The Kitchen, unlike most plays, doesn’t have a particular storyline to follow and no direct narrative, however, the play includes individual character stories, overlapping with other characters. It is clear to see from the text that the serious aspects of the play are contrasted with the predictable. For example, abortion is a strong theme in the play, and we are made aware by Cynthia after Winnie collapses, that four or more of the waitress have taken the pills to assist in a termination – ‘she took pills that’s why. And I’ll tell you something else – there are four other girls here who took the pills. There four of them!’ This is juxtaposed as we are already aware of the affair between Monique and Peter and so to find out that she has already had three abortions, it is inevitable they were Peter’s children. Also, the fact that there are three other girls, aside from Monique and Winnie suggests that the taboo subject of abortion is a topic of hot gossip during this time, creating a comedic effect with how fast the news of this spreads around the staff, despite the illegality of the time.
It is important to see that the evolution of women’s rights from the time of the play with the second wave of feminism and Betty Freidan’s Feminine Mystique. Women were encouraged to think more about their general way of life, the ownership of their own bodies, being able to take responsibility for themselves and to regulate this as they see fit as they become more and more
Women wanted to improve education in both university courses and at a school level. They wanted to open up career opportunities for girls that were once just meant for men, some examples of these were in sport and science. While this was happening other women were focussing on meeting women’s specific safety and health needs, this included greater access to contraception, abortion, and protection from domestic violence.
Throughout time women and their rights have varied among where they are living and the people that surround them. Some of the major changes with women’s rights is giving them the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. Another thing that varies throughout time is women’s roles. For example 100 years ago the only jobs that women could have was to either be a housewife, nurse, or a teacher. Until about 1910, women didn’t really fight for their rights and what they could do. In 1910, women started to voice their opinions in society and fought for the right to vote. Though things have changed greatly today, there are still women in the world that believe in the “traditional way” and prefer to still wait on
The extension of women’s rights from 1877 to the mid 1970s, has changed over time along with the ideals of the different eras. From the original traditional values to those wild and free spirits that dominated the culture in the seventies, since then women and their rights have changed.
As the perception of women changes constantly, society is the only factor in creating their ideal image. These societal views are the basis of their treatment, with the expectation that it is beneficial for them. However, societal expectations of women in the Elizabethan and Victorian eras severely limit their freedoms and rights. William Shakespeare’s Othello and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portray most women in their typical roles. Both authors depict the level of injustice in society’s treatment of women through the passivity of women causing their deaths, the silencing of vulnerable women and the portrayal of women as more humane than men.
As women’s role in society increased throughout history, a feminist movement started to evolve. Some periods in history however, reached little improvement in women’s rights, especially in England. These women pushing for the same rights as their male counterparts believe they should not be treated differently as their male counterparts. Margaret Harrison advocates the feminist movement through her lifetime from her paintings and by forming art organizations.
She was a mother, a moral and political philosopher, a writer, and a feminist. Mary Wollstonecraft was the ideal image of what represented the push towards modern feminism. Some may even consider her as the founding mother of modern feminism itself. Much of Wollstonecraft’s literature is influenced by her own life experiences. In 1785, Wollstonecraft took on an employment opportunity as a governess. While spending most of her time there, she had a moment of epiphany where she realized that she was not suited for domestic work. Soon after, she returned to London and became a translator and wrote for a well-known publisher and discovered her love of writing. Eventually, years later she was then able to publish her most notable work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is still a very popular book which can be seen as a guide to becoming a better citizen and understanding feminism in a critical context. This essay will argue that Mary Wollstonecraft is still relevant to the feminist cause today as her views portrayed in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman are still relatable to many of the feminist issues that currently exist around the world. This essay will do so by comparing how her views in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman can still be used as guiding principles to tackle feminist matters.
Throughout the history of this country especially beginning in the 1800s with the women's suffrage movement, women have fought for equality. It is no secret that the role of men versus women have change immensely over the last century however some things have not changed. As a result of the unchanging or slowly evolution of equality feminism has arise.
Throughout the 19th century in America, men and women were expected to fill different spheres of society, the men went off to work and the women and children stayed in the home. New ideals of what true womanhood looked like were published in many journals, newspapers, and magazines, specifically, The Young Lady’s Book: A Manual of Elegant Recreations, Exercises, and Pursuits, which was written for the purpose of giving guidelines of the woman’s standard role in society. It was not until 1848 that women stood up for their rights and the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted, demanding equality and independence. Both of these documents reflected the time period in which they were written and created some opposing reactions in women with the different
In 1963 there was the second wave of the women’s movement when Betty Friedan published her book The Feminine Mystique, which sole purpose was to point out the, “problem that has no name” (understanding feminism by peta Bowden). The context of the book described that women were being forced to live under their true
Sisters, a collection of biographies, has a central purpose to describe the lives of five crucial characters of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s and early 1900s. This movement began during a period when nearly no one would allow a woman to stand up as a leader, and no one approved of any woman wearing pants; it was only acceptable for women to wear floor length dresses or skirts. Along with the strict dress code women had to abide by to remain sociable, their central duty was to be a house maiden and to care for children. Even the most monumental women in the feminist movement were expected to bear children and raise them the best they could.
Throughout the history of the world women have often been subjected to fewer rights and to a lower social class than that of men. In most societies the traditional role of the woman was the role of wife, mother, and caretaker. Women endured this type of prejudiced behavior since the dawn of time until the first women’s movements began to develop during the 1800’s in the United States and Europe. These women’s movements are often referred to as feminist movements or feminism. The development of feminism in the 1800’s was a very crucial part of history because women began the long road of gaining women’s rights with the Seneca Falls Convention, the founding of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the first National Women’s
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the early feminists’ focal concern was women’s suffrage. During this time, most women in the United States did not have many economic and political rights. Back then priorities of women were to take care of their homes, families, and husbands. These earlier feminists, also known as the first wave feminists, simply wanted a voice and this led to the women’s suffrage movement. By 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment finally passed and gave women the right to vote (Kotef). This successful movement influenced women everywhere in the world and continued to powerfully inspire women throughout the 20th century (Kotef). By the latter half of the century, the second wave of feminism arose. It included the voice of African-American women because this wave occurred during the civil rights movement. Second wave feminism also included important issues such as sexual and reproductive rights, legal abortions, birth control pills, and the passing of the Equal Pay Act (1963). All feminists live to create ideologies and movements that support the equality of women, but it is clear that second wave feminists were substantially different in their aims than earlier feminists (Gizberg). The goal of this paper is to analyze the main elements of second wave feminism and compare it to the works of earlier feminists. This will show the multifaceted development of second wave feminism.
In todays world it is not hard to find a woman in any role in society, however this was not always the case. In time periods previous to this, the role of women was quite different than it is in today’s world. What is now equality and power was once seclusion and degradation towards women of society. Over the course of time the role of women has changed dramatically, and the plays Antigone by Sophocles, Trifles by Susan Glaspell and The Doll House by Henrik Ibsen are great works that show how women can challenge the boundaries that were put on them by a society that was not very accepting of feminism.
The 1970s is a key period in the history of feminism. Many laws were created to protect
How does ‘The Kitchen’ dramatise the world of the late 1950’s and what does the play mean to us today?’