19th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature

19th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature Johnny Shelton ENG125 Professor Heather AltfeldFisher 11 March 2012 19Th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature The late 19th century produced a myriad of successful authors, poets and play-writes that often incorporated the local customs, traditions and expectations of the time (and perhaps their own experiences) into their work. A fact of the times, even into early 20th century, is that women were not equal to men and the expectations of women were not equal as well. This point will be illustrated by comparative analysis of two separate forms of literature: Tristan Bernard’s humorous play I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act, and Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"The†¦show more content†¦And have you looking daggers at me all the time! Whenever I do go with you, you’re always making disagreeable remarks.† Henri responds with â€Å"Because you are in a bad humor – you’ll never give me your arm.† (Jeanne called him on his bluff, because he really doesn’t want to take a walk either), (cited in Clugston, 2010a, 1.1.26-29). She has no real intention of going for a walk with him as she did not intend to go to the races, but does not want to see him go alone to the races and enjoy himself alone, either. This is another example of manipulation; her manipulating him and vice versa, and starts the back and forth farce of both supposedly wanting to spend the day together when they really do not (Clugston, 2010a). When Jeanne decides Henri can go to the races alone because she intends to go see a friend, Henri decides he will stay at home and not go to the races (Clugston, 2010a). This is an obvious representation of the husband not trusting the wife, and even though she has given sanction to him to proceed, he abandons all intentions to leave because of his suspicion of her meeting with her friend and also perhaps meeting another man. The deception between both characters is obvious at this point in the play but not obviously clear as to why. Though we k now by this point that Henri’s intention has always been to go to the races alone, it is not yet clear why Jeanne reacts the way she does. Is it that she is abused, or expected to stayShow MoreRelatedWomen s First Wave Of Feminism Essay1555 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1960’s first wave of feminism in literature brought about the importance of understanding and studying Women’s History, and the reasons behind origins of the Feminist theory and the feminist movement and gender binaries. Newfound research pertaining to female History helps us to better understand modern social constructs and how they were established. 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