The Rover In The Play

To want something, you can’t have. Desire is he cause of so many problems in the world and also the cause of why women display acts of viciousness towards each other. Since the dawn of time, there has been a divide between married and unmarried women. Unmarried women are viewed as not “pure”, while married women gain respect for having caught a man. Although in some cases they are not happy with their marriage, but do not want to lose the respect they have gained. In the text Francie watches as, her neighbor Joanna has rocks thrown at her because she, wants to walk her child born out of wedlock. Francie wanders why and simply concludes “That was Joanna’s crime, decided Francie—not that she had been bad, but that she had not been smart enough to get the boy to the church.” (Smith 232). Due to Francie’s upbringing, lifestyle and culture, Marriage is viewed as something of necessity, more than an option. There is an overshadowing pressure for young women her age, by society to get married; causing them to look down on other women for not obtaining the status that comes with

First of all, through the inaccurate representation and stereotypes of both empowered and oppressed women, Shakespeare and Steinbeck explore the destruction of relationships. In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, the dominant female roles are given to Goneril and Regan who manipulate others through their empowerment to get what they desire, yet in the end of the play lead to each other’s demise – tragic ending. Neither Goneril, nor Regan have the decency to honor or remain loyal to their own husbands. They usurp their father’s authority and disrespect their marriage. However, in the beginning of the play, they remain loyal to one another. Through a feminist lens, this portrayal of women is demeaning and erroneous, but illustrates how even the most horrific character’s loyalty to one other is worthless. The lustful desires of both women for Edmund results in Goneril poisoning Regan and then committing suicide – tragic demise of both women. In similar fashion, Steinbeck depicts the disloyalty in an oppressed woman. The only female character in Of Mice and Men is Curley’s wife whose identification is known through her husband. She is considered to be the reason for the downfall of men and a distraction. Throughout the novel she is described in derogatory

Many female characters are imprisoned by their marriages. By marrying someone, society expects them to become obedient and put their husbands first. They essentially give up all of their power and all the control they had over their own life. For example, Minerva, one of Esperanza’s neighbors, is married and has two children, even though she is not much older than Esperanza. Minerva “has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving” (85). Minerva’s main problem is her husband and processes her circumstances by writing poems that she shares with Esperanza. “Leaving” implies that her husband is not around very often and that their relationship is so unhealthy that it frequently ends with one half leaving only to return at a later date. Minerva once “comes over black and blue and asks what can she do”(85) after she

Her torment parallels the violence Natives endured from the Europeans when their land was colonized. Fleur was hired for her strength alongside the three main men Tor, Dutch, and Lily. They worked in the slaughterhouse, a place where people kill to profit off the life of animals. The actions done in the slaughterhouse reflects the actions that the Europeans held against the indigenous people; they killed them to profit off their land. During work Tor, Dutch, and Lily usually discussed “Auctions to come, equipment, or women,” which exemplifies how women are just like objects since they are in their list of things that can be bought, sold, and used. They lack respect for women and refer to Fleur as a “squaw,” a slur used against Native American women. For Fleur to be given equal power in this workforce destabilizes the men’s power in their society. Fleur’s achievement at her job and during the card games she played with these men disturbed them. Although Fleur’s gain was slow, it was consistent and it threatened the men’s ego. Her success wasn’t large enough to damage the men since she only won a dollar a day during the games, but it was effective enough to show them that she too had power. Lily in particular loathed her consistency and focused on breaking her streak to assert his

When Abigail Williams is introduced in the play, she comes across as a very headstrong and ambitious young lady, yet she has ravenous needs for the consolidation of her affections. And it is a common stereotype for women to be

Have you ever felt that men always screw things up? Perhaps it is not men themselves that cause destruction; maybe it is merely the result of the presence of a masculine character. The role of masculinity is an essential aspect in both Bobbie Ann Mason's short story entitled, Shiloh, and in Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, although it functions very differently in each story. In Shiloh, we see the detrimental effects that the male role has even in its absence through the interactions that Leroy has with his with wife, Norma Jean. Contrasting this particular perspective, in A Streetcar Named Desire the destructive manner of the

The Renaissance comedy, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, written by Shakespeare in 1600 during the Elizabethan era, addresses male inconstancy and female persecution; how women are controlled by the prevailing patriarchal system. Hero, the conventional heroine, is a ‘shrinking violet’, who suffers character assassination through male actions. ‘The Rover’, written in 1677 for the Restoration society of Charles II where men were hedonistic, uncommitted and brimming with bravado, also explores gender conflicts. However playwright, Aphra Behn, in this Restoration comedy, critically comments on male attitudes, and - through female rebellion

     The treatment of women in Hamlet is very troubling. The leading female characters, Queen Gertrude and Ophelia, are pawns or puppets for the men around them. Like chess pieces, they are moved about and influenced by the men they love with little say of their own; in fact, Shakespeare does not even develop their characters.

In his play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams vividly voices his unease regarding the corrosive consequences of a macho culture and the patriarchal system on both men and women. 2

The idea of marriage that is presented in the play differs from what we see marriage as

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

“Trifles” a play by Susan Glaspell, emphasizes the thought that women were kept in their homes and their contributions to the home and family went unappreciated and unnoticed. The play gives readers a view of how women were view and treated during the 1900’s. As a female analyzing the play, Mrs. Wright’s motive for killing Mr. Wright was quite clear. Susan Glaspell gives her readers a feminist approach, to demonstrate how Mrs. Wright’s murdering of her husband is justified.

Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, women are usually illustrated as strong,independent, confident, and self-serving individuals. Previously scene from King Lear with both Regan and Goneril and in Macbeth with Lady Macbeth, these characters show the true strength of a woman. However, in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the woman are seen as weak. Being the only female characters in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude allow us to observe the role of women in Hamlet. The men surrounding them continuously control both Ophelia and Gertrude, as they agree to be pawns in several plans for the men that are in their lives. Both women eventually choose another man over Hamlet , while playing a big role in his life, they betray him. The betrayal

All things considered, women are very underestimated when being compared to men. All women in this play were without power, a stay at home wife, without a clue and without the ability to stand on their own two feet. Whereas every male character in the play held all the power, were the bread winners, were rational and more than capable to think and be on their own. What this

Like in today’s society, marriage played an important role in this novel, but in a different aspect. Today, not too many women are force to marry, but it is expected of them. In the novel, the women were force to marry for the sake of their village. They were to be married off for either money for their family or some type of trade off. For instance, Effia’s father, Cobbe, had large expectations on who he wanted her to marry. His expectations were so large that he wanted to rush her growth and development as young woman so that she could be with man he wanted her to be with. He so desperately wanted her to be with the next ruler of their tribe.