Noblewoman in a Male-Centered Society

Aleksander Nikitenko is notable for an extraordinarily detailed dairy kept from a very early age that provides an intimate view of Russian culture during the early 1800s. Aleksander’s written account, Up from Serfdom, offers a first-hand account of Russian history, making a rather insightful contribution to slave literature. This book is among one of the very few autobiographies ever written by a pre-existing serf. Despite being a bright child, Nikitenko was nevertheless one of the three hundred thousand serfs that were the personal property of the Sheremetiv family in Voronezh Province, whom possessed legal authority to dispose of the serfs as they wished. Nonetheless, through a remarkable turn of events, Aleksander, unlike other serfs

“Alexander, like everyone else, was tormented by by thirst, but he was nonetheless marching one foot at his men.” (Doc. D). Although Alexander was exhausted just like the others, he still went out of his way to lead his army to greatness. “The army was crossing a desert of sand; the sun was already blazing down upon them, but they were struggling on under the necessity of reaching water, which was still far away.” (Doc.D). Despite the fact that Alexander had to deal with the harsh conditions, he was still determined to win. At no time would he let his army down, he was there to support, and advise them. Alexander influenced his followers with his ways of

By his own account, Alexander felt that he should issue his Imperial Decree for two reasons - The first being Divine Providence (or according to God’s guidance/direction) and the second being because of his obligations as Emperor of Russia. In his decree, Alexander makes it apparent that he is acting according to his selfless desire and duty to make sure that all citizens, regardless of their social status, should be surrounded “with our affection and our Imperial solicitude.” In other words, each and every person should be cared for. However, according to an article on markedbyteachers.com, Alexander’s motives might

Anna’s story shows that women did have some rights, and that they also had, at least in this case, the ability to defend those rights within legal institutions. Even more important is evidence of public opinion, instead of siding against Anna as an unfit daughter causing trouble for her family Hall’s citizens actually sided with Anna against her father. In this, both daughter’s obedience to father and woman’s obedience to man were turned on their heads, revealing that regardless of religious doctrines of male authority, life among the people was much more complex.

Does that not seem to you like betrayal and rejection of his own people? Alexander could never have had it both ways. As the conquerors we will never accept the customs of the conquered. Political move it may have been, but it was the wrong one. At the trial of the royal pages conspiracy, it was stated to Alexander that he abhorred the customs of his own country. Thus it was the king of Persians, not of the Macedonians that they wanted to kill13. Alexander has simply become so far removed from his own people that some do not even see him as their own king. The plot against his life was to pursue him as a deserter in accordance with the conventions of war14. When a sailor rescued Alexander’s crown from the sea and placed it on his own head to keep it dry and out of harm’s way, he was rewarded handsomely for the rescue. When it was pointed out by another to Alexander that the crown had been on another’s head, regardless of the situation he had the same man promptly executed on the belief that it was a bad omen. With the adoption of Persian luxury came outright abuse of power and skewed

My initial observation of Dashkova is her ability to be extraordinary despite her difficult upbringing. Her intelligence was compelling to the Empress Catherine and the men that she had encountered during her traveling. Dashkova portrayed herself as a strong, versatile woman, who’s not only different from most of the women during the time period, but can also outperform her male counterparts in various tasks (e.g. surgery, debate, carpenting, etc.) (pg. 144). She surprised the readers at the first moment when she met Prince Dashkov, a Moscow man. She fell in love with him and got married at the age of 16. The proposal was informal and emotional unlike the traditional arrangement with its strict regulations. Just 5 years after, Prince Dashkov passed away, leaving Dashkova 2 children and his mountainous gambling debt. In the most hopeless scenario, Dashkova managed to raise her 2 children and provided her son a wonderful education while still remaining faithful to the Empress Catherine II. She declared, “My own poverty affected me not at all” (pg. 149).

