Women's Struggle in Finding Happiness

Adam is the first man that God created. He was created alone. One day, he ask for a companion from God and God create Eve for him. This first evidence in human history clearly shows how man and women are created to be together. They can firm their partner and found their happiness. Women are suppose to been loved by men and so do men. However, in today 's life, lot of problems between couples makes their hate each other. When it comes into a fight, women suffer more from a broken heart than what men will (Ezinearticles). As in Memoirs of Geisha by Arthur Golden and Persuasions by Jane Austen portrays woman 's experience in handling love problem in their life. The messages that both authors trying to presented to the reader might not clearly seen. However, by looking at it through feminism lenses, reader can understand it better. From feminist lens, main characters, Sayuri and Anne shows woman are struggled to defend themselves from bad guys. Not just that, these women having a hard time in their love relationship when facing with man egos. But, all people deserve a happy life. Both novels show that they find their happiness after manage to get together with their beloved. So, by using feminism perspective lenses, the works argue that woman must struggle to find happiness and that the happiness is to be married to a good man.

Women were struggling to defend themselves from bad guy. The situations occur to all women in the world. What special about women are, God give they a soft-heart. According to dictionary, soft hearted is a very sympathetic or responsive; generous in spirit: a soft-hearted judge (dictionary.refence). They feel emotion reaction better compare to men. When it comes about facing the bad guy, they do not just have to face it physically, but they also have to deal with their emotion. Perhaps different class of women portrays different type of challenges. Just like Sayuri who lives as a Geisha, she has to face bad guys that trying to take advantage on her every day. It shown clearly in Sayuri 's “moment of panic” (Golden 304). It happens when Baron was trying to undress her. She protect herself by “trying to stop him with my hands, but he pushed them away and finally succeeded in removing my obijime,” (Golden 304). Although she knows that she can 't fight man 's strength, she just does her best to save her dignity. This shows she is physically distracted by man. Compare to Anne who lives in first class people in late 18th, she is prohibited to show any physical unlikeness toward men. Women in that century were force to show politeness and being as elegant that they can be. That is why Anne face emotion challenge more compares to Sayuri. She is forced to marry her cousin, Mr. Elliot who is “a man without heart or conscience; a designing, a wary, cold-blooded being, who thinks only himself...” (Austen 198). Not just that, Mr. Elliot plan to marry her just because he included in the plan of “designing a match between the heir and the young lady” (Austen 200). This plan will ensure that he will become the heir of the wealthiest of his generation as long as he get married to Anne. Anne was stuck between her love and her family choices. In her case, her emotion 's struggling in finding the solution to reveal Mr. Elliot 's plan portray women perseverance. Situation keep forcing her to forget her love but she however, manage to save her life from being married to Mr. Elliot.

Both cases show women handling their problem with men in physically and emotionally. It just that Sayuri 's physically challenge is bigger compare to Anne while Anne faces emotionally problem more than Sayuri. However, some women were force to face the hardest thing which they are struggling in both sides. In the movie Tamara, Tamara, which a shy and "unattractive" but intelligent girl, likes witchcraft and has a crush on Bill Natolly, her handsome English teacher. When an unflattering article she writes about the school 's athletes is published, two of the star athletes, Shawn and Patrick, want revenge. She then was physically abuse when Shawn and Patrick recorded her while she was undressing. She is also emotionally distracted because the story about her love toward Mr Natolly was spread out and people were making fun of her. This case shows how hard it is women have to struggle in order to solve the problem that bad guy forces women to face it. Even women are facing a lot of trouble with men; they still show that they are strong enough to handle with it. This basically proves women always struggle to defend themselves from bad guys.

Bad guy really make woman’s life miserable. But, is man egos affecting woman? In spite of this, man egos can make woman feel sad. In dictionary, ego is an exaggerated sense of self-importance and appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem. (thefreedictionary). It is true that self confidence is important to people, especially guy. But when a guys have an “over confidence” with themselves, people around him will felt annoyed. When it comes into loves relationship, it generally makes women suffer. In both Memoirs of Geisha and Persuasions, the main women character, Sayuri and Anne suffer when their love pretend that they has no feeling at all towards the women character. Both of them were force to forget their loves but with a different reason. Sayuri 's status as a Geisha make she is prohibited to have a real marriages. Like what she said as she end the story, “to a man, Geisha can only be a half wife”, (memoirsofgeisha). The society during that time believes that Geisha is not deserved a normal life like ordinary women do. It become worse as Chairman also act to believe that he must have nothing with Sayuri because he don 't want people to look him as rule-breakers. He keep his feeling toward Sayuri away and his behaviors make Sayuri 's heartbroken deeply.

It is the same way for what Captain had done to Anne. As someone who have rejected before, Captain still upset with Anne. He make Anne believes that he already have a new love. Anne who at that moment was still confused between her own life or family, become deeply suffer with Captain act. She forces herself to forget her memory between her and Captain. However, it is not an easy work to do. She facing with Captain everyday and when she looking Captain was flirting with another women, she try to stand her tears from falling and run away from there because she don 't want people to look her weak. Both Anne and Sayuri have being a victim of man 's egos. A person with ego is hard to confess about their true feeling. They put themselves first as they thought people are not really care about their feeling. Most people with egos make them believes themselves that their egos are their pride. For example, the lyrics in Ego, “I got a big ego, such a huge ego But he love my big ego, it 's too much I walk like this 'cause I can back it up..” (Beyonce Knowles)
Perhaps their opinion is true sometimes. But, they are not in this context. From Sayuri and Anne sadness, they portrays that men egos really make women suffer.

