Treatment Of Women In Anna Karenina
Womans in Anna Karenina and One Hundred Old ages of Solitude are good characterized and determine the secret plan of the novels. Anna Karenina written by Leo Tolstoy is a 19th century novel following the lives of three households, the Oblonskys, the Karenins and the Levins. One Hundred Old ages of Solitude, written in 1967 by Gabriel Garcia Marquez follows the narrative of the Bundia Family for a hundred old ages in fictional Macondo. In both novels adult females are indispensable ; yet they are depicted really otherwise. However, it is worthwhile to take into history that the novels were written two centuries apart from each other, a clip during which the place of adult females evolved. This paper will be comparing the place of adult females in Anna Karenina and One Hundred Old ages of Solitude, their intervention by the male characters and their function in society.
Womans and work forces were clearly non treated every bit in the high society of Tolstoy ‘s Anna Karenina. This can be observed through the subject of criminal conversation with Anna and Stiva. Stiva and Anna both commit criminal conversation and the effects of their actions are extremely different. In add-on to Stiva ‘s married woman, Dolly rapidly forgiving her hubby, Stiva ‘s repute and place in the society remains integral. On the other manus, Anna who lives the same state of affairs is shunned and cast off from society. Mme Kartasov abuses Anna by stating that it was a shame to sit following to her at the opera ( p. 549 ) and her friend Princess Betsy refuses to see her fearing that people will “ throw rocks at her ” ( p.529 ) if she associates herself with Anna. She is condemned to societal expatriate and finally commits suicide because of her betrayal whereas Oblonsky ‘s perennial unfaithfulness does non do him any hurt and goes unmentioned after the first chapters of the book. This contrast in result shows that unfaithfulness was acceptable for work forces but non for adult females. Pestov, Sergei ‘s chap philosopher, puts this position into words when he states at a dinner that “ the inequality of partners consists in the fact that the infidelity of a married woman and the infidelity of a hubby are punished unevenly by the jurisprudence and public sentiment ” ( p.291 ) . Stiva who about forgets to apologize to his married woman for his immoral actions can be used as cogent evidence that work forces were non worried about their state of affairs with their married womans after perpetrating criminal conversation. The importance of fidelity for adult females is however invariably underlined throughout the novel and non merely through Anna. Levin “ already saw himself as a deceived hubby, who was needed by his married woman and her lover merely in order to supply them with the amenitiess of life and with pleasances ” ( p.490 ) when he sees a adult male chat uping with his married woman Kitty, which shows that adult females were non to hold any associations with other work forces.
In comparing, the equality of sexes in One Hundred Old ages of Solitude is supported throughout the novel. This is demonstrated by the two arguably most of import adult female of the novel, Ursula and Pilar Ternera. Ursula is one of the laminitiss of Macondo and the materfamilias of the Bundia household. She lives the longest and takes attention of the household and of her hallucinating hubby, maintaining the house from falling apart and guaranting the continuance of the household line ; “ Equally long as Ursula had full usage of her modules some of the old imposts survived and the life of the household kept some quality of her impulsivenessaˆ¦ no 1 but she determined the fate of the household. ” ( p.228 ) . She is the strong character of the book. Unlike the adult females in Anna Karenina, she wields authorization, and possibly the most authorization of all the characters. For case, she banishes Jose Arcadio and Rebecca when she finds out about their association, and when her boy Colonel Aureliano Buendia, plans to put to death General Moncada, she stands up for the general and says to her boy “ But do n’t bury that every bit long as God gives us life we will still be female parents and no affair how radical you may be, we have the right to draw down your bloomerss and give you a floging at the first mark of discourtesy ” ( p.162 ) . Pilar Ternera shows that adult females were indistinguishable to work forces in a different manner, through gender. She could be said to be the “ sexual ” materfamilias of Macondo and of the Bundia household as she has kids with both Aureliano Buendia and Jose Arcadio and had sexual intercourse with Aureliano and Arcadio. Despite this, no 1 Judgess her and she is integrated into society.
