In literature, society has portrayed women in a negative light compared to their male counterparts. In the typical novel, short story, or poem, the female is always the foil of the man who is usually the protagonist or hero in some way; she is perceived as either being weak and fragile, violent, and viciously brutal, or she just does not fit society’s image of the perfect woman. Examples of the negative portrayal can be seen in literature such as Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, in which Edna is a weak and conforming wife having an affair with another man; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in which Lady Macbeth is an evil, conniving woman who degrades her husband by questioning his strength and masculinity; and Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying, in which Vivian Baptiste cannot seem to simultaneously satisfy her family, her ex-husband, her boyfriend, Tante Lou, or Tante Lou’s friends while staying true to her religion, even though Grant has none at all. Through imagery, tone, and figurative …show more content…
She has to look and act a certain way, which she learns is not something she wants. The strongest image in the story that depicts the exact opposite of what Edna wants is the “mother-woman.” The idea is that the female cares for the children, worships the male counterpart, and considers herself lucky that she is being tied down. The reader can immediately sense that this is not what the woman wants, but she is too afraid to voice her thoughts. There is a lack of communication and deafening silence between Edna and her husband Leonce. The inference can be made that women are to be seen and not heard. Literature such as The Awakening produces the picture of the content male that does all of the talking, and his compliant wife that simply stands in the background miserably, but looking pretty which is all that