Analysing The Extract From The Womens Room English Literature Essay

Choose ONE of the infusions and, by agencies of close reading, analyse the manner in which its content is informed by one of the theoretical theoretical accounts discussed in hebdomads 1-5.

I have chosen extract 3 ( The Women ‘s Room ) , and will be using Betty Freidan ‘s Feminine Mystique to it.

Harmonizing to Betty Freidan ‘s Feminine Mystique ( 1963 ) , Adele ‘s character in extract 3 conforms to the traditional American homemaker function ; a function that Freidan believed created damaged adult females instead than the idealized image of muliebrity represented in the media. She famously labelled this image the feminine mystique, emphasizing that adult females were draw a bead oning to the 1950 ‘s household married woman figure, and passively returning back to the domestic domain to populate humdrum, unrealized lives. Adele is a fitting illustration of this in infusion 3 since she displays several behavioral forms associated with the “ unhappy homemaker, ” such as inordinate imbibing, kid whipping, and bad mothering. From Freidan ‘s position, Adele becomes another victim of the false belief system which conditions her to accept a life of maternity as her fate. Consequently kids turning up around her activity pick up on these social gender functions ; in Linda ‘s instance, she literally re-enacts Adele ‘s housewife responsibilities with a Barbie doll. Adele is non yet witting of the “ adult females ‘s job, ” much in the same manner Freidan herself lived several old ages in the embracing of the feminine mystique. As noticed in Paul ‘s stringent domineering ways over Adele, the homemaker lifestyle topographic points work forces at the Centre of the family, enabling them to command, pull strings, and do “ female parents of their married womans. ”

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

A cardinal point Freidan expresses in her theory is that station World War II adult females who volitionally pursue household life and domesticity, are replacements of their ain subjugation. This position is represented in infusion 3 where Adele becomes “ the ‘new strain ‘ who is more interested by the homemaker dream instead than employment: “ She had ever known that a calling was non truly what she wanted. She wanted to acquire married and have childs. ” Adele reflects the same preparedness of the college pupils questioned by Freidan who besides desire to be “ perfect married womans and female parents. ” One of the engaged Smith seniors whom Freidan inquiries, lives a similar life to Adele in that she merely attains a “ occupation as a secretary, while [ her ] hubby coatings school. ” Like many of the discontent housewives Freidan references, Adele is besides shown to endure the “ job with no name. ” Although Adele displays no conclusive indicants of sadness in the infusion as is seen subsequently in the novel, there is much grounds in the signifier of her short pique and inordinate imbibing to associate her agony to “ the homemaker ‘s syndrome. ” She sternly female parents Linda by testily shrilling and telling her around: “ What are you looking at me for! Adele shrieked. Are you merely traveling to stand at that place looking at me all twenty-four hours? ” Adele ‘s capacity to acquire ashen and raise her voice in these fiddling affairs proves her to be a disturbed female parent, populating a strenuous disgruntled life. Her inordinate imbibing subsequently on can be seen as a signifier of escape from drab homemaker duties.

Tiing in with Freidan ‘s theory, Adele ‘s bad mothering and rash behaviors are the effects of sing a “ function crisis. ” Having obtained an instruction and experienced the working environment as a legal secretary, Adele has once spent the bulk of her life experiencing equal to boys. Thus, doing the drastic accommodation from the populace sphere to full clip domesticity comes as rather a daze to her mind ; she is non prepared for her function as a competent homemaker. Without gaining, a high degree of emotional hurt and choler reside in her unconscious head, and it starts to come up the longer she lives harmonizing to the feminine mystique. The adjusters in Freidan ‘s theory explain that if adult females were educated for their function as homemakers, they would impart their emotions positively instead than enduring this crisis.

However since Adele is non educated for this household married woman function, her choler merely deepens throughout the infusion, and she struggles to command her gyrating emotions. She goes from being sloppy and clingy, to angrily hitting Linda: “ Adele fleetly reached out and swatted her on the rear, directing the kid into shrieks of torment. ” Whereas antecedently Adele ‘s “ bosom was full of emotion ” towards her crying girl, she rapidly looses her pique with Linda once more, instead than understanding Linda ‘s demands. Adele ‘s character fits the kid buffeting female parent, which harmonizing to the feminine mystique, is a maternal behavioral type originating from “ post war addition in early matrimony ” and adult females ‘s uninterrupted parturiency within a place.

Although one may reason that Adele merely reacts violently to Linda ‘s disobeying, bad-mannered nature, it is possible that these really character traits in Linda are caused by Adele ‘s controlling, faulty mothering. From Freidan ‘s point of view, female parent ‘s who had no map in life, caused jobs in their kids by being overprotective and persistently worrying about them. Associating in with David Levy ‘s survey of “ maternal momism ” discussed in The Feminine Mystique, the “ suburban homemaker female parent makes her kid conditioned to a slavish emotional independency. ” This is seen when a weepy Linda buries “ her caput in her female parent ‘s side. ” By being clingy, and go toing to all of her girl ‘s demands, Adele does non let her to maturate. This manner she breeds immatureness in Linda, who as a consequence displays early marks of single and societal inadequacy. This underdevelopment is apparent as Linda comes across as roseola and unmanageable ; at one point she protests and refuses to listen to Adele: “ I hate spaghettiaˆ¦I do n’t desire it! I wo n’t eat it! This is followed by more disobedient behavior when Linda jumps “ up and down on the kitchen floor. ” Along with her kid banging, Adele ‘s over mothering go a apt cause for the possible neuroticism in Linda.

