book

Women's Rights in Literature

21 Pages 756 Words 1557 Views

One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered” (Michael J. Fox). Across the world many cultures allow their women to be abused by men. A great example would be found in A Thousand Splendid Suns, how Mariam and Laila were strictly their husband's business. They could be abused anytime, due to the way the culture was set up. Moreover, women in general should be strong, and fight for their right for freedom. Even in Mexico, stories of women getting abused are passed around. A story that really caught my interest was Cooking Lesson by Rosario Castellanos. This is a story about how society shouldn't abuse women's rights, which is revealed through the series of hardships the Mexican wife had while cooking for her husband. After getting married, her life took a turn for the worse. In the Mexican culture, knowing how to cook (for women) is an essential feature. Interestingly, this is emphasized in the story, when the Mexican wife states, “My place is here [the kitchen]. I’ve been here from the beginning of time” (173). However, within Cooking Lesson the Mexican wife had a lack of talent in the culinary field. Moreover, due to that problem, the wife felt that she had failed herself and her marriage. After overcooking the roast, the narrator says “ The meat hasn’t stopped existing. It has undergone a series of metamorphoses” (184). By this, she figuratively meant that her life had gone through a series of drastic changes. However, the literal meaning of this quote was that she had burnt the dinner that her husband was supposed to eat. In addition, this proposed a new conflict of either to confess to her husband about what transpired or to withhold the information and move on with her life. The responsibilities of a woman within a relationship differ from culture to culture. However, in the Mexican culture most of the house responsibilities and chores are ass

Read Full Essay