Although we are different people and have different ways of thinking, in the end we all read the same book, in the same setting, and came up with many similar themes along the way. "They show many personalities such as heart felt, morally right, caring, powerful, ambitious, and they can persuade men. Harriet Beecher Stowe makes all of her female characters unique through these attributes." (Emond) The underlining theme that women had power beyond the home through their children and husbands, is a common theme when people beginning to understand the book.
By looking at it with all of the characters from Eliza, Mrs. Bird, Mrs. Shelby, etc. they all possess the same qualities that seem to echo beyond themselves. "The men [still] have power but the women are so convincing."(Emond) This goes back to that the women control the home and although women could not vote or hold any position, they had the power to convince the people within their home. This included their husbands and their children. With this sort of ideology was how the feminist movement began. Women realized they had power and wanted more than the silent power that they held in the home. Women wanted more. In the novel Stowe also draws a connection with the African American slavery and the inferiority of the women. The African Americans lacked rights and standing as much as the women did in the time period. Although in the time period women were expected to be lesser to men, in the novel Stowe gives women a power place in the household, shaping the lives of men. This gives women a more positive stance and they are able to be an influence in the men’s morals and values instead of being silent submissive wives and mothers, they in fact have a quiet but powerful influence on the men around them. It is as though Stowe suggest that women stopped men from slavery by enforcing their values into their husbands and children. Stowe's novel begins to fuel the feminist movement.
Emond, Chris "Women of Uncle Tom's Cabin"
14 Febuary 2013 American Literature II
http://eng263uwmanitowoc.blogspot.com/2013/02/women-of-uncle-toms-cabin.html?zx=cebf5bc8dee7a982
14 March 2013
I agree, women can influence men to see what they think, especially with slavery in this novel. Even though women do not have power during this time period (1850) Stowe shows that women may have a voice doing so.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think it goes to show how strong women can be even when given so little. I am glad things have begun to change and that women are beginning to be given the opportunities they deserve.
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