Furthermore, by sing kid maltreatment and turning up around Adele ‘s homemaker function, Linda starts to replica her female parent ‘s behavior ; a simulation which harmonizing to Freidan ‘s feminine mystique, foreground how “ progressive dehumanization is passed through coevalss. ” Slightly disturbingly, Linda impersonates her female parent ‘s kid hitting actions with Barbie dolls: “ Now you ‘re a bad miss, a bad, bad miss, she was stating as she slapped the doll on its bottom several timesaˆ¦You did so and you ‘re so bad! ‘ she said in her Mommy voice, and threw the babe doll on the floor on its face. ” From the position of Freidan ‘s feminine mystique, this high spots that adult females ‘s subjugation at place caused them to go through their violent ways onto their kids. Subsequently in the role-play with her dolls, Linda demonstrates a female parent catering for her hubby ‘s repast demands. Therefore through her experiences and merely by repeat, Linda starts to larn that adult females and work forces have diverse functions in society. It is this conformist behavior that “ carries the feminine mystique from coevals to coevals. ”

Additionally it is important that Linda uses a smaller doll for the female parent ; the image metaphorically fits Freud ‘s theory of homemakers being likened to childlike dolls, and it symbolically belittles Adele ‘s housewife place in the infusion. Freidan explains in her theory that by accepting homemaker life styles, adult females continually become defined as objects, whereas work forces maintain their powerful place of the absolute by maintaining their married womans financially dependent. As evident in the infusion, Paul works from his place of power to handle Adele like a slave: “ Did you acquire my suitaˆ¦’For God ‘s interest Adele, why did n’t you hang it in the sleeping room. On one juncture he crudely interrupts by doing farther demands: “ Can I at least acquire a drink around here? ” Through his ill-mannered egoistic comments to Adele, he manipulates her into the topic he wills: dependent, ailment homemaker that obeys his orders.

However, it can be argued that Paul ‘s verbally hostile, overbearing attitude towards Adele comes as a consequence of enduring from his function in the feminine mystique. He reflects the dissatisfied voice of several male employees who worked at a clip where “ purposeless work in the large administration kept many work forces from experiencing like work forces. ” His opening comment in the infusion illustrates his strong disfavor for his profession ; a disfavor that manifests itself into choler: “ For God ‘s sakeaˆ¦ca n’t I of all time come place to peace and quiet? All twenty-four hours I long I listen to denounce. ” Looking at this from the lens of the feminine mystique, Paul takes out his exasperation on Adele instead than recognizing the sacred manner of American life or the failure in his ain life. The demands placed on American work forces to prosecute certain types of employment in the 1950 ‘s left several of them unsettled. As Paul ‘s business does non look to fulfill his capacities, it leaves in “ him a vacant empty demand for flight, ” which Freidan explains is met with intoxicant, telecasting and sex. By detecting Paul ‘s entryway, it is noticeable that his signifiers of escape include holding a martini and reading the paper alternatively of giving initial attending to his household. From Paul ‘s short duologue, he hotly begins three of his sentences with “ For God ‘s interest, ” and speak down at Adele. As Freidan would state in her theory, Paul “ recreates his ain childhood in suburban area, doing a female parent of his married woman. ” Through his infantile demands, he becomes another dependent kid.

Therefore, overall work forces besides fell for the feminine mystique without any disapproval ; it guaranteed them female parents for their full lives, both as a motivation of their being, and as an alibi for their cynicism with working life. Hence it can be stated that Adele and Paul are both populating the pretty prevarication of the feminine mystique. They have fallen victims to ingrained cultural attitudes as neither party seems to be to the full satisfied within their separate sphere. This proves to be the evidences for unremitting pandemonium in their place. As Freidan would reason, Adele ‘s makes her ain snake pit by being affected by society and to the full encompassing the feminine mystique. The fact she falls in love with Paul “ in a hopeless manner ” symbolically sums up how adult females became indoctrinated in a society which told them to quickly get married professional qualified work forces and conform to the feminine ideal ; a life style which promised complete contentment for a adult female, but simply ended up genteelness discontented homemakers.

Word Count: 1634

Linda has fallen victim of phallus enviousness? Linda playing with the dolls can besides been seen as her “ maleness composite, ” in which she refuses to give up phallic activity. “ 18 pes long Barbie doll ” Through the find of her emasculation, her female parent and all adult females are depreciated in her ain eyes, as they are depreciated for the same ground in the eyes of the adult male. This degree of depreciation can be seen when Linda uses a smaller doll for her female parent. This smaller doll symbolically portrays

the duty of five kids

adult females to happen individuality and significance in their lives through their hubby ‘s and kids

Like Locating the feminine mystique through station World War II in-between category suburban communities, Freidan suggests that work forces returning from war, turned to their married womans for fussing. In the infusion,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *