Gender Roles In Sanford's Advice To Women

During the era of industrialization, women continued to be oppressed by gender-based social roles. These social roles portrayed men as workers that supported the home, while portraying women as caretakers for the needs of their children and husbands at home. Although many women conformed to their assigned roles in society, there were an increasing number of women who refused to be undervalued and fought for the rights of women. Thus, in the opposing viewpoint, Advice to Women: Two Views, one can see the distinct perspectives that women had on their roles in society. In Elizabeth Poole Sanford’s, Women in Her Social and Domestic Character, Sanford promoted the conventional conception that a woman’s proper role in society was to “be conscious
Throughout this work, Sanford demonstrates her perspective on the proper characteristics that all women must share. For example, Sanford states that one of the main characteristics that a women should have is being “conscious of inferiority” (Spielvogel 814). Essentially, Sanford suggests that every woman must be aware of her inability to live life without a man, and therefor should be grateful for the support that their husbands offer them. Additionally, Sanford claims that women have the responsibility to sustain the level of happiness and interests of her husbands. Thus, Sanford argues that in order to be honored and loved, a woman must fulfill her responsibility to “make those around her happy” (Spielvogel 814). According to this perspective, women have the responsibility to change themselves according to the necessities of others- women must “mold” themselves into the solace of everyone’s woes. Indeed, Sanford provided an explanation to all her claims: Sanford believed that any assumptions attempting to defy the seemingly natural characteristics of women are “unfeminine” and “contrary to nature” (Spielvogel
Another similarity between the sources is the dehumanization that women were experiencing as the sources described women having to be “plastic” in order to “mold on to others” and being like “dolls” that men tend to objectify. In contrast, however, as Sanford defines the proper roles of women in relation to men, Ibsen’s character Nora breaks ties between genders and thinks of women as individuals with no relation to men. Thus, Sanford’s interpretation of a woman’s role is eclipsed and limited by her need to attach it to men, while Ibsen’s Character is able to think of women as individuals. Lastly, another difference between the sources is their different use of nature as evidence for their claims; Sanford believes that women are naturally weak and dependent humans while Ibsen’s character believes that women and men are both human beings, therefore naturally containing equal