Evelina And The Subordination Of Women Essay -- essays research papers

Woman as a Subordinate Throughout history, women have been treated as a subordinate. There have been different standards for education, at women’s disadvantage, different social standards, different responsibilities for men and women, different expectations, different standards for â€Å"goodness†, different criteria for virtuousness. We see examples of these injustices throughout the text of Evelina as well as in the excerpts in the course packet. Eighteenth-century English jurist Sir William Blackstone declared in a magisterial passage, â€Å"By marriage, the very being or legal existence of a woman is suspended, or at least it is incorporated or consolidated into that of the husband, under whose wing, protection, and cover she performs everything, and she is therefore called in our law a femme-covert† (The Nineteenth Century Intro. Pg. 171). It was not until 1848, in the married woman’s property act of New York that women gained some rights regarding material possessions. Education (differences in what men and women are taught) A â€Å"liberal education† as described in Defoe’s Essay on Projects, 1697, consisted mainly of embroidery, modeling in wax, painting on glass, and musical accomplishments, although some girls’ schools did put on plays and teach cooking skills. Most girls were trained for domestic service at the charity schools for women, and there was no form of formal higher education, such as college, available for women. Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Yale and Princeton were all solely men’s institutions. Also, while women were taught mainly the native tongue and perhaps French, men had more extensive opportunities to learn other such Roman and Greek languages. (An essay in Defense of the Female Sex, 1696) Also, if a woman did obtain any extensive knowledge other than the normal trades taught at school, she was urged to keep quiet about it lest men be jealous of her intelligence. This is evident in Evelina on page 3 61 where Mrs. Selwyn is criticized for being an intelligent and logical woman in a time where women were supposed to be quieter and not engage in a match of wits with someone, especially a man, as we see Mrs. Selwyn challenging the intelligence of Mr. Lovel. These are all reasons why women authors during this time chose a pseudonym when publishing their books for fear that they would be ridiculed and their work not accepted for the mere fact... ... not know how to handle this situation. p. 384 Where Evelina is pleading with her father to see her and she here is the picture of what a good mannered woman should be- humble and gracious. Image as applies to association with people of questionable character: Although they are her family, Evelina is completely embarrassed to be seen with the Branghtons and Madame Duval because they are such loud, rude, unrefined characters. They are not of the same social standing as her and they know even less than Evelina how to behave in social situations with grace and dignity. They are lower-class people and this is because they are of the working class. Evelina is always in the company of people who come from â€Å"old money† and do not work for a salary. Pg. 233 where Evelina is separated from her party at the fireworks event and asks two ladies to protect her and they turn out to be prostitutes and Lord Orville sees her with these women and Evelina is completely embarrassed at her predicament because it makes her look bad. Evelina’s good reputation was at stake when she was in public with the Branghtons, with Madame Duval, in the alley with Clement, and on the arm s of those two prostitutes. Evelina And The Subordination Of Women Essay -- essays research papers Woman as a Subordinate Throughout history, women have been treated as a subordinate. There have been different standards for education, at women’s disadvantage, different social standards, different responsibilities for men and women, different expectations, different standards for â€Å"goodness†, different criteria for virtuousness. We see examples of these injustices throughout the text of Evelina as well as in the excerpts in the course packet. Eighteenth-century English jurist Sir William Blackstone declared in a magisterial passage, â€Å"By marriage, the very being or legal existence of a woman is suspended, or at least it is incorporated or consolidated into that of the husband, under whose wing, protection, and cover she performs everything, and she is therefore called in our law a femme-covert† (The Nineteenth Century Intro. Pg. 171). It was not until 1848, in the married woman’s property act of New York that women gained some rights regarding material possessions. Education (differences in what men and women are taught) A â€Å"liberal education† as described in Defoe’s Essay on Projects, 1697, consisted mainly of embroidery, modeling in wax, painting on glass, and musical accomplishments, although some girls’ schools did put on plays and teach cooking skills. Most girls were trained for domestic service at the charity schools for women, and there was no form of formal higher education, such as college, available for women. Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Yale and Princeton were all solely men’s institutions. Also, while women were taught mainly the native tongue and perhaps French, men had more extensive opportunities to learn other such Roman and Greek languages. (An essay in Defense of the Female Sex, 1696) Also, if a woman did obtain any extensive knowledge other than the normal trades taught at school, she was urged to keep quiet about it lest men be jealous of her intelligence. This is evident in Evelina on page 3 61 where Mrs. Selwyn is criticized for being an intelligent and logical woman in a time where women were supposed to be quieter and not engage in a match of wits with someone, especially a man, as we see Mrs. Selwyn challenging the intelligence of Mr. Lovel. These are all reasons why women authors during this time chose a pseudonym when publishing their books for fear that they would be ridiculed and their work not accepted for the mere fact... ... not know how to handle this situation. p. 384 Where Evelina is pleading with her father to see her and she here is the picture of what a good mannered woman should be- humble and gracious. Image as applies to association with people of questionable character: Although they are her family, Evelina is completely embarrassed to be seen with the Branghtons and Madame Duval because they are such loud, rude, unrefined characters. They are not of the same social standing as her and they know even less than Evelina how to behave in social situations with grace and dignity. They are lower-class people and this is because they are of the working class. Evelina is always in the company of people who come from â€Å"old money† and do not work for a salary. Pg. 233 where Evelina is separated from her party at the fireworks event and asks two ladies to protect her and they turn out to be prostitutes and Lord Orville sees her with these women and Evelina is completely embarrassed at her predicament because it makes her look bad. Evelina’s good reputation was at stake when she was in public with the Branghtons, with Madame Duval, in the alley with Clement, and on the arm s of those two prostitutes.