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GENDER ROLES IN LITERATURE:
Wouldn’t it be great if people of all genders could enjoy equal rights?
When reading stories from the past, we can realize how far we’ve made since the dawn of feminism. Eventually, feminism has emerged worldwide to advocate for political, economic, social, and personal equality of all genders.
Literature is a powerful instrument. In the past, certain books negatively affected individuals’ perception of themselves by either promoting strict gender roles and stereotypes or by disciplining those who didn’t fit into the established norm.
Speaking about gendered language, which includes using masculine pronouns (he, him, his) to refer to people in general. This tendency occurred as a result of the historical patriarchy where being a man was a norm, and a woman was marked as “the other.”
Male characters often took the leading role, establishing their masculinity and physical power. Female characters had to accept authority without any choice of freedom and independence.
This, in turn, had a negative impact on how society raised boys. Men were often portrayed as dominant, authoritative, competitive, and aggressive. Society believed that men with traditionally feminine characteristics such as empathy and trust were weak.
This depiction put a lot of pressure on men and prohibited a wide range of emotional expression.
In an age when men were expected to be strong and decisive, and women passive and submissive, Shakespeare raised questions about the standard portrayal of genders. In his play Macbeth, he made a submissive man and his dominant wife the two main antiheroes. He depicted two people who were unwilling to accommodate themselves to society’s expectations.
Mostly the victim(which is a female)is vulnerable and fragile which gives the male heroes someone to save.
Jane Austen's Persuasion suggests that fundamental differences between gender roles are due to the different social expectations from men and women.
Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar presents a complex portrait of what it meant to be a woman in 1950s America. Women were born to be housewives and mothers.They had no sexual freedom and no chance to pursue a professional career.