The Stereotypical Portrayal of Women in Classical Literature

Women in classical literature have been portrayed in a very stereotypical fashion. More often than not, women characters in both poetry and prose have been characterized as very submissive. They have been shown to be very dependent on men, specifically their husbands. They do not exert and power. They are but mere accessories for men and they willingly center their lives on their husbands. Moreover, women have been shown as the type whose sole goal in life is to marry a man and live their lives according to their husband’s wishes.

They do not seek out their own direction.

They become but mere followers and subordinates under a very patriarchal culture and society. Two literary works that depict such portrayal of women are “Belly Dancer” by Diane Wakoski and “Other Wife” by Gabrielle Colette-Sidonie’s “Other Wife. ” Each work shows a facet of the literary characterization of women that provides evidence of the submissive nature of women. More importantly, such works provide an overview of the insecurities of women and how such insecurities are reflected in the way by which they live their lives and in the decisions they make.

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In “Belly Dancer”, the author shows the existence of women’s insecurities through her description of the women in the audience. Wakoski wrote: “Yet most of the women frown, or look away, or laugh stiffly. They are afraid of these materials and these movements in some way. The psychologists would say they are afraid of themselves, somehow. Perhaps awakening too much desire— that their men could never satisfy? ” In this stanza, the author points out women are afraid to reveal themselves.

They lack the self-confidence that they need in order to make those around them see who they really are.

They prefer to wear a mask to shield themselves from criticism. However, their fear is basically about the possibility of being unwanted. They are afraid that men would not want them for who they really are. They would rather confine to the norms of the patriarchal society for they believe that this is the only way that men would appreciate them. On the other hand, Colette in “Other Wife” provides an overview of how men want their wives to be like. By showing the difference between Alice and Marc’s ex-wife, Colette is able to show why men shun away from strong and independent women.

Colette pointed out in her writing that Marc divorced and ex-wife because she did not revolve her world around him. Despite being married, Marc’s ex-wife still lived a life of her own. Her decisions were not based purely on what Marc had to say. She still exerted some control over her life. In contrast, Alice was very submissive. She gave her life, her world, and her total being to Marc and this is the reason why Marc chose her. However, Colette also points out that Alice is insecure for she envies Marc’s ex-wife. She wants to be like her but does not have the courage to be like her for fear of being unwanted by men.

Her being uncomfortable around Marc’s ex-wife is not because she is Marc’s ex-wife but because she aspires to be like her but chooses not to out of fear of losing Marc. Both literary works point out how the patriarchal nature of society has hindered women from becoming independent. Such nature has led to the development of women’s insecurities. Women want to live their life. Women want to be independent. It is societal norms that drive women to shun away such goals because society has created the view that women are submissive; that women must be controlled by men.