Gender Roles In Uncle Tom's Cabin, By Stowe

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Gender roles have played a part in society for as long as society has existed. Even today, women are expected to uphold drastically standards than men. There are different expectations for women. It is expected of them to bear children, care for those children, to cook, to clean… While men are expected to work, provide for, and protect their family, to be strong and brave. These stereotypes have become far more lenient than they have been in the past, but the extent of sexism and stereotyping in American history can be seen in past American Literature. For centuries women have lived in a world with men dominating women being the norm. The majority of english literature perpetuates gender roles even further. Classics such as Beloved, Uncle Tom’s …show more content…
It is clear Stowe intended this novel to empower women to change the complexion of society through these roles, yet this power is only offered to them in their own private sector. The platform given to these women by Stowe does not give them room to be public with their beliefs. This novel's intention to be empowering is less powerful when the stereotype that women are incapable of making decisions typically made by the public is being perpetuated. Emotional, soft, and sentimental are traits that the majority of women in Uncle Tom’s Cabin are associated with. Eliza escapes to freedom, but only achieves this as dressing as a man. And the other women that escape their public domain do not go on to produce any change. This novel is viewed as feminist literature, but realistically, is merely an attempt at feminism. To truly be a “feminist novel”, Stowe would have needed to push the envelope. Push these female characters to achieve bigger things, and not be limited to their household duties. Sadly, Uncle Tom’s Cabin does not.
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest we see the every character through the eyes of the narrator, Chief Bromden. Throughout the novel, women are depicted as evil, manipulative, and controlling. The women that Bromden encounter are all members of the hospital staff. From his eyes they are out to get
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