Gertrudis: The Role Of A Woman

Does being a female put every woman at a disadvantage in a patriarchal society? In The Marquise of O, Heinrich von Kleist tells the story of a woman named Giulietta who lost her husband, but continues to take care of her children. This almost perfect life of hers came to an end when she was raped and found out she was pregnant without any knowledge of the incident. As a woman living in the 18th century, she was put at a disadvantage because she now had to now find a father for the child in order for her and the child to avoid public scrutiny in the patriarchal society where having a father figure or more so his name was crucial. In this paper, I will be looking at the problem of feminine passivity in the Marquise of O and how this is shown

Women in Renaissance Italy faced rigid societal standards to which they were supposed to conform. They lived public lives, directed almost exclusively by other people in regards to significant decisions. However, this does not mean that a rise above the oppressive nature of the Renaissance was impossible. Several exceptional women were able to challenge their given positions in a society through their education, practices, seclusion, beauty, and roles. In an examination of several positions, through the Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please by Lucrezia Marinella and the letters of Laura Cereta, a Renaissance feminist, women can be seen as accepting of their position in society or rebelling against it. Their lives and prescriptive writings show how one can either follow the role given to them or exceed beyond it and become an exceptional woman.

As the millenniums pass and years go by, the world continues to evolve each day. Across the world, in every society, men and women have specific roles that they carry out. During ancient times, in most cultures, women were inferior to men. This is still true in many countries today. It has taken American women many centuries to have gained the rights and privileges they have today. Women have made many immense achievements, fought for their rights and stood up for what they believed in during the past century. It is very important to understand the role of women in history because they have played an imperative part of how each society functioned. In Classical Athens, women and men were citizens however men were superior to the women.

Due to the time period, one is raised in there are certain things that are considered to be the norm. In the late 1900’s women had no voice to speak out or give any of their opinions regarding any matters. In those types of society’s, the women are oppressed because the males were dominant. Edna Pontellier from The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Janie Crawford from Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston are two women who are oppressed in the society they are brought up in.

The world we know and live in today is ever changing. Not just in physical appearance, but also in manmade ideas such as women’s rights. Women today are mostly accepted as equals. There are those who refuse to change with the world and hold on to the former opinions of women’s rights. Back in the Puritan society, it was common knowledge that a woman was inferior to a man. Most all believed this because the church had prescribed the roles of both women and men. Three women of that time became well known public figures for doing not what was expected of them but much much more.

The encapsulating, heart renching stories behind each womans history is one that is effervescent, and resounding today in every ethnic culture, and understatedly in tomorrows society. Stories of thirteen year old girls, and wives being raped, tradgedy of husbands dying, never ending struggles for social equality, the felonies of racial disparagies, predudices, and abuse. These women also alternated between provider roles of cook, launderer, companion, housekeeper, child bearer, educator, councilor, and fought for the Revolutionary cause wether via a social voice or, physically in battle, and much much more. Ironically, some of the women were abused by their companions and raped by opossing armies (and these women

This is meant to display the modernization aspect of the era, and women's new found power

Throughout history women have often played a significant role, and how although women haven’t usually been in a position of power, they have, none-the-less, often contributed in significant ways. Like these 2 women, Empress Theodora and Queen Elizabeth the I, the both gave back to their societies .

In the past gender inequality gap between men and women was extremely huge as the land and the sky. Society entirely excluded women from almost everything such as learning, working, politic participating and so on. They received no rights, attentions, or protections at all, yet they always took responsibilities for the blames society had on them. The only reasons they existed was to stay at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their husbands and children. Although some critics might think of that as an essential role back then, women obtained completely no says in their families. Their husbands made all the decisions and told them what to do since those men were the ones who got jobs and fed the whole families. Throughout many uprisings,

Women have faced many challenges due to unequal rights in the United States. The time period of these chapters go from roughly 1868 to 1980. During this time there was World War I, multiple court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, World War II, and new technology being made. During these war times women had to step up to take over the mens’ jobs while they were fighting. Rosie the Riveter was a big campaign approach during WWII to get women working in the factories. Women proved that their place wasn’t only in the domestic sphere. Women changed America by accepting challenges, fighting for what they believed in, and taking risks.

Women guarded public morals and took care of their family, part of both of these roles included advancing the cause of women. Advancing the cause of women from a moral standpoint meant bringing women into the political arena via protest and creating women’s societies to combat specific causes. From a family standpoint, advancing the cause of women meant creating a better future for their daughters where women would be equal to men. The women of the time never got the equality and it would be a long way off, but they set up the opportunity for becoming equals to men by guarding public morals and taking care of their

Women were irritated that men made the political decisions while they were stuck making sandwiches for the men. If changing these degrading roles meant almost losing their lives, women were willing to at least give it a shot. They endured exposure to poisonous chemicals due to terrible working conditions, almost being shot by Russian soldiers because they demanded more bread, and last, but certainly not least, oppression. Their determination to execute all of these bad experiences is the reason that women have much more freedom today. The women that overcame the struggles of feminine oppression proved too strong to be held down. Even though women today are still not completely respected and are not as valued as men, the way women fought for the enhancement of their lives heavily impacted women in society

Then in society, men were portrayed as “dominant figures” and women were the “nurturers”. Men not only filled the fatherly role but they also usually earned the “breadwinning”, went to work all day, and financially provided for the wives and

Mama Elena goes on, for better or worse, attempting the best she can to raise a family in the tumultuous time of the Mexican revolution. She struggles against her rebellious daughter in her own attempt to keep her family’s heritage and traditions alive. Not only does she raise a family but she also runs the ranch on which the live and on derive their sustenance. Early on in the novel we see that Esquivel presents a character that deserves the same amount of respect normally giving to a male character in this same role. By placing this normally male role in a woman Esquivel questions the typical role of the woman in a home of just raising children by bestowing additional responsibilities.

It is inspiring to see how hard women went to get equal rights and try to acquire the same rights men had. Women had tried hard to get colleges, then after colleges they tried hard to get jobs that were becoming men dominated such as doctors. Women in the 1840’s also defied the odds and started working outside the homes. Women were seen as the ones who stood in houses and took care of the house and children while the men went out to work. The women who defied those odds must have been very brave. It was also inspiring to read that women were helping women and giving them the help other women needed. That doesn’t happen very much in 2015, women seem to be more to themselves and some are even self-centered. The Grimke sisters were also inspiring.