PROTOFEMINISM: PATRIARCHY IN LITERATURE, 2015
PROTOFEMINISM: PATRIARCHY IN LITERATURE
BY
Aformeziem Brendal
Abstract
The concept of patriarchy has often been criticized
in feminist criticism. However, a diachronic study of
the representation and manifestation of patriarchy in
literature is paramount and fundamental to a deeper
understanding of the concept and its role in feminist
criticism. In this study, the manifestation of
patriarchy in three ‘protofeminist’ texts are revealed
and criticized. The texts are Thomas Wyatt’s ‘Whoso
List to Hunt,’ Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge, and
William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The article
further relates the culturally subversive acts of the
female characters to “grains of wheat” that germinated
into the Feminist Movement. Kate Millet’s, Simone de
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Beauvoir’s and Elaine Showalter’s approaches to
Feminism are also referred to.
Keywords: protofeminism, feminism, patriarchy
1.Introduction
Patriarchy, as a word, will be one of the many
words to lose its original meaning and usage by the end
of the 21st century. It has become, recently, a
rejuvenated concept that occupies the lips of
revolutionary feminists. Etymologically, the word is
derived from Greek patriarkhia which means a “system of
society or government by fathers or elder males of the
community.” The above definition asserts that
patriarchy as a ‘system’ is manifested in the ‘society’
and in ‘government.’ Thus, a society or government that
encourages or upholds the governance or rule of male in
a community is patriarchal. A distinguishing feature of
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such societies and governments is that it is often
patrilineal.
However, the term has been recreated to mean “an
unjust social system that enforces gender roles and is
oppressive to both men and women.” Phrases frequently
associated with patriarchy include: male chauvinism,
male dominance, sexism, male supremacy etc.
Essentially, the fervent supporters of the latter
definition argues that, as a system, patriarchal
domination is exhibited in the cultural, social,
economic, political and even ideological ramifications
of life. In addition, it is simultaneously revealed in
large and subtle ways throughout the world. In this
article, the latter definition is employed.
One of the major goals of feminists is to
eradicate every form of patriarchy in all spheres of
life. To an extremist, it includes painting the word as
pejorative and if possible, omitting it from the
English lexicon. In relating the ‘levirate’ custom
found among many Oriental peoples in ancient past,
which includes the “sacrifice [of widows] on their
husbands’ tombs,” Simone de Beauvoir (1949) refers to
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PROTOFEMINISM: PATRIARCHY IN LITERATURE, 2015
such practices as a form of patriarchy called “radical
patriarchy.” Sylvia Walby in Theorizing Patriarchy postulates
two forms of patriarchy: private and public. She
asserts that the private form of patriarchy involves
the denial of “access to paid employment” which results
in the woman necessarily dependent on the man whom
might be the father or husband. On the contrary, the
public form of patriarchy allows women access to paid
employment but disallow equal payment with the men. In
addition, they are publically subordinated to the men
and given lower status.
In the world of literature, the role of women is
considered “second-class.” Until the 19th century, the
feminine gender was not allowed to write publicly. In
fact, they were disallowed from going to school.
However, few stood their ground and radically achieved
a breakthrough of the male chauvinistic world. Some of
these include Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich,
Margery Kempe, Jane Anger etc. Owing to the fact, a
majority of writers in the literary canon have been
observed to be males. In addition, the major works
written by such highly esteemed writers directly or
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indirectly reveals patriarchy. Thus, it is the
responsibility of the feminist critic to extract these
patriarchal exhibitions and critically analyze it.
2.PATRIARCHY IN PROTOFEMINIST LITERATURE
One of the underlined methods of annihilating
patriarchy by the feminist critic is by bringing to
limelight and critically analyzing the manifestations
of patriarchy in works considered to be classic.
Feminist critics Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millet and
Elaine Showalter have contributed largely to the
achievement of this goal by exemplarily using the
method. Their works are considered to have laid the
foundation for the most prevalent approach in this
method called the “images of women” approach. This
section contributes to the achievement of the goal by
critically analyzing some major works not highlighted
by Millet and Beauvoir, and providing further criticism
of the texts they considered.
2.1. THOMAS WYATT’S ‘WHOSO LIST TO HUNT’
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Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas, I may no more.
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore
I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about,
‘Noli me tangere, for Caesar’s I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
The poem is considered one of the classics of the
English sonnets. In fact, Thomas Wyatt is referred to
as the “originator of the English sonnet.” In the above
poem, Wyatt openly declares his futility to love and be
loved by Anne Boleyn. Nevertheless, the poem is
stereotypical in the sense that it manifests subtly the
traits of patriarchy. Before studying the poem in-
depth, a critical analysis of the surface reveals that
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the poem is more of a communication between a speaker
and his targeted audience. The speaker, Thomas Wyatt,
addresses the poem to the addressees, the men. In
essence, the title of the poem is “[To] Whoso List to
Hunt.” It is therefore logical to assume to that the
poet excludes the feminine gender in his address. How
then should the female gender read the poem? Another
assumption that can be drawn from the title is the
assumption that the poem reveals the societal situation
of women in the sixteenth century as dormant,
uneducated, unsophisticated, and inactive. History
reveals that in the sixteenth century, only few women
were educated and well versed in Latin, Greek and
French, the languages of the sixteenth century.
Thomas Wyatt twice indicates the addresses (line 1
and 10) as an emphasis that the audience is restricted
to a particular gender. In addition, Wyatt symbolizes
the addresses as the hunter and Anne Boleyn as the
hunted. Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle (2004) agree
with the claim that Wyatt represents men and women in a
“gender-stereotypical way” which include “man as the
subject, active, full or travail;” women, on the other
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hand as “object,” and inactive. Therefore, men are
given the higher status whereas women are given the
lower status.
Wyatt symbolically referred to Anne Boleyn as an
outstanding “hind,” a female deer that should be
hunted. The use of an animal to represent a woman
further contributes to the belittling of the feminine
gender. It would have been considered fair and
appropriate if the hunter was another animal, maybe a
lion (it could as well be the deer itself), in pursuit
of the hind. On the contrary, the comparison is
between a human and an animal. Furthermore, Wyatt’s
poem reveals the ‘hind’ as branded.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about,
‘Noli me tangere, for Caesar’s I am
There is a written sign round the neck of the hind
to put off any other suitor. In essence the suitor,8
PROTOFEMINISM: PATRIARCHY IN LITERATURE, 2015
‘Ceasar,’ has enslaved the hind with ‘diamonds’ to
exhibit his ownership, affluence and nobility.
Therefore, not only did Wyatt subordinate women under
men, he also portrays women as a property of man,
dependent on man and disallowed to make personal
choices and decisions.
The last world of the poem describes a
characteristic of women in the Sixteenth century,
‘tame[d].’ A synonym of the word tame is
‘domesticated.’ A dictionary even defined the word as
an adjective used to describe “a person who is willing
to do what other people ask, even if it is slightly
[against her wish].” Therefore, Anne Boleyn is the
‘tame[d]’ hind. Generally, according to Wyatt, women
are therefore supposed to be tamed by men.
A perfect example of this patriarchal domination
and taming of the women by men is captured in Margaret
Cavendish’s Philosophical and Physical Opinions (1655):
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we are kept like birds in cages to hop up and down in our
houses, not suffered to fly abroad . . . we are shut out of
all power and authority, by reason we are never employed
either in civil or martial affairs, our counsels are
despised and laughed at, the best of our actions are trodden
down with scorn, by the overweening conceit men have of
themselves and through despisement of us. (qtd. in Margaret
Walters 2005: 21)
2.2. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MERCHANT OF VENICE
In terms of choice I am not sole led
By nice direction of a maiden’s eyes:
Besides, the lottery of my destiny
Bars me the right of voluntary choosing;
But, if my father had not scanted me,
And hedg’d me by his wit to yield myself
His wife who wins me by that means I told you….
(II.i.13-19)
The Merchant of Venice was written during the late
sixteenth century. The Norton Anthology of English Literature
remarks that the play is one of Shakespeare’s
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achievements which are “unprecendented succession of
romantic comedies… whose poetic richness and emotional
complexity remain unmatched.” The play reveals the
sixteenth century patriarchal society that subjugates
women under men.
The above quotation is Portia’s speech addressed to
the Prince of Morocco. She expresses her desire to have
a personal rather than imposed choice on whom to be
married to. However, before his death, Portia’s father
willed his property to any suitor of the daughter who
chooses among the three caskets, the casket which
contains a picture of Portia. Thus, both Portia and her
father’s wealth would belong to the man; this provokes
her to label it as “the lottery of [her] destiny.”
Essentially, this act of the late father posits two
points. First, as was the popular tradition in the
sixteenth century, a woman should be totally submissive
to the man, father or husband, in all arrangements
whether pleasing to her or not. Therefore, she does not
have any right to speak for herself, much less opines
what she wants. Secondly, the act pinpoints a common
feature of a patriarchal society; it is petrilineal.
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Therefore, women are usually not allowed to inherit
property; they themselves are properties. In the
absence of a male child, the husband of the eldest
female child inherits the property. Unfortunately, this
patriarchal feature has been in existence since the
beginning of patriarchy down to this day. Similar
practices still exist especially in the African and
Asian communities. However, a rapid decrease of such
acts has been observed in these areas.
In her 1980 book, Women Oppression Today: Problems in
Marxist Feminist, Michele Barret distinguishes patriarchy as
the “domination of women by men” from patriarchy as “a
specific form of male domination in which father have
power over women and younger men.” Apparently, the act
made by Portia’s late father can be viewed from both
types of patriarchy. The aspect of male domination is
revealed through the subjective role given to the
suitors. Whoever chooses the right casket automatically
becomes Portia’s husband. It will be right be assume
that Portia’s life would have been utterly miserable
and helpless if the right casket was chosen by the
Prince of Morocco or the Prince of Arragon. It further
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presents the gender-stereotypical roles of men as
subjective and active while women as objective and
inactive. Rather than choosing whom to marry and share
her father’s inheritance with, she can neither select
the suitors who would select among the three caskets
nor can she give a hint of the right casket to her
favorite suitor, as in the case of Bassanio.
Another manifestation of patriarchy in the play is
found during the court scene in act four, scene one.
Some professions, such as lawyers and doctors, were
strictly for the masculine gender. If women were
prevented from minor things such as going to school and
writing, how much more specializing in such
distinguished professions. The patriarchal society of
the sixteenth century forbade women from anticipating
such professions which would increase their position
and status in the society.
Although Shakespeare’s female characters in the
play cleverly and boldly rejected the pervasive social
norms and upheld theirs, their bold steps did not
change the situation in the society. The acts were
culturally subversive and radical but the system of
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patriarchy remained unshakeable. Some scholars have
traced the origin of patriarchy to such “social and
family structures” found in the works of Western
scholars. Nevertheless, these acts of patriarchy
undoubtedly still exist and are being passed down from
one generation to another.
2.3. THOMAS HARDY’S MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE
Hardy’s works gain attention from every form of
criticism. Feminist criticism is no exception. An
outstanding feminist critic who has successfully
described “The Unmanning of Mayor of Casterbridge” is
Elaine Showalter. The novel is a classic written in the
Victorian era.
In The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), the first act
that negotiates the feminist critic attention is
Henchard’s auction of his wife and baby daughter, Susan
and Elizatbeth-Jane respectively. At 21, while
travelling with his wife and baby daughter in search of
employment as a hay-trusser, Henchard stops to eat. In
what seemed like a joke when he was drunk, he sells his
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wife and baby daughter to a sailor, Newson, for five
guineas. The above act is an outstanding manifestation
of Victorian patriarchy. The trend continues from the
early patriarchal societies – the “worthlessness of
women.” To extrapolate, Susan and her daughter are
simply regarded as properties which could be discarded
or sold at any given time or place. Feminist critics
tend to restrict their focus of this patriarchal action
to the auction made while simultaneously neglecting the
roles of the setting and the buyer.
The sale was made at “the fair of Weydon-Priors.”
Undoubtedly, there were others present in the same
setting when the sale is made. The fact that no one
stops him or attempts to, even though Henchard was
drunk is perspicuous evidence that even the society was
in fervent support of women subjugation to men. In
addition, Newson, the sailor and buyer, purchases Susan
and the baby daughter for the five guineas demanded.
Thus, Susan becomes a stock that can be exchanged for
money. Such acts were not unusual; the narrator points
out that “it has been done elsewhere.” These acts also
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pinpoints the Victorian patriarchal ideology dominant
in the Victorian era.
In response to the above, Elaine Showalter points
out that the novel “begins with a scene that dramatizes
the analysis of female subjugation as a function of
capitalism: the auction of Micheal Henchard’s wife
Susan at the fair at Weydon-Priors” (qtd. in Dana
Elisabeth). Jung-Sun Choi critically points out that:
In terms of the Victorian patriarchy, the most
conspicuous character is Susan because she is a typical
victim of the patriarchal ideology. The relationship
between Susan and Henchard demonstrates the essence of
raltionship between man and wife in the Victorian age.
Between them there is a “total absence of
conversation.” Her husband is only “her present owner;”
she is only “an article” belonging to him. Naturally,
marriage is a disaster to her. (57)
By creating a sharp contrast between Michael
Henchard and Donald Farfree, Thomas Hardy promotes a
particular kind of masculinity which is believed to
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have contributed to the evolution of the “New Woman.”
Another critic agrees that by “portray[ing] masculinity
in states of ambivalence,” Thomas Hardy “gives a great
deal of insight in the types of men he favors – the
chaste male, who is able to abandon his ‘savage male
defiance’ for love and sensitivity.”
The patriarchal domination of women under men –
father or husband, has been in existence since time
immemorial. Evidence of such pervasive patriarchal acts
is manifested in the three texts analyzed. It was
revealed that women were mostly viewed as “property”
belonging to men. This article also points out how
culturally subversive steps taken by female characters
as Portia, Jessica, Nerrisa, and Elizabeth-Jane sow the
seeds of feminism in their different ways. Other
protofeminist texts include: William Shakespeare’s
Othello, Nathaniel Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter etc.
Sadly to say, these acts of patriarchal domination
still exist in some societies. Patriarchy, as the
subjugation of women by men against their will, is
evident in the works of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband has Gone
Mad Again, Buchi Emecheta’s Joys of Motherhood, Alice
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Walker’s Color Purple, Zulu Sofola’s Old Wives Are Tasty, Ngugi
wa Thiongo’s Devil on the Cross and a “thousand” of other
texts. A perfect example of Patriarchal domination of
the father over female and male children in
contemporary literature is Joe De Graft’s Sons and
Daughters.
The radical and culturally subversive steps taken
by few women before the advent of the Feminist Movement
can be considered as the “grains of wheat” which were
sown. Any political, social, cultural and economical
attempt to liberate them of male chauvinism were not
only turned down but also ridiculed, abused and viewed
as contemptible. Those “grain-of-wheat” efforts
implanted have germinated to the Feminist Movement
which has in turn led to the development of other
feminist concepts and studies: gender studies, sexism,
gynocriticism, ideology, reproduction etc.
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Daughters Ahead of their Time. A Thesis Submitted to the
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School of Theatre Arts, University of Arizona,
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Habib, M.A.R. A History of Literary Criticism, from Plato to Present.
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Bennet, A. and Royle, N. An Introduction to Literature, Criticism
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Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2004.
Choi, J. The Mayor of Casterbridge: Human Suffering in the Victorian
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De Beauvoir, S. Le Deuxieme Sexe. Paris: Editions
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Gbenoba, F.E. and Okoroegbe F. N. Literary Theory and
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INTERNET
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Mackay, F. “The Biggest Threat to Feminism? It’s not Just the
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