Confrontation of Gender Roles in the Works of Mill, Tennyson, and Woolf
Although women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries faced oppression and unequal treatment, some people strove to change common perspectives on the feminine sex. John Stuart Mill, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Virginia Woolf were able to reach out to the world, through their literature, and help change the views that society held towards women and their roles within its structure. During the Victorian era, women were bound to domestic roles and were very seldom allowed to seek other positions. Most men and many women felt that if women were allowed to pursue interests, outside traditional areas of placement that they would be unable to be an attentive
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Mill makes a very strong argument that the position women have in society is not the only possible way to structure societal hierarchy. The reason it seems unnatural to change its structure, he claims, is because it is uncustomary.
He says that one cannot keep a certain sex bound by a stereotype, on the basis of their nature, when nature, in this sense, is biased to what is known and allowed by society. "Custom [...] however universal, affords no presumption and ought not to create any prejudice, in favour [sic] of woman's subjection to man" (Pyle 89). What is considered a woman's nature is not a well-rounded viewpoint because it does not allow for the differences that might occur if situations were different.
If men had ever been found in society without women, or women without men, or if there had been a society of men and women in which the women were not under the control of the men, something might have been positively known about the mental and moral differences which may be inherent in the nature of each. (1160-1161)
The commonly held theories that women are inferior to men, because they lack the strength of character, mind, and body that men are attributed to having, are misleading for many reasons. To assume that men are superior in these three aspects is to assume that all men and women equally share the same strengths and weaknesses of their entire sex. To do this one must accept the fact that all
In the present century, women are thought to be smarter than men. They are seen as better students and harder workers. According to David Brooks, author of “Mind over Muscle,” this idea of women is made because of the gap in passing classes and reading between females and males (576).
“Men are stronger than women.” Due to the hormone differences between men and women, women have less muscle mass and more fat mass then men, so by default men are just better than women. Women and men also have different genitals, but having their genitals outside of their body men must be superior
This critical textual analysis will examine feminine identity and the essentialistic ideas of the late nineteenth century between men and women as elaborated by Kaplan and Rogers in “Essentialisms, Determinisms. It will include an analysis of theories regarding dichotomies of biological determinism and cranial classification. Essentialism argues that there are categories of objects and genres that have essential characteristics, notwithstanding individual variation, and that these essential characteristics define the objects and genres to an extent that they reveal truth (Kaplan and Rogers 27). Determinism is a theory or in some cases a doctrine. “Nature” has been the historical burden women have faced. It is not the only such burden, but it has been the largest and the heaviest. Psychological and social implications of essentialist beliefs create gender segregation, inequality, and is often used to excuse gender-based biases in society. These types of ideas are often used as a justification for misogynistic and essentialistic systems in society.
During the Victorian Era, women struggled to attain gender equality by challenging the traditional roles that defined them. These women no longer wanted to remain passive and obey the demands of their husbands nor be domestic and the caretakers of their children. They strived to attain the role of a 'New Woman', an intelligent, liberated individual who was able to openly express her ideas (Eltis 452). Whereas some women were successful in attaining this new role, others were still dominated by their male counterparts. The men felt threatened by the rising power of women and repressed them by not allowing them to work, giving them unnecessary medications, and diagnosing them with hysteria (Gilman
In today 's world, women have an important role. They keep the sanity of others in tact, they maintain the peace, and provide a lot to communities all over the world. Women are just as capable as men when it comes to intellectual thinking, professions, and ideas. But one thing that cannot be changed is that men are just naturally physically stronger than women. So in the 1600’s and about up to the 1950’s, because women were not as physically strong, they were seen as weak in other aspects too. They were treated like decorations, just to be seen and not heard, just hang on a wall. But evidentially this is not true. Women are very powerful in many ways and Anne Hutchinson portrays that throughout her court case. American Jezebel by Eve
The Subjection of Women looks at the society and its struggles in adjusting to an environment where women are treated equally. John Stuart Mill’s approach to changing society comes from the viewpoint that after many years of submission and discrimination, women should be treated equally. This conclusion comes from a reflection on past classes of people that were similarly oppressed. Mill looks at similar situations throughout history where one certain group was dominant over another submissive group such as free vs. slave, white vs. black, etc. Mill states “but if the principle is true, we ought to act as if we believed it, and not to ordain that to be born a girl instead of a boy, any more than to be born black instead of white, or a
Merchant’s representations claim that “both nature and women are subordinate and essentially passive” furthering the proof that women are held at a lower standard than men (Merchant 9).
He feels that because women have been in this position for so many years, it would feel irregular to deviate from it. “The subjection of women to men being a universal custom, any departure from it quite naturally appears unnatural” (Mill 1157). As he continues, he reveals his thoughts on the matter to the reader: “this relic of the past is discordant with the future, and must necessarily disappear” (Mill 1159). Mill explores many aspects of the issue. He attempts to uncover the differences between the sexes to provide maybe another solution to the problem, but to no avail, “nothing final can be known” (Mill 1162); nothing is as strongly stated as when he places the blame on custom. Later in his essay, while exploring the systems of past societies, he comes to the same conclusion as earlier. Only this time, he states that there has been some improvement in the system as time went by; however, equality has not yet been reached. He believes that the small increase in power over time is enough to suggest that equality is the solution: “Through all…human history, the condition of women has been approaching nearer to equality with men. This does not itself prove that the assimilation must go on to complete equality; but it assuredly affords some presumption that such is the case” (Mill 1160). This quote is yet another contribution to the blame of custom. In the past, societies lacked equality
Many women during this time were influenced by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill. Mill is known for his essays discussing women’s rights and gender equality. He encourages both women and men to adopt the theory of “lasting flexibility of mind.” This theory helps both genders to be able to think outside of their conservative mindset and the ability to reject the traditional views of the 19th century.
In an act of nonconformism, Victorian era authors have shown their the dis complacency with defined roles of women through their work in an attempt to show society how the roles placed upon women have limited what they can accomplish.
Women are depicted Masculine to characterize how strong they are. In Herland, women have the physical feature of short functional hair and no appealing curves as describe in this passage:
Men and women were judged on significantly large difference. For example, a husband beating his wife was considered part of the natural ways of living, but if a wife attempted to beat her husband she was seen as if she was attempting to disarray the ‘natural way of life’. During a rape trial men’s prejudice was common. In the thirteenth century rape was made a capital felony, though if found guilty men were able to plead that they were unwell or needed god, they avoided torture or public killing. Women were portrayed as evil temptresses that asked for what they received.
discipline reveal indisputable “essential” difference between men and women, but provides no justification for woman’s inferiority. They all take women’s inferior “destiny” for
Women have always been treated as if they were born to serve mankind. Women are able to do the same things just as a man would do whether it be in the workplace or in the privacy of her own home. Women can make anything they want happen because no one can stop a woman from finishing what she starts. This essay will summarize Virginian Woolf's idea concerning why exactly there is not hardly any or rather much evidence at all of literature written by women in the early years.
Throughout history, countless acts of gender inequality can be identified; the causes of these discriminating accounts can be traced back to different causes. The general morality of the inequity relies on a belief that men are superior to women; because of this idea, women have spent generations suffering under their counterparts. Also, a common expectation is that men tend to be more assertive and absolute because of their biological hormones or instinctive intellect. Another huge origin is sexual discrimination; even in the world today, many women are viewed by men as just sex objects rather than a real human being with