Gender...Religion...Believes....THEY MATTER NO MORE
Kai Chen
Mr.Campoli
ENG3U1-10
3 JUNE 2014
Over the course of history, females have been slowly gaining rights legally, however even with the law’s protection, people's views have not changed and biased opinions still exists. The book The Story of An African Farm was published in 1883 by Olive Schreiner set in London in the 1800s. In that period of time, gender role results as the main folly in the society by giving bias views and unfair treatments to female group. The book presents to the reader different kinds of believes, ethics and personalities throughout and the growth of the three protagonists: Lyndall, Em and Waldo. The novel emphasizes on how the woman reacts to their fates and how some of them are taking actions to change the realities. In general, womanhood plays a large role in the novel and giving social critics to the injustice treatment to different gender. In the novel The Story of An African Farm , the author Olive Schreiner uses conflicts in different genders, characterization and symbolism to show how the male enforced gender roles are shackles for females during the early 1800s as a grim reminder to the reader of the oppression the women are faced, which cannot be ever repeats again. The conflict between men and women shows how women are not treated equally which shows the lack of freedom for women in the novel. In-between the 17th to the early 19th century, western countries along with Africa believed that women are always a class below from the men; and with same mistakes, woman should be punished in harsher ways than men. "'I cannot marry you,' she said slowly,' because I cannot be tied; but, if you wish, you may take me away with you, and take care of me; then when we do not love anymore we can say good-bye''' (Schreiner 206). This shows that when facing a proposal which is initiated by a man, the woman doesn't have much say in it, which becomes a person verses person conflict. Lyndall is an example of an independent and open-minded woman in the story and when she is facing the marriage situation, she decides to follow her own path instead of listening to what the men was saying. The targets of this rebellion are the biased males, whom are overly controlling of the women. The author uses conflict to show how women are resisting men for the “first” time, even though they are considered as the group with higher class and power. Overall, the issue is being criticized by using Lyndall’s refusal to the proposal from the man, which shows how woman should have the right to think and make their own decisions. "'Little one, you cannot go,' they say; ' your little face will burn, and your nice white dress be spoiled [...] we fit our sphere as a Chinese woman's foot fits in her shoe, exactly as though God had made both - and yet He knows nothing of either" (Schreiner 155). This quote is about the person verses society conflict by showing that people think women do not need the knowledge, energy, and sportiness to dress folly, otherwise it will make them look like shrews. The author made a connection to the Chinese women's foot wrapping which is similar to how the westerners are forcing woman to give up their rights in many parts of life. By using the conflict in-between gender and society, the book shows how women are not being treated equally since they were born into that society during that particular period of time. The author used Lyndall and Em's childhood experience, along with the connection to Chinese woman's suffering to show how women were in a harsh environment which was designed by the society's injustice. This criticism is used to attack the bias on woman, and the unjust treatment to different genders which causes woman to have fewer rights and have the least comfortable living condition in the society. Women are being treated unfairly since the beginning of their
