How do the Authors of Once Were Warriors and Tess of the D’Urbervilles Explore the Subjugation of Women in Patriarchal Societies?
The film Once Were Warriors, directed by Lee Tamahori, and the novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy differ in terms of context, however each explores the subjugation of women in a patriarchal society. Tamahori and Hardy both explore the idea that patriarchy traps women in oppressive situations employing the settings of their texts and the characters they devised. Each author concludes that gender subjugation forces women to respond in drastic ways through the characterisation of their protagonists as well as through symbolism. It is Tamahori’s cinematography, and Hardy’s narrative perspective and
…show more content…
Jake for example, is portrayed as an arrogant, violent man, often depicted yelling and resorting to his fists when things do not go his way, Tamahori using cinematography to emphasise his violent nature. When Jake beats Beth for the first time on screen Tamahori frequently employs an upward camera angle to emphasise Jake’s power. The upwards torso shots in particular allow the audience to view Jake’s body language and facial expression. From these shots, evidence of Jake’s violence are captured in his tightened muscles and strained face. Tamahori contrast of power in downward camera angles for Beth highlighting her brutalization. The downward angles allow the audience to witness Beth’s fearful facial expressions and the contortions of a damaged body. In this contrast Tamahori is able to further emphasise situations of domestic abuse. Jake’s violent portrayal as an abusive man is symbolic of Maori men enforcing patriarchy in post-colonial New Zealand communities. Although Hardy’s antagonist Alec D’Urberville is not physically violent, he is portrayed as an emotionally manipulative privileged male who uses these characteristics to entrap Tess. Alec’s courtship of Tess is oppressive in the sense that he believes he is entitled to her, that because he had sex with her once he has the right to call himself her ‘master.’ Hardy hints at her rape in his narrative
Jake together with his wife (Beth) are Maoris, New Zealanders staying in housing development. Both the husband and wife are good-looking individuals, where Jake in his luminous, sleepy-eyed and self-contented smile that appears as if he’s full of confidence. But the heart of the matter is that he’s not. Amazingly, beer seems to be the one that fuels his bitterness, anger and insecurities, and disguises his strength.
The role of the patriarchal society and its impact on the oppression of female characters
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.
Women haven’t always had the freedom that they have today. Women were supposed to live a certain life even though sometimes they didn’t want to. They had to tend to their husbands at all time, stay home and do housework while still taking care of their children or being pregnant. Women were abused physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Although women were perceived to act and present themselves in a certain way, some young women went against the cult of the true woman hood not only to be different, but to escape he physical, emotional, and psychological abuse that they will or have encountered. In novels, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Path and Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid both young women have the similarity to rebel against the cult of true
The role of gender, as it played in the creation of women as social actors, forms the basis for their ability to participate in any form of resistance as well. History of slave rebellion is occupied in a constant project of pacification of enslaved women- a pacification seen as necessary, in the face of danger, to counteract the threat of the black women. History has created a twofold of masculine/active versus feminine/passive, constructing a passivity for women in order to enhance men’s masculinity. Isolating revolt as a masculine
It was unbelievable to know that women were seen as nothing more than servants or slaves. Being a woman it was heart wrenching to read what most of these women had to go through just to satisfy a man. However, not every woman from the past was treated like a slaves or a servant, but in addition these women had no rights to begin with. Women were to remain at home where they were more easily controlled, and if a women were to attend to the outside world that caused fear and tension to the patriarchy world. Furthermore, yet it might not be as vivid as before, but sexism and discrimination against women still exist today. Although, humanity is progressing when it comes to being sexist, it is still carried on in most religious
Throughout history, gender roles have been an important barrier in society. Women are forced to satisfy expectations established by men and society. “My Last Duchess,” by Robert Browning, focuses on the powerful Duke establishing certain expectations of the Duchess, and attempting to control her. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, concentrates on Laertes establishing certain expectations of Ophelia, and seeking to control her. A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf, centers on societal expectations of Judith, and her father trying to control her. In all three texts, men have the ability to control women and have the freedom to do as they please. Women must conform to the expectations of faithfulness, attentiveness, and chastity.
In the modern world women work, vote, run for office and the list goes on. In most aspects, women are equal to men. However, this was not always the case. In centuries past, women were not viewed as being equal to men socially, intellectually, or politically and were thought incapable of accomplishing anything of value. Consequently, many cultures held the view that women were possessions whose only purpose was to be subservient to men. The view of women as mere objects is evident in various works of literature throughout the ages. Two classic works of literature that exemplify this are The Thousand and One Nights and Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of
The women in both novels were able to express power by rebelling against social expectations of women back then
Women in literature were viewed as submissive to their male counterparts. Countless works of the nineteenth century,
It is characters like these that possesses a realistic view and are abhorred by society because of it. These characters are in a way revolting against societal norms and attempting to create better positions for themselves within the “masculine universe” (Beauvoir 638). It is impossible for a woman to create a better position for herself within society when she is viewed as a “parasite” (Beauvoir 636). Furthermore, women cannot better their place in society when society continues to encourage women adopting mythical fantasies of love and the ideal body. Beauvoir suggests that in order for women to better their place in society men must take action yet male oppression is also a result of women possessing and conforming to a fantasy view of love and their looks (Beauvoir 766).
Within the texts we have read, it is clear that women are oppressed and objectified. The city of London, and the texts Fantomina, The Beggar's Opera, and The Spectator #454, all share one thing in common, the representation of women as oppressed. ADD MORE HERE FROM THE CONCLUSION. .
Thesis Statement: In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Hardy’s protagonist Tess, suffers and endures one injustice after another because of her economic standing and gender, reflecting how Victorian English Society favors the wealthy over the poor and how women are treated unequally and held to a different standard than men. Because Tess is unable to find justice and fairness within her society, Hardy is trying to tell the readers to change the gender injustices and acknowledge the economic inequalities that society has created.
In the Middle Age literature, women are often presented or meant to come off as an unimportant character; which can also reflect on how the author wants the women character represent. Women are usually shunned, have no say or control in what they do; due to what men desire; like Ophelia and Gertrude did in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But these female characters that I will discuss are women with power, control, and a voice. Majority of the female character’s appearances are made to represent wickedness, evil, or a seducer who challenges a man belief; and does not symbolize perfect women.
During the 19th century, women were controlled by a male dominated society. The women were in pure agony knowing that there was no faith for them to have a crucial change in civilization. This could often lead to “clinical depression” in which a human could feel lonely, empty, confounded and miserable. In this time period, women’s role in society was to be simply mothers and wives. A world where women had rights, control, and power was a fantasy. According to Hall, he states, “Key to all feminist methodologies is the belief that patriarchal oppression of women through history has been profound and multifaceted” (Hall 202). In other words, it is known that the male takes complete cruel supremacy over the years in our history. In The