash pile. Jeanette’s father also came home drunk many nights, where he would “[break] windows and [smash] dishes and furniture...then he’d look around at the mess and at [the] kids standing there.”

Kate McCaffrey's Destroying Avalon portrays the concept that people can become trapped by their fear and shame from bullying, consequently not seeking help. Although this idea does have a lot of substance to back it up, it's not entirely true.

Sofia was the fun, carefree child in her family and all of her sisters are shocked when they see Sofia being suppressed and controlled by her boyfriend. The sisters liked Manuel at first, but then they took a step back and saw that, “The Lovable Manuel is quite the tyrant. A Mini Papi and Mami rolled into one. Fifi can’t wear pants in public. Fifi can’t talk to another man. Fifi can’t leave the house without his permission. And what’s most disturbing is that Fifi, feisty, lively Fifi, is letting this man tell her what she can and cannot do” (Alvarez 118). They see how Sofia is being suppressed and are shocked at how Sofia let her boyfriend do this to her. Sofia meets Manuel in the Dominican Republic and at first everything was going great. But then everyone started to see what was really going on. This man, as acceptable in the Dominican Republic, was completely in control of what Sophia did and how she acted. This passage shows that men in the Dominican Republic need to be in control of their women and have them listen to everything they say. This shows even more when Sofia tries to stand up to him, saying, “‘You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do!’” (Alvarez 118). Sofia standing up for herself infuriates Manuel because he believes Sofia should not stand up to him because he is the man of the house. Sofia then feels she must beg for

Domestic Violence is a critical issue negatively impacting women in the world today. There has to be something done to prevent this type of abuse from happening. The results of my research revealed that there are many victims that do not know the type of help that is available and there needs to be major improvement in the way domestic violence cases are handled. Based on my findings, awareness and prevention programs should be implemented in every state in order prevent this type of abuse from happening over and over. Also, each program must be monitored to ensure they are following the proper guidelines in order to better serve the victims and their families.

•1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

Bianca was described as sweet and quiet. She never spoke out of turn, and was always obedient, qualities that men desired in their future wives. For the majority of the book, this is how Bianca acts, but the audience watching the play is able to see small parts where there is another side of Bianca a side that she keeps hidden from the males in her society. One clear example of this is in Act 1 Scene 1 when Bianca whispers to her sister Katherine so that no one else can hear her;

    One may infer that Dickens may have been attempting to acknowledge the birth of female freedom, due to the industrial revolution, by way of the female characters' actions within Great Expectations. Considering that he creates such verbal execution performed by many of the female characters within the novel suggests that women were usually treated as equals, this not being the case. By allowing these women to be verbally and physically abusive, Dickens may have been presenting the distorted idea toward female criminals and violent women.

Bernarda not only has control over her daughters, but also over the servant, Poncia. Poncia is like a surrogate mother to the daughters, often offering advice and personal opinions. Bernarda holds control over Poncia because she showed her respect given her past life, and employed her sons, giving them a better life. For this, Poncia is also held in captivity. Poncia lives in fear that is she were to leave, Bernarda would expose to the public the history of her mother and shame her from any respect she has gained being Bernarda’s servant. By giving Poncia a job knowing her family’s reputation, it is viewed to the public as an act of kindness and respect, just as Bernarda would want. However, behind the walls of the home it puts her in a position of more control and power.