“Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character; vanity of person and of situation…Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did; nor could the valet of any new made lord be more delighted with the place he held in society. He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and the Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion” (Austen 6).
Two books, Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, present the eighteenth-century’s idea of gender roles to its readers. Granted it would be strange to see in any book a set of guidelines for proper behavior for each sex – unless it was a book on proper behavioral conduct for that time period – neither novel explicitly states how a man or a woman should act. Instead they build off of an assumption that the readers already know what eighteenth-century gender roles are. In addition, Austen and Sterne include specific examples of when characters do not act entirely within their respective roles, as in the one above. The readers notice their misbehavior because that character’s actions are not congruent with what is expected of him or her and because the narrator/writer presents it in a negative or sarcastic or parodic manner. Readers cringe when the narrator is disapproving towards a character for acting out of line and are relieved of that feeling when the narrator supports what a character does, even if it was deemed inappropriate for that a person of that gender. The criticism or sarcastic and mocking tone can be seen as a form of punishment whereas the lack of criticisms and of negative tones is a form of negative reinforcement. Thus, the readers learn to change and redefine their set knowledge and assumptions of eighteenth-century gender roles through Austen’s and Sterne’s criticisms, or lack of criticisms, on specific actions. The authors show that the line between how a man or woman should act is not clear because they present ways in which characters act according to the opposite gender’s role.
Acacia, your beginning quote got me right into your paragraph. I also like how you look at these two works as an informal guide to how men/women were supposed to act. As readers, when we see characters who don't quite fit the gender roles, not only do we cringe but we tend to either laugh at them or not take them seriously in any aspect of their life (Sir Walter is a good example of this). This could be a form of punishment as you mentioned, because being laughed at/scorned was a big punishment in 18th century society. Perhaps you can somehow include the idea of social disinclusion as a punishment for people who don't follow these typical gender roles, and what a serious punishment that would be considered.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like the start to a really good paper. :)