Female roles Essays

Female roles Essays Female roles Essay Female roles Essay Essay Topic: Pygmalion There have always been noticeably obvious differences among male and female roles in relationships. Women have always been treated more or less as objects of their partners and thought to only be there to support and to create pleasure and happiness. Females seen as the weaker sex have been abused emotionally, verbally and even physically due to the manipulative actions of men. This is a problem because young girls are grown up on fantasy beliefs of a fairy tale ending and thus have created false ideas in their heads. Over the last decade it has been indicated the gender roles in legislations have reformed, women are more likely to have power and not thought of as a thing owned by their husbands or to be less superior. In Ovoids tale of Pygmalion and Galatea and Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, both writers expose relationships between man and women and the influence Of male dominance and the idea Of superiority Of masculinity. Galatea seen as the girl who cannot get away and Elise as the strong female, Shaw believes every women should be. Although there has been a change in the relative equality and power held between males and females in relationships, girls are still seen as weaker and still encounter male eminence in everyday affairs whether it may be verbal, emotional or physical abuse. In Ovoids tale, Pygmalion created Galatea to please his needs and desires, he did not care about what she wanted or how she felt. During that time, Pygmalion loathed women who were prostitutes and the idea that it was in the nature of females to become one. However it is thought today that most women are strong enough to stand up for themselves but in this case Galatea had no choice. : This illustrates how women are perceived in societies : In fairytale, the story produces the girls as victims in need of a rinse to rescue them. The classical romantic narrative, then, is problematic because its texts of meaning conform to a social order of male dominance and female submission that underwrites violence and abuse. As Pygmalion is kissing Galatea and touching her, she has no choice but to let him do it because of his power over her does modesty not forbid. The power that Pygmalion has over Galatea is important to recognize because she cannot do anything about it. Most young women in abusive relationships are too manipulated into believing everything will be okay to say no. In Pygmalion, Shaw portrays Mr.. Higgins as being very verbally abusive towards Elise. He uses Elise as a comparison to Galatea, only Elise knows whom she is and will stand up for herself. Shaw feminist views are portrayed numerously throughout the play. When Mrs.. Higgins states the girl has the right to leave if she chooses, it shows the power Elise has, and coming from another women displays even more dramatically that at this point in time Shaw believes a women can no longer be controlled or thought of as a service to a man. The verbal abuse portrayed from Mr.. Higgins is shown again when he says l have created this thing out of the squashed cabbage leaves of Covent Gardens Garbage, since Mr.. Higgins cares about no one but himself, he does not realize that saying this can emotionally hurt Elise because she does have an emotional connection towards him. Evidently, Most young girls may endure a boyfriends abuse, hoping that her love will change him. She may sees this as something she cannot help but that she can help him overcome through her understanding or by loving him enough, which is a mistake commonly made by young women. Although times have improved, this action of power between man and women and gender roles in relationships is still seen as a problem. The power a male holds over a women is still seen vastly amongst relationships. When it comes to Mr.. Higgins and Elise it is then again represented when Mrs.. Higgins calls Elise a lost umbrella, an object that Mr.. Higgins owns and does not respect. Elise is portrayed to BEA strong, independent woman, who knows who she is and what she wants, this is the type of character that Shaw believes all women should become but not all women have the power to do so. Girls have an idea in mind that falling in eve leads to marriage and living happily ever after. But this often doesnt happen, In breaking free of abusive relationships there is a very different version Of romance, with a new kind of happy ending (Philly never after, or the end of abuser. However, ending their abusive relationships is often complicated and difficult to achieve due to a young womens reluctance to hurt a boyfriend. Although Higgins did not care for Elise, he did still think that he owned her, and as she walked away he was astounded and wanted her back. Elise decided to be with the man who adored her instead of mutinously being hurt. A strong-minded women like Elise was smart enough to do what was best for her, but for many women, this is not easy. In both texts, women are portrayed as very submissive and weak. It is until Elise realizes that Mr.. Higgins does not care for her when she decides to instead of chasing the man who will always make her feel weak, she goes to be with the man who adores her. Galatea on the other hand, has no choice but to stay with the man who does not admire or care for her, and this represents many lost young women today.