It's not easy being a woman in today's world. Yes, we have, on the whole, way more rights and freedoms than we used to. We are allowed to get divorced, own property, vote, and control our own bodies (novel concept, huh?). But here's the thing: those are legal rights. For every legal restraint women are freed from, for every courtroom victory for the forgotten half of the human race, there is a social trap awaiting us. There are more than legal issues holding women back in today's society; indeed, in any society throughout history, the true oppressors are social responsibilities forced onto women.
To make my point, let's look at The Awakening. The heroine, Edna, embarks on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment throughout the story. Unsurprisingly, that doesn't fly in 1899 New Orleans. Why not? Merely because 1899 New Orleans society said women were not allowed to exist outside of the shadow of the men in their life. There were, of course, laws that restricted women's rights, but really, the main problems for Edna stem from the culture she's surrounded by. Her desire to stay inside painting, instead of wasting the day chatting to society women she doesn't even like is met with consternation and disapproval by her husband. It's not because there were laws forbidding women from neglecting their perceived socializing duties. It's because there were perceived socializing duties, period. Leonce doesn't visit Doctor Mandelet and go "Hey Doc, I think there's something wrong with Edna. She's started committing crimes and it's starting to freak everybody out." No, he visits the doctor and goes "Hey Doc, I think there's something wrong with Edna. She's neglecting the responsibilities I and everyone else have told her she has to have or she's not a good person, and it's freaking everybody out." It's these preconceived notions of what a woman has to do without question that get Edna into trouble within The Awakening.
Poor Edna can't catch a break in the 21st century either, apparently. As we saw during the Socratic seminar, the general consensus is that a woman only has the freedom to do what she wants in certain situations. There are some things, however, where free will be damned, we've just got to suck it up and do what we're expected to do. Children, for example. Everybody hates Edna (and Nora of A Doll House, too) for leaving their children behind. It doesn't matter that they knew that they weren't going to be able to be the best mother for their kids, or that they did love them and that's why they were leaving. No way. If a woman has kids, a woman must give her entire life away for those kids, end of story. Forgive my language, but that is bullshit of unfathomable depths. Not only is the societal preconception that being a woman automatically makes you a good mother/caregiver dangerous for the freedom and health of women, it's dangerous for the well-being of the poor kids!
That's just one example of how women still aren't equal, even in the 21st century. We still carry the burden that society has shackled to our shoulders: responsibilities. Men are only expected to make something great of themselves. Women are expected to take care of society's needs and fulfill its wants. There's no time left for us to be ourselves. That's what burns me up when people (mostly men, some of whom attend 6th period AP English) sit back and go, "Well, you can vote, can't you? Stop whining that you're still being oppressed." No. It is your job to stop oppressing half of the entire human race. That's your responsibility, men. Can you handle it? Or do you need us to take care of it for you, along with everything else?