Eventually, there is a reason why God create Adam for Eve 's. Although men sometimes make women sad, they are also the one that can give woman 's smile back. Women are pre-programmed to feel dependent on men. Even today women may be richer and enjoy all the trappings of success but, deep down in their psyche, they fear they can 't survive alone (Neave). However, women can find their true happiness when they married to a good man. As in Memoirs of Geisha, Sayuri manage to escape from her life as a Geisha after she follow Chairman to New York. She waits for Chairman 's proposal since she was still a young kid. Although she can only be a half wife, she willing to listen to her conscience. As to her, she believes Chairman had saved her life. This clearly seen when she say, “As a young girl, I believed my life would never have been a struggle if Mr. Tanaka (Chairman) hadn 't torn me away from my tipsy house”, (Golden 499). She was hoping too much on Chairman and when Chairman proposes her one day, she forgot all the sadness that was caused by Chairman. Like a kid who always want a big sweet yummy candy. Even after being scolded with her mom, the kid will still be happy after her mother gives the candy to her.

This was not only experienced by Sayuri. Anne, who used to feel like being keeping aside by Captain, becomes so sad. She felt it so when she heard Captain 's conversation with Louisa Musgrove, “Here is a nut. To exemplify, a beautiful glossy nut, which, blessed with original strength, has outlived all the storms of autumn. Not a puncture, not a weak spot anywhere. This nut …... while so many of its brethren have fallen and been trodden under foot, is still in possession of all the happiness that a hazel-nut can be supposed capable of..” (Austen 84)

The way Captain express it make Anne even more believes that Captain had given up upon her because he was upset with her rejection before. However, it’s all changed when she received the love letter from Captain (that was sent by his friends). She quickly runs toward him. She confesses that she was also kept her feeling toward Captain away because she thought Captain was already found someone new. Anne finally found out that Captain has never stopped loving her. The messages that women can find their true love after marry a good men was portrayed silently by Arthur Golden and Jane Austen. Just like the Cinderella fairy tales, Cinderella was destined to marry the kind prince. Although she faces a lot of hard time with her step-mother and both her step-sisters, she finally is being saved by the prince. She finally has a happy ending of her life. Same as Sayuri and Anne, they manage to live happily ever after when they get married to a good guy.

Both Jane Austen and Arthur Golden share the same opinion as they make he reader believes how love can make someone stronger. Like Sayuri and Anne, both of them have same problems in their life. Although the character was different compared to each other’s social hierarchy and social interaction, their determination make them the same. Their put their believes towards love is unbelievable. Even they keep hurting themselves because of love, they never give up their hope. Not just that, the obstacles make them wiser in making choices in their life. Both Sayuri and Anne character is just the example of woman that face with guy with their life. Out there, thousands of women are facing the same problem. It is normal to happen as women are more sensitives than man do. But that does’nt makes women weak. Just like the lyrics in I am a woman; “You can bend but never break me 'Cause it only serves to make me More determined to achieve my final goal And I come back even stronger” (Helen Reddy)
All the problems in women life like handling a bad guy and facing with man egos will only make women grow stronger. As the fates were destined for everyone which all people deserve happiness, woman can also have it after they manage to marry a kind guy that really loves her. Like George Sand said, “there is only one happiness in life, to loved and be loved”.

(1970 words)

Work Cited

Austen, Jane, Persuasions, England, Penguin Popular Classics, 1994, Print.

Cinderella. Dir. Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson. Animation. 1950, DVD

C, Richie "Women Suffer More from a Broken Heart Than Men." EzineArticles.com. 2008. Web 9 May. 2010

“Ego.” The free Dictionary. 2010, Web

Golden, Arthur, Memoirs of Geisha, New York, Vintage Contemporaries, 1999, Print.

Knowles, Beyonce '. “Ego” I am...Sasha Fierce. Black Elvis, 2009, CD.

Memoirs Of Geisha. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh. Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks, 2005, DVD.

Neave, Dr. Nick, “Sorry, but women are dependent on men” What men think of women. Web. 2006

Reddy, Helen. “I am Woman” I am Woman. Jay Senter, 1972, CD

Sand, George. “Love Quotes” Love poems and Quotes. Web. 2002.

“Soft-hearted.” Dictionary.Reference. 2010, Web

Tamara. Dir. Jeremy Haft. Perf. Jenna Dewan, Katie Stuart, Chad Faust, Bryan Clark, Melissa Elias, and Matthew Marsden. City Lights Picture, 2006, DVD.

Cited: Austen, Jane, Persuasions, England, Penguin Popular Classics, 1994, Print. Cinderella. Dir. Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson. Animation. 1950, DVD C, Richie "Women Suffer More from a Broken Heart Than Men." EzineArticles.com “Ego.” The free Dictionary. 2010, Web Golden, Arthur, Memoirs of Geisha, New York, Vintage Contemporaries, 1999, Print. Knowles, Beyonce '. “Ego” I am...Sasha Fierce. Black Elvis, 2009, CD. Memoirs Of Geisha. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh. Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks, 2005, DVD. Neave, Dr. Nick, “Sorry, but women are dependent on men” What men think of women. Web. 2006 Reddy, Helen Sand, George. “Love Quotes” Love poems and Quotes. Web. 2002. “Soft-hearted.” Dictionary.Reference. 2010, Web Tamara