... footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door, -we shall not take upon us to determine." In The Scarlet Letter, author, Nathaniel Hawthorne effectively sets the mood for this dismal novel. The ugliness and rust in the prison and cemetery seems like the last place for ... character is faced with a dreadful sin or evilness, but within the malice, there is also a pleasant side to each character's transgression, illustrating hypocrisy. Hester Prynne is introduced as a tall, beautiful woman condemned for committing a serious sin of adultery. During her most signifi...

• Word Count: 561
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... have a new outlook on their rights after they became enlighten by education and the outside world. From the opening pages of So Long a Letter, the book revolved around a complex theme of abandonment in two relationships; which resulted from the sub-themes of abandonment of traditional ideas. Not ... duality of love and the thought of Aissatou having physical relations with Nabou. The second case of abandonment of customs within So long a Letter was when Assoute pursued a higher education after the divorce of her husband. Woman of Islamic tradition are usually housewives. After her divor...

• Word Count: 1737
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... reflections and struggles of Ramatoulaye Fall, a Senegalese woman writing to her lifelong friend, Aissatou, who now lives in the United States. Ramatoulaye, a recent widow, writes a detailed, intimate letter reflecting on her and Aissatou's roles as women, students, wives, mothers, and teachers, in order to analyze her own life and choices. Ramatoulaye's reflections help her to analyze traditional ... problems involving polygamy and patriarchal subjugation, and therefore can empathize with the experiences Ramatoulaye is detailing. For example, both women face the disintegration of their ...

• Word Count: 1849
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... responsibilities. Such desires are quite vividly portrayed in the gender ideologies of Nancy, a character from Second shift [Arlie Hochschild, 1989: Pg. 39-41]. Nancy tried to establish herself as the career woman. Her gender ideology centered on the idea of herself as a woman who would ... children. This was mainly made possible by the turning of women to the home front as house wives. [Stephanie Coontz, 1997: Pg. 39] But when women started getting employed in large numbers, stress and tensions resulted since, according to Coontz, "there is no non-stressful way ... individuals" drawing...

• Word Count: 2593
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... being somewhat deaf; she was also an excellent seamstress and weaver, and she had been on several other pilgrimages. She wore fine clothing, including scarlet red stockings and a large hat; Chaucer points these out to show her availability and her prosperity. The Wife had been married five times ... without such marriages there would be no procreation to produce more virgins. The Prologue is more than the Wife's autobiography about her life, her husbands, and why she married them; she would have been viewed as a horrible woman by the medieval Church, deceitful in her actions and reasons...

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... being somewhat deaf; she was also an excellent seamstress and weaver, and she had been on several other pilgrimages. She wore fine clothing, including scarlet red stockings and a large hat; Chaucer points these out to show her availability and her prosperity. The Wife had been married five times ... without such marriages there would be no procreation to produce more virgins. The Prologue is more than the Wife's autobiography about her life, her husbands, and why she married them; she would have been viewed as a horrible woman by the medieval Church, deceitful in her actions and reasons...

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... after a home, so it is plausible that a large proportion of these "new" workers were indeed those women returning to employment in the absence of their husbands. Therefore the chance of employment cannot be said to have greatly altered women's attitudes towards work, as it was not a relatively new experience for many. ... indeed the result of the war, as many women concluded in the survey that a women's place was at home. This is further augmented by the 39% of women who concluded in the survey that men should be given first priority for jobs. Therefore "The post war aspirations of the v...

• Word Count: 2750
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... not the sophisticated woman she once appeared to be. In a conversation with Emilia, Iago's wife, she is first exposed to the notion that "there be women that do abuse their husbands in such gross kind? I do not think there is such a woman." Emilia is representative of still another aspect of female strength. She is a less intellectual character, one who relies upon ... homespun nature of infidelity, reasoning "Why we have galls and though we have some grace, yet we have some revenge. Let husbands know their wives have sense like them. They see, and smell, and have their palates both for...

