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In her novella, The Fair Jilt, Aphra Behn addresses 18th Century gender stereotypes. Through the juxtaposition of characters Miranda and Father Hendrick, she challenges society’s understanding of men and women. The binary system used to define women from men, make it so that men experience the impact of restrictive female stereotypes. The feminine idea of piety and weakness for example, contrasts masculine notions of strength and wickedness. However, in the case of Miranda and Father Hendrick, it is Father Hendrick who demonstrates pious behaviour. When Miranda fails to seduce the Father, she lies and claims that he raped her when in actuality he was just upholding his religious vows. Nevertheless, due to the influence of gender stereotypes in society, people end up taking the woman’s word over the priest’s. In this respect, Behn illustrates how women are believed to be more innocent than men of the cloth. By upsetting social understandings of how men and women should act, Aphra Behn demonstrates how gender stereotypes are just as restrictive and harmful to men as they are to women. Through the relationship between Miranda and Father Hendrick, she reveals the truth that women can be just as powerful and depraved, as men are believed to be.
1. Discuss here how the church has helped implement the social structure that upholds and disseminates these stereotypes, through scriptures and the institution of the convents.
The church has played an integral part in the implementation of gender stereotypes regarding women developing much of their opinion from scriptures. Various scriptures have been used to authorize the notion that women are weak, in need of guidance and are easily influenced. The belief that women are the weaker and inferior sex goes back to the beginning of time with the story of Adam and Eve. This story demonstrates feminine weakness and susceptibility to temptation as Eve falls victim to the temptation of the serpent and her failure ends up being the ruin of her husband as well. This story served as a warning to men about the dangers of having a weak woman as a wife and that women must emanate pious behavior n order to be seen as desirable. Therefore, piety was encouraged in women during this time making it a revered quality. It
2.) Discuss the character of Miranda, why she should not be in the church and how she challenges understandings of pious women
3.)Discuss Father Hendrick, how he is holy and how being holy isn’t believed to bin men’s nature
4.) Compare them together
5.) Conclusion
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