Violenta's fall from a reputed paragon of feminine virtue and subsequent turn to violent measures is portrayed as a fatal consequence of a flawed social system rather than, as was the belief of the time, a violence innate to the female body. 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. ... Violenta's inopportune fall from grace then raises the question of what exactly substantiates the societal constructs that women of the 18th century had to suffer - the truth? ...

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