• Word Count: 645
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... not the sophisticated woman she once appeared to be. In a conversation with Emilia, Iago's wife, she is first exposed to the notion that "there be women that do abuse their husbands in such gross kind? I do not think there is such a woman." Emilia is representative of still another aspect of female strength. She is a less intellectual character, one who relies upon ... homespun nature of infidelity, reasoning "Why we have galls and though we have some grace, yet we have some revenge. Let husbands know their wives have sense like them. They see, and smell, and have their palates both for...

• Word Count: 655
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in this book. Some of the relationships featured are not as wholesome as they should be, emerging from the wanting of power, property or exacting revenge as opposed to love. The first example of this type of relationship is that between Heathcliff and Isabella. Upon his return to the Heights, after ... Catherine chose to marry Edgar instead of himself. It is for these reasons as well as merely personal gain that Heathcliff has returned to get his revenge over both houses in the area. Heathcliff and Isabella are married but very early into the marriage (as in a matter of hours), Heathclif...

• Word Count: 2116
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a key factor in wife abuse. The primary source of wife abuse is believed to be due to the wife's failure to live up to her husbands" expectations of being a good wife. This theory emphasizes how men learn abusive behavior through a male culture that encourages violence through a patriarchal system. Although ... , current occupational status, and employment history. This survey asked respondents five questions with reference to the patriarchal family. Women were asked whether or not their husbands: 1. were jealous and did not want them to talk to other men; 2. tried to limit their contact ...

• Word Count: 3590
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... found to be relatively weak, Women created an "informal trade union" which largely excluded men. Willmott & Young claim that "Husbands were often squeezed out of the warmth of the female circle and took to the pub as their defence". Therefore with ... husbands spending little time at home the conjugal roles really were segregated with husbands having little to do with any household tasks or childcare. However these segregated roles did begin to change over ... Metropolitan area. The results of this survey formed the basis of their book "The Symmetrical Family". Willmott & Young argue t...

• Word Count: 1239
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Gray White author of Ar"n't I a Women? Female Slaves in the Plantation South stated, "marriage did not bring the traditional benefits to female slaves. Slave women could not depend on their husbands for protection against whippings or sexual exploitation. Slave couples had no property to share, and essential needs like food, clothing, and shelter were not provided by slave ... husbands. Thus slave men could not use the provision of subsistence goods as leverage in the exercise of authority over women" (153.) Subsequently a big reason why a matriarchal was the dominant form ... status ...

• Word Count: 1114
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... they could possibly want. It is the women, Ellen and Martha, who have knowledge enough to know these are foolish desires, but their position as a silent, nonjudgmental supporter to their husbands leaves their knowledge as valuable as the land they possess. Many of the women in the stories in this collection are well brought up with an educational background, but are ... the traditional roles they assume on their farms. These roles divide the partners in the various relationships, and leave the wives desiring the communication and compassion they needed from their husbands. In "The Paint...

• Word Count: 988
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... as 'maata (mother) or Devi (goddess)', denoting worth and preciousness for women.1 It was male responsibility to look after women, brothers and husbands would look after their women by any means. Numerous scholars also attribute women as being intellectuals, with vast females being educated. Ancient Indian Grammarians, such ... disproportionately more affected. 6 This simply ends any personal opportunities for the women, as from a young age they are to look after and support there husbands by all means. It was a changing mindset that led to such atrocities; as having a girl became a ...

• Word Count: 2806
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to act as these shallow, emotional creatures that had no depth mentally and could serve as helpless, reliant, and obedient wives to their ruling and overbearing husbands. It was expected of women to follow through with their assumed roles and position in society as well as in their family. All that was expected ... it all was a common, underlying belief that men feared if women knew of their poor treatment they would not be submissive and start to defy their husbands.iv Authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft argued much in favor for women's rights as far as education and their simple rights ...

