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Ernest Hemingway Respect

Decent Essays

Respect is Earned Not Given In the short story, “Cat in the Rain,” Ernest Hemingway discusses many topics that weigh heavily on modern society. Ideas of acceptance, and self worth have been a struggle for women especially. From Hemingway’s stand point the marriage roles in America have been extremely tainted. In order to gain respect in all aspects of life it first begins with self confidence. Therefore the “wife” in “Cat in the Rain”, cannot expect to be respected and valued by her husband if she doesn’t place the same expectations upon herself. In the story, the narrators view of the “wife” is not very admirable. Almost everything she either says or does is childlike. The conflict of feeling emotionally separated from her husband no doubt …show more content…

Women are a reoccurring theme in Hemingway’s stories. However most readers are not aware of what he views as a ideal woman. In Ernest Hemingway: Machismo and Masochism, Thomas Strychacz states,
Fantina argues that the "ideal Hemingway woman.. .demonstrates power and a will to dominate" (1), and, as a corollary, that Hemingway often evinces in his fiction a "respect for, even awe of, women" (9)…. that structure of submission/idealization might as easily be understood as an insidious power play in its own right-a cover for a more virulent misogyny-and Fantina does indeed note that male masochism requires the woman to be complicit in the male's fantasy structure (Strychacz 118).
As the source mentions the use of masochism and misogyny is a reoccurring theme in Hemingway’s paper. However misogynistic attitudes in any form should not be acceptable today. America’s thinking has evolved since Ernest Hemingway’s time period. Women have made great strides in marriages, and also in the workplace. However, there is still a long way to go before men and women can have equal treatment. “Cat in the Rain” is an example of a woman who wanted respect, but did not want to go against cultural and gender limitations to achieve her personal goals. To gain respect a woman must first respect herself and never allow that respect to be taken for

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