Roxana By Daniel Defoa Analysis

Women, especially were inclined to be criticized or ostracized if they did not follow society’s gender roles. They were thought to be mothers and the main caretakers of the family. At the time, women were seen as delicate and feminine. Their work was found in the house with domestic duties. Charlotte Temple, by Susanna Rowson describes the ideal women and was specifically targeted to “factory girls” who left their homes in the farms to work in the city (Rowson, xii). Mrs. Temple, Charlotte Temple’s mother, decided not to let her grief consume her and instead focused on making her husband happy and taking care of her father after Charlotte left (Rowson, 56). If a woman was not committed to one man, then she was not the ideal woman. Mademoiselle La Rue, Charlotte’s teacher, was far from a role model. She was scandalous because she “eloped from a convent with a young officer” and she even had to hide it to get a job at the school (Rowson, 26). Moreover, women with no financial fortune were unfit to marry. Marriage was a financial transaction and a man’s success required that he married someone wealthy. Montraville’s father explains to his son that he would be happy if his son were to marry a woman with a fortune, but if he was to marry a woman with no fortune he’d be sticking her into the evils of a small income with a potential

During the early modern period, despite Queen Elizabeth’s powerful rule in the mid-sixteenth century, women in England had very few social, economic, and legal rights. According to the British system of coverture, a married man and wife became one person under the law, thus, “all the legal rights and responsibilities a woman had when she was single transferred to her husband upon marriage” (McBride-Stetson 189). Additionally, once married, the entirety of a woman’s property and wages came under the husband’s control; thus, in essence, women became the responsibility and property of their husbands (McBride-Stetson 189). Shakespeare, through his writings, illustrates the early modern period’s obsession with maintaining the legal

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.

The next requirement for being a “true woman” was submissiveness. According to society men were superior to women by “God’s appointment.” If they acted otherwise they “tampered with the order of the Universe” (Welter 105). A “true woman” would not question this idea because she already understands her place. Grace Greenwood explained to the women of the Nineteenth Century, “True feminine genius is ever timid, doubtful, and clingingly dependant; a perpetual childhood.” Even in the case of an abusive husband, women were sometimes told to stay quiet

Men also saw to this norm and would socialize in the public realm, while women would socialize in the private realm. This novel’s emphasis on marriage being unnecessary for fulfillment is also illustrated when Esther returns to England, and decides to remain unmarried.

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.

When a person gets married the responsibilities that they have within a family change completely because they are now a part of a whole new family which may come with new responsibilities. When a man or woman marries into a family, they have to find their role within the family dynamic which at times means that they may have to do things that they did not used to do or do things that they do not want to do, but these are things that come with being a part of a family. In addition, many times along with being married women are fit into a gender role that forces them into the “housewife” role. Some men before being married always had their mother there to do things like cooking and cleaning for them and so when they get married they assume that their wife will continue to do these things for him. These assumptions will completely shape how a women is viewed within her own family and it will also shape how she is viewed by society. The typical wife is exemplified in the story “The Married Woman”, in which the author describes what it is like for a woman to become married. A woman who was “once gay and coquettish” got “married to a man who neglected her,” which led her to take to “orderly housekeeping” to keep herself busy and this led her to “forget her own existence” (De Beauvoir 380). By becoming married a woman is shaped into a completely different

Society’s influence of male domination over women's bodies, minds and economy force women to adhere to a male view. Women during this time period were directed to become exceptional housewives and mothers instead of reaching for specific careers or financial independency. Instead, society encouraged women into becoming domestic, obedient housewives who were discouraged to go against their husbands, brothers or any male. Women were to obey men and their requests, or suffer the consequences of isolation or ostracized by other

Women are typically degraded as those who are lowly and aid the purpose of serving men, and bearing children. “The female contains all qualities and tempers them, She is in her place and moves with perfect balance, She is all things duly veil’d, she is both passive and active, She is to conceive daughters as well as sons, and sons as well as daughters” (Whitman).

Whilst it can be suggested that Moll's control over the determination of her identity and her active acceptance of her guilt might alienate readers, particularly in a contemporary audience so fearful of indefinable female criminals, Nicola Lacey argues that it is Roxana's passive transgressions that condemn her whereas Moll's active participation in her own destiny endears her to readers(footnote). Moll's discussion of how men are "their own advisers and their own directors" (page) is ironic as she is explicitly the most active character in her story; in contrast, Roxana describes how simple it is to be swept along in immoral deeds without

Influence and reinforcement of gender roles comes from a culture’s traditional views of a women and man’s duty to society. Mankind has a grip responsibility to give women and men an unwanted obligation to fill in order to be a perfect person in the eyes of humanity. Gender roles still exist in our world today through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the article “Gender Roles and Religion” because our cultures still impose expectations upon men and women and as society still sparks a certain way one must be at an early age in the minds of young girls and boys. Throughout The Scarlett Letter, the puritan community portrays Hester Prynne as a temptress and only a matter of time before she cheats on her husband because of the

“I cheerfully comply with thy request, in presenting to thee my views respecting the subject of thy last communication […] I hastily sketch for thee a few of my thoughts, respecting that deeply interesting, that highly important subject, the Rights of Women” (Rosina 153). The intended audience of Rosina’s letter is a friend of hers, whom she refers to as “my friend.” (Rosina 153) throughout the letter. Her letter also contains several appeals to women to not accept inequality and to take care of their personal needs. There is a short passage in the letter in which she refers to and addresses all women in general in a sarcastic tone “Yes, woman standeth not only aggrieved but also reproved” (Rosina 153).

As women in society has evolved to become innovational women of today’s time, creating genetic cures and becoming billionaire's through one children’s book ;it didn’t immediately happen over night. Women for centuries struggled their way to make a difference in the world, through patriarchal influence, being beaten their way back down to nothing as they attempt to climb up into society. The patriarchal idea has even spread to literature like British literature such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Beowulf, as they gave women such a antagonistic role within these tragic historical fictions. Gifting them such low character qualities that every reader seems to hate and even not giving certain women names! The deeper reason for the way women’s roles

Wealth and property feature heavily in the wife’s portrayal of marriage and along with the issue of her independence is responsible for many of her marital conflicts. The first three husbands "riche and olde" were married each for "hir land and hir tresoor" then discarded as the Wife looks for other prospects. When one of these husbands tries to restrict the Wife’s spending she refuses to let him be both "maister of my body and of my good" so refuses sexual favours in return for her freedom as she will not become a mere possession. She generalizes that women "love no man that taketh or keepth charge" suggesting an element of independence and individualism in 14th century marriage. The wife resents being controlled; she

Looking at the framework of Defoe’s previous novels, Maddox demonstrates how although Roxana follows a similar pattern of other characters, her outcome is drastically different. In former novels, when faced with a moment of devastation, the character divided from their previous self, and in turn gained control. From there, the character is faced with yet another unfavorable situation, but this time they are able to overcome it in their new powerful state. On the contrary, Roxana divided from her previous self, but still faced destruction and tragedy in the end. Maddox also examines closely the relationship between Roxana and Amy, and how their characters follow this