How work forces perceive the adult females in Anna Karenina is overtly revealed during a dinner at the Oblonsky ‘s house where the invitees discuss instruction and the rights of adult females. Pestov, Sergei and Alexei came to hold that “ Woman desires to hold rights, to be independent, educated. And she is oppressed, humiliated by the consciousness of her disablements ” ( p.389 ) .This demonstrates their belief of adult females being inferior ; incapable to make what they, work forces, do. During their treatments, furthermore, they express their ideas about how they do non understand why adult females would desire to seek new duty as they already have to take attention of the household. Dolly absolutely fits into what they seem to anticipate from a adult female: she pours her life into her six kids and remains with her hubby despite his unfaithfulness. Besides, during Kitty and Levin ‘s nuptials, the priest articulates that “ the adult females are joined to the adult male for the reproduction of the human race ” . ( p.501 ) His statement exhibits the exclusive function of adult females in the 19th century ; that of childbearers. It seems in Anna Karenina that work forces ‘s primary involvements are outside the place, whereas adult females, like Dolly and Kitty, centre their being within the household. Ironically and beliing the adult females ‘s dependent function, Oblonsky needs his married woman to salvage his honor more than anyone as Dolly has her ain luck that is much needed to pay his debts.
Similarly, in One Hundred Old ages of Solitude, Ursula ‘s life revolves around her household. She brings up and educates her three kids about entirely and manages the house ; “ Thankss to her the floors of tamped Earth, the unwhitewashed clay walls, the countrified, wooden furniture they built themselves were ever clean, and the old thoraxs where they kept their apparels exhaled the warm odor of basil ” . ( p85 ) . However, there are besides adult females like Pilar Ternera, Petra Cotes, Rebecca and Renata Remedios who express their gender and are non shunned from society although Pilar Ternera was criticized by Ursula who forbade her from coming to see her boy at her house. Despite this, Gabriel Garcia Marquez seems to desire to show that the adult females who were holding unconventional relationships were happier than the adult females who adhered to strict Catholic rules spiritual ethical motives like Fernanda Del Carpio. Through the yoke of Petra Cotes and Aureliano Segundo which increased the proliferation of the animate beings, it appears that the writer in an overdone manner wants to back the pattern of “ free love ” by exemplifying their love as illicit yet blessed by fiscal success.
Not all adult females in Anna Karenina succumb to the function of homemaker. Betsy, who is among the elite of the Petersburg society, lives in blunt contrast to outlooks. She is married but believes that matrimony is a conservative thought that everyone undertakes simply for society ‘s interest. She cheats on her hubby blatantly and does non hold any concern of for opinions of morality or faith. Yet, she is the ‘queen ‘ of high society ; everyone knows her and attends her societal events. Betsy goes against what was expected of adult females in society, but at the same clip, she is the leader of Petersburg ‘s societal religious order. She is however non extremely regarded ; Alexei Karenin sees in Princess Betsy “ an incarnation of that petroleum force which was to steer his life in the eyes of the universe and which prevented him from giving himself to his feeling of love and forgiveness ” ( p 560 ) . The fact that she is able to travel with such impunity with her hubby ne’er mentioned in the novel is possibly due to the fact that Betsy ‘s hubby does non keep the same position as the Karenins and others. One can non assist detecting the similarity between the characters of Pilar Ternera and Betsy. While Pilar Ternera struggles with society ‘s “ proper ” behavior epitomized by Ursula and Fernanda del Carpio, giving birth to the kids of both Aureliano Buedia and Jose Arcadio and going the matron of a whorehouse, openly saying “ I ‘m happy knowing that people are happy in bed, ” ( p301 ) , Betsy is daring in the Russian orthodox nobility and goes against societal norms by holding extra-marital activities.
In decision it is possible, from the male authors ‘ word picture of the female characters in both novels, to follow the slow development of adult females ‘s ability to take themselves from male dependence. It is notable that both writers use gender and unfaithfulness as subjects of averment and independency. The look of gender as represented in both novels equates it to a signifier of release, the freedom to make as one supplications, irrespective of gender, and irrespective of society ‘s moral, civic or spiritual opinion. This pick gives rise to the apprehension that the repression of adult females throughout the clip span of both novels served to profit male dominated society. Although the major subjects were sexual, the implicit in message was about moving with freedom of pick. The adult females in both novels who showed freedom in their picks were courageous and brave and although the authors showed these adult females ‘s ‘ independency through sexual activity, the possibility for this activity to take topographic point began in the release of their heads.
