Patriarchy : A Patriarchal Society

In the summer of 1855, a slave named Celia committed a crime that would test the laws and precedents placed on slaves in Missouri during this time period. Celia was only fourteen when purchased by a slave owner, Robert Newsom in 1850. Five years after being purchased, she murdered her owner in self-defense because he tried to rape her. Throughout the 1800’s, slaves had few rights, if any at all. Celia, A Slave brings up many questions about these rights because of the controversy surrounding a black woman and her white owner. Many of these questions were also sparked because of the brutal crime Celia committed.

Back in the nineteenth century men and women were not treated equally as they are now. Women did not have as much freedom as the men did and that caused a national movement. Not only were the women segregated from the men, but the discrimination against the African American race was a huge ordeal as well. With both movements combined, it led to a controversial development at that time. Not only were women fighting for equality, they were also fighting for the prejudice to end amongst the different races. The beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement and the Abolitionist Movement was not only a historic development, but it changed the world forever.

Sally Thomas and her family were an atypical slave family in the antebellum South. Sally herself was a “quasi-free” slave, owned as property with personal benefits and liberties, by “[hiring] herself out as a laundress, a practice common among urban slaves.” The “quasi-slave” title was not uncommon in the South, where the blacks outnumbered the whites and the whites allowed the blacks to have mediocre peasantry jobs, however, they performed the job better than many whites, and allowed for them to earn money and make their own profit. All three of Sally’s son were born into bondage, Henry, James, and John. Even though their fathers were free whites, the slave title was heretical under their mother’s name

In one area of the chapter, Shelby mentions that, “Tom is an uncommon fellow; he is certainly worth that sum anywhere,—steady, honest, capable, manages my whole farm like a clock.” (Uncle Toms Cabin). Mr. Shelby also continues on to praise the fact that Tom is a devoted Christian, and that is why he can be trusted. What image that is typically portrayed in slavery is nothing but negative, and sometimes truly disturbing at times type of aspects. It is extremely odd that Mr. Shelby displays a sense of trust, and devotion to a slave. Many imagine that slave owners were terrible, violent, and cruel people. Yet oddly enough, Mr. Shelby doesn’t come off that way whatsoever.

(3) When first reading these narratives one would often assume, by what history tells us, that slave owners were cruel, hated men who often beat slaves severely if they committed even the slightest infraction. While this depiction does stand true for some slave owners, I was surprised to find that most of the former slaves interviewed in the “Slave Narratives” often held their masters in high regards, referring to them as kind and good. Former slave Harriett Gresham even goes as far to say that her master, Mr. Bellinger was “exceptionally kind”. Many slaves in the narratives described their masters as good to his slaves and never whipping them unless it was absolutely necessary. However, when the former slaves spoke of the “paterollers”, white men who roamed the roads in search of runaway slaves often beating them and returning them to their owners, they were described as being very cruel to slaves showing no sympathy to any slave found running away from a

The nineteenth century was an age of male dominance as well as slavery; even white women were viewed more as property or a burden to men instead of an equal. In concur with male supremacy the cult of true womanhood was practiced, an ideology which was brought forth in the eighteen century stating four virtues which women should abide by, piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity, in turn they would be grant happiness and power; hardly being the case of either, women were subjected to the control and dependency of their male counterparts. These virtues were taken mostly in attention of the elite white woman, not considering poor white women as well as slaves, who were thought to be less than women; African American women were excluded

In today’s world, everything is almost equal. People of all races are equal and share the same roles and opportunities; in addition, men and women are equal in society and also share the same roles at home, work, and at high authority positions. Although it is equal today, during the colonial era, however, society was entirely different. Society, at that time, was unequal and unjustified; in addition, society was divided into social ranks where those who were extremely wealthy and owned an abundance of land are at the top and slaves, the poorest, were at the bottom. White male land owners, at the time, were the most dominant and slaves, who are forced to work by high class people, were at the bottom of the societal class. Women, although in a higher position of slaves, were ranked lower to men at all standards and did not enjoy the same equality and freedom that men received. Unfair social division or white male dominance defined the roles of women and slaves in society.