• Word Count: 2740
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... were trained to be subservient to male authority (LeGates, 2001: 14). Women were assigned to the private and domestic sphere of life while men were assigned to the public sphere. Husbands were viewed as the "breadwinners" and provider of the family, whereas wives were responsible for cooking, cleaning and raising children. Furthermore, men have also monopolized philosophy, literature, and language, hence ... sexual abuse, wife beating and rape to culturally enforced heterosexuality (LeGates, 2001: 17). Women were legally bound to submit to their husbands" sexual demands, and slaves were...

• Word Count: 701
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... into the past American societies. However, the fact that they were both women who found themselves next to highly public lives of their husbands provides for interesting insight into roles and limitations of females in the past. And while Abigail Adams passed the very year that Mary ... . (Baker 131) Nevertheless, unlike majority of females, these two women both retained the power of self-expression in their marriages and greatly influenced their husbands. Mary in particular, had complete control and supervision of the household as well as of her husband's manners, social behavior and ev...

• Word Count: 1568
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a marriage. Obedience will be defined as; "Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority" (OED). This definition applies to the authoritative nature of the husbands' in both tales. The differing levels of obedience are portrayed through the Clerk's character of Griselda and the Franklin's character of Dorigen. Griselda is confined by the restrictive nature of ... point without directly stating it; the ideal marriage of the Fourteenth Century is flawed. The Clerk recognizes that women should not be held to this high of standard by their husbands. The Cler...

• Word Count: 3668
• Approx Pages: 15
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... right man to have a child anyways. However, it has also been shown that "marriage could be healthful for women if husbands did not dominate wives and expect them to do almost all the housework research confirms that the wives and husbands with the best mental health are those who share responsibilities for earning income, raising children, and keeping the home" (Macionis 2002 ... causes for divorce, but in particular one reason is that women have become less dependent on men. "Women's increasing participation in the labor force has reduced wives" financial dependency on husbands. Thus, ...

• Word Count: 1217
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to men more than twice their age. Other wedding customs left little room for female happiness as well. For example, ancient customs stated that girls were forbidden to know their husbands prior to their wedding day, thus marriages were arranged by the parents of the prospective partners. It was also held that the perfect wife was one without a voice or opinion ... children despite these dangerous conditions. During this time period, a widowed woman had the option of "sati" which was the practice of being burned alive on the funeral pyre of their husbands. This tradition was a chance for...

• Word Count: 1848
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a skilled manipulator in the area of male-female relationships. The wife, being married five times " which already has her viewed upon as strange " admits that her first three husbands, all of whom she considered good, were old, rich, and submissive. One can argue that she is financially parasitic and shame her as a, in modern language, gold digger. However, one ... , with sex or lip, to give her money, she actually loved her fifth husband. "The wife's love for him ", as Anne McTaggart offered, "makes her vulnerable just as her previous husbands were vulnerable to her " (McTaggart 49). T...

• Word Count: 1394
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and that groups and individuals further a complex strategy. Women play a crucial role in this process, since they gather and control other women as wives and companions for brothers, sons, and husbands. A husband chooses his first wife with care, since she is responsible for training all subsequent wives and organizing them, older children, clients, wards, and, in the past slaves, into almost ... may be reared primarily by their mother, under the supervision of the senior cowife, or jointly with a system of rotation. Because the economic claims that many cowives make on their husbands a...

• Word Count: 3116
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... (Huppe 118). And yet, her actions, once again prove antithetical to her philosophy. "She describes how she kept [her husbands] cowed by taking the offensive, putting in their mouths arguments which come from standard medieval literature [she shows] domination of her husbands through force of rhetoric and learning" (Huppe 119). Once again, Chaucer offers no explanation for this nonsensical philosophy. Instead, this ... ...

• Word Count: 1877
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the man in a marriage is to be in charge of his wife and to show his authority and firmness to ultimately control her actions, as demonstrated by the conduct of husbands in the play. A husband's desire to be dominant in a marriage is implicitly presented by Shakespeare in The Taming of the Shrew. The men of Padua dismiss Katherina as too rough ... home, secure and safe" Act 5, scene 2, 152. To account for his work, she offers her subservience. The speech carries the message in the play's view of marital harmony, in which husbands provide peace, security and comfort to their wives, who, ...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate