Expectations of Women: Then and Now

While exposing feminism through her characters, Jane Austen also chooses to portray the flaws of women in her novels. Isabella Thorpe of Northanger Abbey provides a great example of everything women were expected not to be. While feminism has dramatically increased over the years, we see woman acting more like Isabella, who would be described as a coquette in her time.

Instead of just having those select few women who are looked down on by society, we have turned into a sexualized culture. This has major implications for our women today: Have we taken feminism too far? Yes we want strong and independent women, but there are limits to how women should be. Austen shows that even though women were not supposed to act flirtatiously, many women were not delicate and did involve themselves in manipulating men. This seems apparent today, we know exactly how flirtatious women are but we forget that at one point in time this was hidden and frowned upon.  

Isabella provides an example of how dramatic flirting and manipulation can be, and that it is different from being outspoken and knowledgeable like Austen’s protagonists are. Instead of waiting for men to approach her, she approached men and followed them frequently so that they would be constantly aware of her beauty. This is similar to today, women have been taught to chase men through flirting and also by how they dress and act. We have come a long way for women’s rights, but has society abused it? We have almost reached a point where we are right back to Austen’s issues, but they are the exact opposite of what she had.     

Instead of being delicate, women learn from a young age to be more like Isabella. We have shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras, which is teaching young girls from birth how to attract men by enormous amounts of makeup and risqué dancing. How will this affect how women are treated? They have worked so hard for years to be treated as equals, only to go back to where they started, only with less respect. Who has created this image? I believe that it is our media saturated culture that tries to determine what women should be. It’s almost just like how women were supposed to be a whole list of unattainable things in Austen’s day. Instead of knowledge, they need to be a size 0. Instead of being talented at an instrument, they need to be able to get a wealthy guy. It’s all the same, just in a different package. So maybe we are not so unlike Austen’s culture, but we still think that we would never put those kinds of pressure on women today. 

Feminism Through Time: Jane Austen's Pioneering Legend Through Novels

We all know about the feminist movement, we have all heard about huge historical moments and people such Susan B. Anthony and the 19^th amendment. Women’s rights have only recently gained momentum, and often times we forget that women’s suffrage did not begin in the late 1800’s. Since the beginning of time, women have been seen as the weaker of the two sexes. But it has not been socially acceptable to say that this is wrong until now. Jane Austen put forth her own views on women’s rights before it was talked about, and she did so in a creative way; she showed the problems of women through her novels.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen’ s most recognized novel, her main character Elizabeth points out the flaws in society’s view when one of the women, Caroline claims that “A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages…and besides all this she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions…” Elizabeth replies by saying “I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women.  I rather wonder now at your knowing any"(Austen58). While these ideals seem frivolous, they were important because women did not have a real job other than keeping the house. These skills were important to be marriageable, which was the ultimate goal for many women.

The views of how a woman should act have changed, but we still face these problems today. We have the right to vote and do the work we choose, but girls are still told how they should look or act by the movies and magazines that have saturated our culture. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan are constantly giving tips on how to dress and look better. Austen saw that giving expectations for women as wrong, and gave her opinions the only way she could. The wit and humor that she uses show how ridiculous the views of woman are, and how no one can live up to the standards that society has created.  Society expected women to be seen, not heard, an opinion is a luxury that women have today but Austen’s culture did not. What is interesting is that all of Austen’s female characters have a voice, and strong opinions. Catherine in Northanger Abbey frequently discussed her views and opinions not only with her friends, but the man she loves Henry Tilney. While it is not different to us today, having hints of feminism in Austen’s writing had huge implications. How might have society viewed her writing in her time as opposed to now?

Our modern Jane Austen is Tina Fey, who is constantly making fun of how women act and the expectations of women. This video is a spoof of how women are portrayed in our modern television shows, and how they portray unrealistic expectations of how women should act. Sound familiar?

http://www.hulu.com/watch/10233?playlist_id=1113