Depiction Of Women Ranked Lower Than Men In Society In “The Chrysanthemums”, “A Rose For Emily”, And “The Birthmark”
When someone mentions the word ‘woman’, many things may come to mind. To some it might be a hard-working female, others might think a child bearing human, and some a loving and devoted wife. But how many people think of it to be someone that has fewer rights and opportunities than a man. It is no debate that women are ranked lower than men in society. They are seen as the second option in many situations, with the males beings superior. In the past, women had even less opportunities than they do today. Many were forced to stay inside doing their daily ‘womanly’ chores such as cooking, cleaning, and raising the children. Three short stories that show how women are trapped or unable to succeed because of their gender are “The Chrysanthemums”, “A Rose For Emily”, and “The Birthmark”. Stories such as these show how even in literature women have roles that they are expected to play. Thankfully women are not that restricted today, but there is still some change to be made. This ongoing battle of gender equality has been around for quite some time, where people are debating whether women are actually equal to men.
One of the main topics that is brought up when discussing women’s rights is equal pay for equal work. As seen in the short story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck, the main character Elisa is a smart, hard working women but she has no place in society. While her husband, who is not as intelligent as Elisa, is the one who runs their ranch and supports the family. In one part of the story Elisa’s husband, Henry, states, “I wish you’d work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big” (Steinbeck). Elisa gets surprised and says that she believes she would be able to do it, but her husband states that he was only joking and that she wouldn’t be able to. He compares it to her going to watch a fight, which is something men do. This shows how men believe they are better than women in what they can do. Women are restricted from being able to do what they want because of certain gender roles that society has portrayed.
Tradition is another topic that is discussed in the controversy over whether men and women are equal. Ever since the beginning it seems like the men are the ones who work to support the family, while the women have to stay back to cook, clean, and raise the children. Tradition is seen in William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”, by how her father treats her and how the townspeople react to Emily for not doing her ‘womanly’ chores. One part of the story says “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such”. This shows how Emily’s father is controlling and doesn’t care what Emily wants. Mr. Grierson wants his families legacy to continue its tradition and in order to do that he isolates his daughter and makes decisions for her. Mr. Grierson was the only person Emily really knew at this time because of his control and when he passed away she didn’t want to come into realization that he was actually dead. Emily strays away from the average townswomen when she can no longer pay her taxes. The townspeople begin to see her as a burden because she is not following the regular role of women in society. The women in this story are described as nosy and are not to fond of Emily, probably because she is breaking the rules.
In today’s society, it is usually the women who are trying to perfect themselves but in the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it’s the man that is trying to perfect his wife. The scientist, Aylmer, states that Georgiana, his wife, would be perfect if she had her birthmark removed. He doesn’t say anything about how she is beautiful inside only that she is almost the perfect beauty on the outside. Her personality means almost nothing to him. Even though Georgiana appreciated her birthmark and thought of it as a gem, the hate that Aylmer had for it made her dislike it also. Georgiana seems to be controlled by the love she has for Aylmer and ends up losing her life because she trusted him. Aylmer, on the other hand, was so disturbed by his wife’s birthmark that he was willing to risk her own life to have it gone. Aylmer states “Fear not, dearest!” exclaimed he. "Do not shrink from me! Believe me, Georgiana, I even rejoice in this single imperfection, since it will be such a rapture to remove it”. This passage shows how Aylmer is telling Georgiana that she has nothing to fear but in the end she did. It seems in this story as if Georgiana was controlled by Aylmer and would do whatever he said even if she didn’t agree with it. The question “are women treated equal to men” will forever be a debate topic. There are many things today that women and men can both do but will the outcome be equal?
Things like wages, rank, and power are different for men and women. There are not that many women who are ranked at the top in the company they work for. Many could say that’s because they don’t put in as much effort as the man did. But others see it as the woman wasn’t given the opportunity to put in as much effort as the man. If women continue to discuss this topic, others will begin to see how unequal our society is. Whether a man or a woman, it is important to stand together so that in the future people can live in an equal society where both men and women can be superior. Woman in society, are going to have many things that are different than men. This might be good for some reasons but not all.
There are many women today who can be seen as not following the rules of society, as Steinbeck, Faulkner, and Hawthorne described. Even today there are many women who stay at home most of the day cooking, cleaning, and take care of their family. But there are also many women who are out there working every day and are at the top of their workplace. It is okay to not follow societies belief of normal duties for a women and to create your own path.
