Gender in Literature

     One major theme that I found most interesting in many of the texts, was the extreme suppression and the blatant stereotyping of female figures throughout Electra, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Light in August, and Othello. Each of these texts is set in very different times, but all have a common, typically patriarchal society. In Electra, we see the story of a daughter who feels very compassionately about the wrongness of her father's death. Electra wishes to avenge her father by killing her mother and the man trying to take her father's place. Everyone who hears of Electra's thoughts on this matter simply say that she is a flighty, dramatic woman who cannot control her emotions. However, when Electra's brother finally steps up to do the deed that he was intended for, he is viewed as a hero.
     This way of equal acts being viewed differently when performed by different genders is also evidenced in Light in August. When strangers first encounter Lena Grove, they do two things: first, they notice her enlarged belly, then look for wedding band. Many people treat Lena differently when they learn that she is in fact not married, and is having a child out of wedlock. However, it is common knowledge that many of the men in the town of Jefferson go to "visit" with prostitutes in the town, yet everyone just seems to look the other way. This is completely unfair to Lena, who is forced to wear her Scarlett letter (if you will) on her stomach, yet the men get to hide theirs in the shadows.
     Even in Coming of Age in Mississippi, Anne Moody is a pioneer for the entire African American race as a whole, yet people tend to think even less of her because she is, not only black, but a black female. Many people from Essie's home thought that she was crazy when she started to simply went to college to further her education and become more involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Her mother was scared to death to do anything but work in white families' homes--that was where she believed black women belonged. When Essie began to mature and grow into a womanlier figure, it only posed more problems for her. Her stepfather began to make passes at her and stare at her for far too long. The fact that Essie was a female did nothing but make her battles and struggles in the Civil Rights Movement even more difficult for her.
     In Othello, we see the role of women even more demeaned by the male figures in the story. In the beginning of the play, Othello is madly in love with Desdemona and would do anything for her. However, as the story goes on, Othello begins to view her as his own property and treats her like she is just a bother to him. In reality, Desdemona truly had all of the power because it was Iago that used her as his weapon against Othello. The thought that a man can truly not resist a woman is one that is often times over looked. If Desdemona had used her "powers" that she has a woman, she might have overcome Iago's attempts to ruin her marriage. However, because she was so suppressed by all of the men surrounding her, she couldn't realize her full potential.
     By looking at these works of literature from the earliest civilizations and comparing them to ones that were written not so long ago, we can see that the matter of gender equality is still an issue today. While women's powers in society get stronger everyday, we still face problems like men seeing us as inferior. I like to think that women just have subtler techniques that we prefer to keep tucked up our sleeves.

Lena Grove

     In Light in August, Lena Grove is the only character who has to wear her flaw out in the open for everyone to see and judge every single day. She is very obviously pregnant, and it is very easy for everyone in the town to look down and see that she has no wedding band. In the time period that the story is set in, it is extremely disgraceful to have sexual relations with a man and not be his wife. Not only has Lena been sexually active, but she has also become pregnant because of her actions. Now she is walking blindly in search of a man who has no intentions of taking care of her and has been running from her since the day he found out she was expecting a child. Lena's stubbornness and ability to be oblivious to the looks and stares directed towards her help her to cope with her struggle. However, her actions seem a bit odd and peculiar and makes the reader wonder what Faulkner hasn't yet told us about her past. No woman in her right mind would walk from Alabama to Mississippi when she was around eight months pregnant. It is not safe, and it does not make any sense. It leads me to wonder if Lena is perhaps slightly mentally handicapped in some way. This handicap only makes Lena's struggle in individual versus the society more difficult for her. However, the obliviousness helps her in coping with and handling her permanent label as an outcast.