According to Oxford English Dictionary, patriarchy is defined as the “predominance of men in positions of power and influence in society, with cultural values and norms favoring men.” This social structure in particular was prevalent during Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s time and played a large role in her involvement with feminism and women’s rights. Along with the patriarchal influences, Gilman provides an autobiographical basis upon which she built the framework for “The Yellow Wallpaper” as she was forced to undergo the dreaded “Rest Cure” depicted in the short story. Through the eyes of the narrator, Gilman provides illumination regarding the role of women imposed by the patriarchal society of the 19th Century and the implications of such

In the end, Alexander became a drunken, mercurial mess. To paraphrase the Good Book, not even the gain of the entire world was able to save his

In many recent Disney adaptations of fairytales, we are presented with a more "non-traditional" princess, who has complete control of her "fate, as Merida puts it, in order to redefine the strict gender roles we have today. Disney princesses like Elsa from Frozen, Merida from Brave, and Moana from Moana do not get saved at the end by the magical kiss of a prince; in fact, there is no prince in the story. Instead, they are independent, self-sufficient women with the autonomy to make her own decisions. However, this was not always the case. Traditional fairytales clearly portray that gender roles for women are tremendously limited and agency is loss through kidnappings, victimizing a male character, marriages and the maternal role of a woman in a family. Hundreds of years ago, there was no such thing as an "independent" princess; women were all forced into strict gender roles with limitations and restrictions create and enforced by the patriarchal society.

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority” (Acton Institute 1). Alexander the Great was and absolute ruler that had both influence and authority; he abused both which is why many of his subjects followed him out of fear and not loyalty. Rulers are defined by how they use their power, the decisions’ they make; and how those decisions will affect the people. In my essay, I will analyze two viewpoints’ made by two professors and their viewpoints about Alexander III and whether or not he was deserving of the title “The Great”.

Anna Karenina displays a direct reflection of gender expectations in the 19th century. The sole purpose of women being to take care of their children or to please their husbands. While men are credited with being the leader and sole provider of the household. The majority of the characters in this novel follow this superficial guideline, with the rare exception. The societal pressure of gender norms placed on the characters is significant and inescapable, suggesting that if one breaks these norms, they will endure great suffering.

She uses the barbaric words and phrases “slaves,” and “severe restraint,” to illustrate how horrible their situations were, even if this seemingly civilized society. Women’s lives, she claimed, were marked by “degradation” and “servitude.” Although, these traits could be hidden behind a facade of propriety, women were still repressed and did not have the autonomy that their male counterparts did. In current society, women are viewed as “pitiful” dependents, but they have so much more potential, she argues. And through a concerted effort of all men and women, women can and should become more integrated into society, she

Women in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s had specific roles determined by the males who were dominant in their society. Women began to write stories which told their gender roles in that era. The authors of these stories lived in this time period and their stories reflect a lot of the traditional roles that were expected of them. The author’s purposes, were to tell about how marriage imprisoned women in this period of time. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s stories provide examples of the gender roles. Their reasoning of writing these stories was to call on women of this era to learn how to empower themselves in this society.

The Russian attitude toward love during Chekhov’s time is very patriarchal and is considered normal to marry for practical reasons, parental pressures or other considerations rather than for love. The feelings that accompany love, such as passion and spirituality, are not a societal consideration and this institutional attitude toward human emotion is the catalyst for Chekhov’s story. When a person is deprived of love, he or she builds up a futility of life which consumes the human soul. In Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”, the readers are placed in a setting where the main character Gurov, and his love interest Anna, are given the emotional freedom to feel love toward one another. This freedom is the driving force in the story

Augustine was potentially a grand source of advice and philosophy for the time of this literature’s release. However, the philosophies are now outdated. In, Confessions of St. Augustine, women are advised to subjugate themselves, knowingly to their husbands. Men are masters, women are servants, and if a man’s anger becomes so overwhelming he becomes physically expressive, the woman has done something wrong and should feel ashamed. There are, of course, numerous things wring with these positions. In modern times, the philosophies need an equality adjustment that allows for men and women to take responsibility for their actions, and be servant to nobody.