Slavery system had a significant effect on their relationships of women. Most mistresses had no sympathy for slave women. Although some mistresses and their slaves grew up together and played with each other when they were a child, they still observe their slaves as a piece of property, and treated them as the same as masters treated their slaves. Even Mrs. Flint was a member of church and considers herself as a true Christiane; she still treated slave women with unkindness (P.14). One of the examples could be when Jacobs lost his father, she wasn’t allowed to go and bury his father because her mistress had an event coming the same day, so she had to prepare for the part even though any other slaves could have done the task (P.12). It is also

Wives like Mrs. Cosgrove would take their anger out on the slaves, not their husbands, “Rage, jealousy, hate, revenge all burned in her bosom. To think that she had been rivaled by slaves […] her anger and revenge turned not so much against her husband as the helpless victims of his sensuality.” (Crafts 180 and 186). Mrs. Cosgrove felt humiliated that her husband would chose to be with slaves over her and takes her anger out on the slaves as if they were the problem. Slaves had to face advances from their masters and jealous wrath from the master’s wife Treated as though they are Jezebels “sensual, fiery woman had primal sexual urges and invited white men to her bed”

The next thing feminist care about are women's desires. This means they encourage women to take the journey of finding out who they are and what they want to do in life. A wonderful example of someone who supports feminism when it comes to figuring themselves out is, Kate Chopin, author of "The Story of An Hour". This story describes the awakening of a woman named, Mrs. Mallard, as she becomes aware of her own desires. As she starts her journey, she receives news that her husband has passed, which turns out to be false, but that's not the most tragic thing in this story. Chopin wanted the entire tale to demonstrate the patriarchal society that defines gender roles and enables women to freely go about their lives. We can see this in the line,

The patriarchal nature of human society has existed for thousands of years. From the early Greeks and Romans to the great nation of America, oppression exists that gives men the upper hand. Margaret Atwood uses her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, inspired by WWII and resembling George Orwell’s 1984, to give readers an idea, a warning, of what is to come if this trend continues. The deeper question that arises when considering the material is who is truly at fault for the current system. Does the control of men reach so far at this point in history that women have no chance on their own of overturning it? Or is some of the responsibility on the women themselves to do anything they can to make up the difference? A mixture of both is appropriate

How would you feel if you put your happiness before someone else that you love, and uses you as tool wrapped around their finger? “We live in a patriarchal society where people are always judgemental; people are always quick to judge you based on what they see without thinking twice if they are wrong.” The society harshly judges people who do not conform to the common norms without trying to make an effort to know the reasons behind their actions. We do not attempt to walk a mile in people’s shoes before criticizing them for not abiding by the social norms. Before criticizing anyone put yourself into their shoes , this means do not judge without knowing what he or she has been through.

“Patriarchy is a kind of society organized around certain kinds of social relationship, and ideas. As individuals, we participate in it. Paradoxically, our participation both shapes our lives and gives us the opportunity to be part of changing or perpetuating it.” (Johnson 73) Patriarchy is a way of live, we already participate in it and be affected by it without aware.

A study of the Complexities in exploring the nature of Patriarchy in the Indian Context

John Bodnar says it well when he suggests that "the center of everyday life was to be found in the family-household. It was here that past values and present realities were reconciled, examined on an intelligible scale, evaluated and mediated." This assertion implies that the immigrant family-household is the vehicle of assimilation. I will take this assertion a step further and examine more specifically the powerful role of the patriarchal father within Anzia Yezierska's book Bread Givers and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. Yezierska's theme vividly depicts the constraint of a patriarchal world, while Levinson illustrates the process of assimilation and the immigrant, now American, family and its decline. In this