Literature and oppression on women
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Literature and oppression on women
The situation of a woman in a traditional society is subject for perpetual debate. Women share a long history of tribulation that has been associable to societal prescriptions that hold certain genders as inferior. Different art works, such as literature, has engaged in discussions and tackled the themes that involve oppression of women. It is notable that the society has systems that encourage the suppression of women.
Literature subtly notes that a man is the determinant of women’s fate in a society. In Rape: A Love Story, there is an immediate horrendous scenario. The city of Niagara Falls bespeaks worry as a woman and her daughter receive a brutal and physical attack from individuals who are supposed to protect them. The book has a title that speculates on the fate of the women. It is an open title that entails no allusion to the onset oppression of women. El Saadawi’s novel, Woman at Point Zero, Firdaus already projects her fate as regards the happenings in her surroundings. This is because, from the onset, she witnesses her father brutalizing her mother. There is an allusion to the scenario of characters from the title of the book. Point Zero refers to a place that subjects its occupants to a sense of constancy. These titles point to a life that offers no hope for either girl or a woman. In spite of the idea that childhood might be an idyllic phase, growing up unearths the grim nature of a community.
The idea of power is a subject that relies on the subjugation of women. This suggests that men harness power by quickly oppressing the most vulnerable group, women. In the beginning, Firdaus learn that her father possesses considerable power over her mother. After the death of her parents, her uncle repossesses this power and extends the element over Firdaus. The two men that Firdaus commits to, manifest a destructive power that they employ to limit the freedoms of the woman. This sequence of power halts when Firdaus meets Sharifa. Sharifa is an independent woman who has navigated the ladder of prosperity by manipulating men. In this regard, Sharifa employs her beauty to wield power over men that she extorts considerable money from. However, Firdaus learns that she is betraying her own sense of dignity by using her body for money. Firdaus realizes that, as a woman, power cannot be absolute as she compromises on her most vital property to gain wealth.
Literature manifests that men merely use women as sources of their pleasure. This suggests that if women wear off the sexual pleasure, the men possess no further interest in them. A woman’s value props on the beauty that the world sees in her. This is an ancient practice that features Euripides’ play, Medea. This story begins when Jason decides to abandon Medea to marry Glauce. This is an immature decision that Janus makes without properly evaluating the emotions of his wife. Interestingly, Jason blames the wife for a melodrama of declaring her grievances to the public. Jason inconsiderate nature further manifests in his regard for the remarrying as a universal family interest. Besides, he employs his exploitative character to extend material offers to Medea. Such experiences build up rage in affected women. This is a danger to a passive society that does not properly consider the situation of women. This is because women’s feelings explode to destroy members of the community who are innocent. The tragedy of the play entails Medea’s rage that makes her poison Glauce and kill all her children. It is evident that women can embody a mixture of passion and rage that the society influences. Medea is an initially loving woman who expresses warmth and exceptional love for all her children and husband. When Jason disappoints her, however, she exacts her revenge on the very individuals that she had unconditionally loved.
There is a considerable sense in which the society suppresses the women’s freedom for expression. Individuals subject women to quietude about their own unique problems. In Oates story, A Love Story, it is notable how Teen’s happiness ends after a party. When Teen decides to reach her home through a long way, a gang of inebriated youths trail her. This gang turns out to be brutal individuals who rape her in front of her own daughter. This story breaks out into the surrounding community but it attracts trivial attention. Close individuals discuss Teena as having called for her own fate. She becomes a victim of gossip in a community that ought to help her. Furthermore, the justice system seems to laugh off her problem as an occurrence that cannot be mitigated. This casts a peek into the rottenness of a justice system that cannot defend beasts from the women. Teen eventually suffers the fate of guilt as she realizes that her assertiveness is source of fun for the passive community.
Literature expresses the fate of women as disguised by the affection of men. This is a deeper aspect that deals with the actual sense in which men perceive women. Sylvia Plath’s poem, Lady Lazarus, expresses cynicism of women’s progressive movements and men’s pretentious expressions of change. This is because there underlies a demeaning view of women. This reflects in women as a dark internal carriage that wishes for its own extinction. Since birth, the character shares a perpetual wish for death. This is a manifestation of a type of life that is similar to the feeling of death since individuals do not show the real value of an individual. The core character has a deep stretching resentment for individuals who seem to express affection towards her. In the poem, there is a regular mention of same place to depict a monotonous living. Monotonous living, in this case, is existence that does not entail change as the women, somehow, remain in their fate of subjugation.
It is discernible that the society has systems that encourage the suppression of women. Literature is an instrumental tool that exposes the underlying events in the oppression of women. In the stories and poems, men determine the fate of their women. The works’ titles bespeak an eventual destiny for women. The Lazarus Woman, for instance, is a title that expresses the fate of the ever-suffering woman. Besides, through prostitution, in Woman Point Zero, it is notable that men wield power by placing women at places for vulnerability. Jason’s activities manifest an inherent male character of manipulating women for pleasure and fleeting to the next beautiful women. Suppression occurs in Teena’s fate as she attracts unconstructive and passive attention. Lastly, it is notable that men embody a consistent character of hiding their manipulation within affections.
