Societal Views On The Role Of Women - Essay Example

Societal Views On The Role Of Women Both the novel Sula and the play Hedda Gabler address the issues surrounding the views of the societies of nineteenth and early twentieth centuries concerning women and their place within these societies. These works are based on the fact that women in this period were growing out of the shells in which they had been put by their male dominated societies. The women, who are the main characters in these works, work towards developing themselves into independent individuals who are not only reliant on themselves, but cannot also be dominated by the men in their lives. The strength of these characters is so incredible that one would be tempted to consider them to be villains instead of the heroes for the feminist cause that they really are. The development of the main characters, namely Sula and Hedda in these works is fairly gradual because from the beginning, the reader of the script cannot guess at the strength and independence that these women possess. Both of these women have to undergo various conflicts in their lives under different circumstances and it is these conflicts which end up shaping their characters throughout the works in which they feature. One would suggest that Sula and Hedda are women who portray the circumstances surrounding the beginnings of the feminist movement in Europe as well as well as America as women fight to be recognized as independent beings who are capable of thinking and acting for themselves. Both Hedda and Sula are extremely strong willed women who do not conduct their activities according to the norms of their societies but instead act according to their own wishes. These women are very worldly individuals and, against the expectations of their societies, they are seen to have had many lovers at some point in their lives. This creates a situation where their societies view them more as harlots than as modern and independent women who do not have to live under the restrictions placed upon them by their societies. In Sula, the author states that Sula was “like any artist without an art form,” and that because of this, “she became dangerous” (Morrison 112). This statement was most likely made concerning Sula because of the fact that her independent streak began when she was much younger and also because of the fact that she was raised by two women without the help of any man. This may have worked towards ensuring that Sula grew up knowing that she could fend for herself and could not rely on any man to do for her what she could do herself. Hedda is also an extremely strong willed woman who raised in an aristocratic environment to a general, behaved more in a manner expected of a son than a daughter. Thus, she is capable of making decisions and taking action concerning her life in a manner that ensures that she is always in control. She chooses to have numerous affairs before she is married and this is despite the fact that her actions might be looked down upon by her society. She is a woman who uses pistols during a period where this was not considered to be a womanly thing to do. In addition, she refers to her pistols as “General Gabler’s pistols”( Ibsen 116) and this can be interpreted to mean that she thrived in the masculinity implied in handling her father’s pistols. The society today would most likely view these women as feminists and this is mainly because of the fact that they chose to undertake roles which in their own societies were reserved for men. However, in the modern world they would have fit in perfectly because women in the modern age have become more empowered and have been proven to be capable of undertaking tasks which were normally reserved for men. The fact that both of these women in one way or the other came to betray their best friends does not in any way diminish their role as independent women. In fact, the actions of Sula and Hedda towards their friends can be defined as being extremely exceptional and might have been as a result of their strong personalities which did not consider the consequences of their actions before acting on their whims. However, one would suggest that the actions of these women throughout the two works might have come to hurt their societies because had all the women in these societies acted as they did, then it is likely that the entire societal order might have collapsed. Nevertheless, this did not happen and in the case of Sula, she was looked upon as a reference by other members of the society and her example ensured that all the people live moral lives do that they could not end up like her. Despite this, after her death, it is noted that the society of The Bottom quickly disintegrated into one of chaos. Hedda is a woman who believes in the beauty and freedom and does not believe in abiding by the constraints placed on individuals by their societies. It is for this reason that she chooses to convince Lovborg to commit suicide as a means of ensuring that he does not remain a rival to her husband. However, after Lovborg does indeed commit suicide, and her actions are discovered by Judge Brack, she confesses her view of life and her weaknesses to him. However, knowing that Brack might potentially be capable of blackmailing her as long as she is alive, she chooses to commit suicide. Thus, she shows her strictly independent spirit and her need to ensure that she retains her freedom no matter the cost. Therefore, both Hedda and Sula are extremely strong and independent women who do not bow to societal conventions and instead live their lives as they want. Their actions are those of women who yearn for the freedoms that the men in their societies enjoy. Their strong will is what keeps them going until such a time as their lives end because they retain their convictions to the very end. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. Hedda Gabler. Waterville, ME: Thorndike Press, 2002. Print Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Knopf, 1973. Print Read More