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Post by maddysmith on Nov 18, 2015 21:31:29 GMT
The author of “Women’s Sphere,” writes about the “angel and whore” dichotomy. I think this is still prevalent in modern society. Today’s version of this is pretty much slut shaming. For example, in Taylor Swift's song, You Belong with Me (yes I know this is ancient but it proves a point) she sings, "She wears short skirts, I wear T-Shirts." This lyric is kind of unsettling when viewed through a feminist lens. Taylor is pretty much saying, "that other girl is a whore because she wears different clothes than me and I am pure and innocent." Women can wear whatever they want, because they are in control of their own bodies. Lots of people today view women who dress more revealingly as lesser than women who cover up in the same way that people in the 19th century viewed women who weren’t “virginal” as inferior to those who were. In Jane Eyre, you can see this in Jane and Bertha. In the article The Experience of Womanhood, the author writes that Antoinette/Bertha “is not fearful of sex” and has already experimented before marriage. Jane on the other hand, while not entirely an “angel” is described many times throughout the novel as pure and at one point Rochester calls her a “good little girl.” While there is no explicit mention of sex in the novel, one knows that Jane would never act the way Bertha did. Splitting women up into dichotomies like this is the patriarchy’s way of letting women know that they are not in control of their bodies. No matter what a woman did in the 19th century or even does today, she is labeled either as an “angel” or a “whore.” No matter how you look at it, virginal women are put on a higher plane than sexually liberated women. Moreover, men are praised, or at least not ridiculed for, sleeping around (Rochester himself had a french mistress, Celine who supposedly fathered a child with). This view has essentially not changed since the 19th century, it just takes a new form now.
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Post by jillian on Nov 19, 2015 3:57:26 GMT
I agree with what you are saying! I think women should be able to wear whatever they want as long as it is not illegal, hurtful, or has a derogatory saying (also, it should be in the appropriate setting of course. example: it probably would not be a good idea for a woman to wear a revealing tube top to a preschool). But really though, you see men wearing only speedos at the beach and the only thing you would think is "ew why is he wearing a speedo?". You dont think "Golly Gee, that speedo is mighty revealing, what a man whore" (or maybe you do??? I dont know I just avert my eyes and try to stay calm and happy). With women, everything can be said to be slutty or whorish. Her top goes an inch down past her collarbone? slut. I can see her knees? whore. Why is society like this?
In Jane Eyre, Bertha was already sexually experienced, which added to her "monstrous" and unladylike appearance.
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Post by jkeeney on Nov 19, 2015 20:34:12 GMT
I agree with both of you. Maddy makes a good point when she says that men today have all the sexual freedom they want, but women get shamed for it. That clearly relates back to the Victorian times when men weren't exactly praised for having sex, but they weren't looked down on in society like the women are. The article talks about how the women had to be single to "fall." Her position as someone not in a relationship made her susceptible to being a prostitute, which is still seen today. Girls who are not in steady relationships are considered sluts because they aren't with one man for a long period of time. It's interesting in Jane Eyre though that she fits the typical model of the "fallen woman," but she is not one. She was single and poor all her life, but is still portrayed as someone who is pure. Also, Bertha was neither of those things and she was viewed as crazy and everyone knew about her sexual relations. Again, this book uses characters that defy the normal victorian woman. Jane was not submissive like most women were and again does't fit the mold for normal victorian women; she was able to be in one dichotomy even though she was unlike everyone else.
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Post by aamornwichet on Nov 20, 2015 1:48:22 GMT
While I agree with the notion that women shouldn't be "slut-shamed", I think the difference between Jane and Bertha actually roots more from racial differences than sexual differences(yes I am playing the race card). Especially because sex is never specifically mentioned in Jane Eyre, the notion that Bertha is more sexually experienced cannot be very well backed up. However, what can be clearly seen in Jane Eyre is the fact that Bertha is a light skinned black while Jane is a pale and white. The difference between them can be seen as not only as a sexual issue but that of race as well. Jane being the more "civilized" white woman, is better able to control her emotions as opposed to "savage" Bertha who cannot seem to deal with her feelings as well. What is essentially being said is that people of color are unable to assimilate into society. This can still be seen in the portrayal of colored people in today's media. Asians, Africans, and Hispanics often are forced into roles which perpetuate racial stereotypes. Asian men always seem to be good at karate, black people always have a hard past, and Hispanics seem to be mowing lawns far too often.
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Post by echeng on Nov 20, 2015 23:25:43 GMT
Jane being the more "civilized" white woman, is better able to control her emotions as opposed to "savage" Bertha who cannot seem to deal with her feelings as well. What is essentially being said is that people of color are unable to assimilate into society. This reminds me of our symposium on doubles between St. John and Bertha, where it was brought up that St. John is fulfilling the White Man's Burden to civilize and Christianize the natives/wild people, which contrasts with Bertha, who embodies that wild person who cannot be made civil. Here, St. John, like Jane, is more civilized and, like you said, better able to control his emotions and decisions. They both take the lead: St. John leads the natives to discovering God, while Jane leads her own opinions and independence. Bertha, on the other hand, is symbolic of the wild,un-educated natives that St. John is trying to "take advantage of" and convert to Christianity. Both are uncertain of how to deal with their respective situations: Bertha bottles up her feelings and goes crazy, and the natives, like we learned in APUSH, were at first very hesitant and confused when the first European explorers invaded. They did not know how to express themselves- a lot of them traded valuable animal skins, weapons, jewelry, and land for useless European trinkets and void treaties. Here, we can see how the natives were taken advantage of by St. John. In fact, in Wide Sargasso Sea it is clear that Bertha is used as well. Rochester marries her for her money, not for her personality or character. Furthermore, he uses her for sex and pleasure; it is not a genuine or balanced relationship at all. Overall though, this interaction is a pretty interesting connection to race, not just to sex! |
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Post by maddysmith on Nov 21, 2015 2:31:03 GMT
I think the difference between Jane and Bertha actually roots more from racial differences than sexual differences(yes I am playing the race card). This is a really good point, Amanda! This idea is really obvious even in the physical descriptions of the two women. While Jane is not described as "pretty" per se, her descriptions are more along the lines of "little and pale" while Bertha is described as a literal monster. The words used to describe Bertha, animalistic and crazy, have a super dark connotation which stem from colonialism and racism. She is made out to be "uncivilized" and course while Jane is very refined. This is also seen in St. John's mission to India in like an attempt to help "tame" the Indians and convert them to Christianity, the religion viewed as superior in 19th century Britian (and still even today by a lot of people). Apparently the British are afraid of non-European people. |
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