Gender Stereotypes In Orlando, And God Of Small Things
Gender
Charles’ Dickens Tale of Two Cities, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, and Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things all explore gender as a facet of modern literature. Madame Defarge, Orlando, and Baby Kochamma all challenge the traditional feminine ideals imposed on them. Whether through physical violence, poetry, or gardening, these characters represent what it means to be a woman in the modern era. These women are particularly striking characters because of the way they interact with gender stereotypes. Defarge shocks the reader by her dominance, Orlando explores and analyzes the depths of gender, and Baby Kochamma exemplifies some of the dramatic effects of compliance and submissiveness. Defarge’s transition from quiet animosity to belligerence establishes her as the ideal mother of the French Revolution. To Defarge, stabbing an opposing officer is justifiable and revolutionary. The successful slaughter of another human for the sake of social and political progress enlivens her. Defarge acts independently and even contrarily …show more content…
to the demands of the men she encounters. Her interactions with men range from bossing her husband around to slitting the throats of officers. Pushing gender norms by refusing to sit passively on the sidelines, Madame Defarge unknowingly redefines her femininity. Her actions do not change her gender, but they do challenge the stereotypes that have prevailed throughout the modern era. Orlando most evidently challenges modern gender norms. She is constantly changing her geographic location, lifestyle, body, and writing, without every changing her disposition. The conversation between Orlando and Shel “You’re a woman, Shel” “You’re a man, Orlando” shows their surprise at how well their androgyny and unconventional identities works within the relationship (184). Orlando’s story is a hallmark of what it means to challenge stereotypes and redefine relationships between partners or with oneself. Baby Kochamma’s character represents modern gender in a different way: she wholeheartedly embraces the social politics of gender while vapidly obsessing over her extravagant garden.
For example, Baby Kochamma is so opposed to Ammu’s taboo love for Velutha that she forces Rahel and Estha to lie to the police, damaging the children and the lovers while simultaneously complying with the state’s ideals of caste and religious mixing. Baby Kochamma uses society’s gender regulations to her personal benefit by manipulating familial and sexual relationships. At the same time, she compels herself to fit into the gender norms that are fabricated by the western media she is so obsessed with. Baby Kochamma’s garden is both a feminine luxury and a medium of control that she is not able to exercise in her male-dominated world. By stifling her need for control and domination into a garden, she is complicit with the patriarchy that enforces gender
stereotypes.
Charles’ Dickens Tale of Two Cities, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, and Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things all explore gender as a facet of modern literature. Madame Defarge, Orlando, and Baby Kochamma all challenge the traditional feminine ideals imposed on them. Whether through physical violence, poetry, or gardening, these characters represent what it means to be a woman in the modern era. These women are particularly striking characters because of the way they interact with gender stereotypes. Defarge shocks the reader by her dominance, Orlando explores and analyzes the depths of gender, and Baby Kochamma exemplifies some of the dramatic effects of compliance and submissiveness. Defarge’s transition from quiet animosity to belligerence establishes her as the ideal mother of the French Revolution. To Defarge, stabbing an opposing officer is justifiable and revolutionary. The successful slaughter of another human for the sake of social and political progress enlivens her. Defarge acts independently and even contrarily …show more content…
to the demands of the men she encounters. Her interactions with men range from bossing her husband around to slitting the throats of officers. Pushing gender norms by refusing to sit passively on the sidelines, Madame Defarge unknowingly redefines her femininity. Her actions do not change her gender, but they do challenge the stereotypes that have prevailed throughout the modern era. Orlando most evidently challenges modern gender norms. She is constantly changing her geographic location, lifestyle, body, and writing, without every changing her disposition. The conversation between Orlando and Shel “You’re a woman, Shel” “You’re a man, Orlando” shows their surprise at how well their androgyny and unconventional identities works within the relationship (184). Orlando’s story is a hallmark of what it means to challenge stereotypes and redefine relationships between partners or with oneself. Baby Kochamma’s character represents modern gender in a different way: she wholeheartedly embraces the social politics of gender while vapidly obsessing over her extravagant garden.
For example, Baby Kochamma is so opposed to Ammu’s taboo love for Velutha that she forces Rahel and Estha to lie to the police, damaging the children and the lovers while simultaneously complying with the state’s ideals of caste and religious mixing. Baby Kochamma uses society’s gender regulations to her personal benefit by manipulating familial and sexual relationships. At the same time, she compels herself to fit into the gender norms that are fabricated by the western media she is so obsessed with. Baby Kochamma’s garden is both a feminine luxury and a medium of control that she is not able to exercise in her male-dominated world. By stifling her need for control and domination into a garden, she is complicit with the patriarchy that enforces gender
stereotypes.