Linda Patan Poem the Marks

gender role. The Lady’s role questions traditional presumptions of the roles of women in medieval literature. Women of the Middle Ages were generally dependent, inferior, and many female portraits in medieval texts did not fare better. While men of the Middle Ages were generally chivalry, valiance, noble and honest. Throughout the poem I began to see gender roles being reversed between Lady Bertilak and Sir Gawain.

Women were expected to do so much but at the same time so little. They had no power to do what they desire because men had all the power to control them. Society had an expectation of how women were supposed to act. For instance, Mary’s father cared for his sons education he wanted them to know how to read, write, and to do sums, as for his daughters he only cared that they knew how to read and sew. That is the basic that women were allowed to learn it was not important for them to know more since all they were going to work for is taking care of children. Here is an example, “…Gender roles within those families the reinforcement of gender ideals such as “helpmeet” and “notable housewife” by religious and civil authorities, and the simple

In analyzation, the connotation aspect of this poem is how women during this time, specifically white women, used their power over black men and their freedom. Although the texts’ literal interpretation, or denotation,

To begin with, the author’s implementation of short sentence fragments throughout the poem illustrates the exasperation and frustration bottled up in women in response to

4. Do you assume the mason/carpenter/wood-cutter is a man or a woman? How come? In my opinion, they were all probably men because the poem was written in 1860 and during this time not many women could be seen doing these kind of jobs. Women would oftentimes sew, wash clothes, cook, and take care of the family. It also says the word “his” after introducing them.

Like a template. Every family had to have one of these. Families during this time did not bond or grow up together, but had been brought and constructed. Another example of sexism can be found in stanza five, as Dawe says, ‘’… and then it was goodbye stars and the soft/ cry in the corner when no one was looking…’’ This shows the audience that in this society, during this time period, men were also stereotyped as they were not allowed to cry. They DO NOT cry.

She writes how the housewives also served as " helpmates" to the men. If for any reason the men were injured and could not perform in the Revolutionary War, these women were expected to "step into their husbands' shoes" and "fulfill their obligations as helpmates" when needed to (11). That brought out the physical strength, courage, mental toughness in the women as they were "performing male duties, exhibiting masculine traits" (11). Through all this the "gender lines remained intact" and women were still considered smaller than the

The woman in Woman work is not well off. We know this as she says

Patriarchal culture has dominated society throughout history. Males have control in many aspects of life and women have continued to fight for equal rights in society. There are many ways women have contributed to the fight for equality; some more physical and other less abrasive. Education and Literature gave the voice to a few women in a male-centered world. Poet Lady Mary Wroth captures the injustices experienced by women in the feminine narrative of Sonnet 9 from her collection of sonnets, songs, and lyrics entitled 'Pamphilia to Amphilantus. In this poem, Wroth explores the thoughts of elite women in the 1700s and uses aspects of her own cultural and historic circumstance to convey the theme of a religious patriarchal society.

In the time period of the 14th century, many woman faced inequality. Women were not viewed to uphold the same quota as men. Most females were viewed as passive to males and were not able to make many demands in their relationships or make any contributions to their own survival or life. In the “Wife of Bath Tale”, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer gives an insight into the struggles of a woman. Chaucer gives a voice for women who cannot speak for themselves. He creates a tale for the Wife of Bath that includes and questions the societal views of women. Written in the words of a woman, Chaucer undermines what it means to be a female in the fourteenth century who desires independence and

and Femininity. The poem is mainly about motherhood in a way as previously discussed. She

The Marthas are the servants. They are the women that will take care of the children. The wives wear blue. This symbolizes being calm and peaceful; even though this is not how they actually are. The Wives are married to the Commanders. The handmaid’s have a baby with the Commanders to permit the Wife and Commander to have a family of their own and the Martha’s look after the baby once it is born.

During the time in which the play took place society frowned upon women asserting themselves.  Women were supposed to play a role in which they supported their husbands, took care of their children,

Throughout the ages, women have been graded on their performance and instructed on what is supposed to be their purpose. In the poem, “Marks,” by Linda Pastan, the speaker expresses her distaste for being graded on how she performs her “womanly” tasks. Likewise, in the poem, “Women,” by May Swenson, the speaker seems to be comprised of a contingent of people from the time the poem was written – around 1978 – likewise, the speaker of “Marks” is a wife and mother of two children – a boy and a girl. The poem, “Women,” details how the people of the time feel about women and who they should “serve.” Since both poems seemingly depict the purpose of women, the poem “Marks” could be incorporated into the class discussion to show conflicting perspectives between women and the public about the treatment of women.

The society always queries about the role of women and for centuries, they have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. The treatment of women was remarkably negative; they were expected to stay home and fulfil the domestic duties. Literature of that time embodies and mirrors social issues of women in society (Lecture on the Puritans). But, slowly and gradually, situation being changed: “During the first half of the 19th century, women 's roles in society evolved in the areas of occupational, moral, and social reform. Through efforts such as factory movements, social reform, and women 's rights, their aims were realized and foundations for further reform were established” (Lauter 1406). Feminist poets like Emily Dickinson and Anne Bradstreet talked substantially about feminism in different lights in the past two centuries. They were very vocal and assertive about their rights and the ‘rights for women’ in general. While they might have been successful at making a good attempt to obliterate gender biases but still there are lot of disparities between the two genders. Nevertheless, their poetry reflects a deep angst.