In Victorian society, the ideal woman was "always unobtrusive, never talks loudly, or laughs boisterously, or does anything to attract the attention of the passers-by."" ... Mandelet, persists in select actions of conscious disobedience: not attending church, not sleeping with her husband and "let (ting) the housekeeping go to the dickens . . . tramping about by herself, moping in the street-cars, getting in after dark."" ... In respect to attending her sister's wedding, Edna proclaims that "a wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth-, declaring her disgust for the tradi...

• Word Count: 1478
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Graduate

Manley is, very clearly, refuting the accepted ideals of feminine passivity and the defenseless position in which a blind execution of such ideals leaves women. ... Thus, the text reveals the paradox: sexual chastity was not a measure of how truly virtuous a woman is, but rather was an important negotiation tool in securing a husband, getting paid off in a sense by said husband's wealth, and cementing a woman's societal status as a "proper" woman. ... To add to her troubles, her husband and lawful master, growing increasingly weary of his wife and easily influenced by the...

• Word Count: 1986
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Graduate

Followed by the traditional idea of the 'American Dream', the 'ideal' way to live became to be the nuclear family. ... Furthermore, women's domestic work is unpaid, which again benefits Capitalism as the female is keeping the working husband and future labour generation healthy and strong. ...

• Word Count: 2016
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate