The Women's Rights Movement In The Dead By James Joyce

Molly Ivors, a strong female character in James Joyce’s “The Dead”, would be disregarded in the current time period. A woman and man both working the same job, such as both being professors, like Molly and Gabriel in “The Dead” would be viewed as a normality in the twenty first century. But it was not long ago when women were simply house keepers, especially in Ireland at the time “The Dead” was written, the harsh reality was that women were simply ignored in almost every aspect. However, the Women’s Rights Movement has proved how women and men can be much the same. The Women’s Rights Movement has reshaped history by balancing the workforce and infiltrating popular literary works. It is even evident in “The Dead” written by James Joyce, the
The Women’s Rights Movement focused on social and institutional barriers such as family responsibilities, lack of educational and economic opportunities, and the absence of voice in political debates (“The Women’s Rights Movement”). All of these factors were a great obstacle for women striving for equality in the work force. In order to get the same job as men, women could not be looking after the house and kids all their life, as this was commonly what women of the 19th century did. The Morkans, however, are an exception to this. None of them have husbands and Mary Jane “was now the main prop of the household…had been through the Academy and gave a pupils’ concert every year” (Joyce 175-176). The other two sisters were involved in music as well, as Julia was said to be the leading soprano in the Adam and Eve’s and Kate gave music lessons to beginners (Joyce). While these women do their fair share of housework, now that they have no children to take care of and Lily to take on some chores and maintenance, they can do their own jobs. That’s because to work these jobs, on top of actually having the burden of looking after the house lifted, a woman would have to get an education, which Mary Jane did at the Academy. Instead of looking for someone to marry and then taking care of the housework all their lives, a woman could
The Women’s Rights Movement lit a fire inside housewives and daughters across the globe and because of this women have inserted themselves into the government and into the workforce. Before the suffrage movement, it was very uncommon to see a man and woman working the same job, however, over time, women have gradually integrated themselves into the working world and climbed the ladder to the top of their crafts. Molly Ivors appears to be a hardworking, intelligent character in “The Dead” and perhaps she was held back by society in Ireland in the early 1900’s. Today, however she could strive for much more as now more than ever, women are placed in management positions or even own their own businesses. Because women today are able to be more independent and optimistic, they work in these higher positions at their workplaces. Which is why in today’s integrated working class that came about because of The Women’s Rights Movement Molly Ivors would not appear to the audience as a surprising character in “The Dead” for working in the same position as a male when in the past she was a notable character because of her outspokenness and job position. Director John Huston realized this and when adapting the text to film in 1976, he had to make subtle changes to the role of Molly Ivors, however overall she did not appear as prominent in the film as she did in the book because of