Paper 2 Flashcards
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy W@PZ Parental Quote
“My father put the mug in my hand and taught me to wash his legs with water. I had now replaced my mother”
Juxtaposition between child’s innocence and adult responsibility contrasts to reveal that girls are not permitted a childhood, and assume domestic responsibilities of servitude when young
Foreshadows that Firdaus will replace her mother in that during her marriage she will become physically and sexually abused as her mother is with her father, wherein she is an object to carry out services for the husband
Parental relationships teach this patriarchal role of domestic servitude generationally from when women are girls to deeply instil the normalisation of oppressive patriarchy
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy W@PZ Female Circumcision Quote
“My mother brought a woman. […] They cut off a piece of flesh from between my thighs.”
Visceral imagery demonstrates El Saadawi criticising this practice as brutal, and painful, subversion the conventional way female circumcision is viewed with in African societies, as a rite of passage.
Simplistic style & language contrasts the brevity of the situation to emphasise Firdaus was a young child whilst revealing the normalisation of female circumcision
Cultural practice of female circumcision is bestowed by mothers onto daughters as a
rite of passage which incriminates other women themselves as actors in patriarchy which perpetuate female oppression. Significance of women and mothers committing this implicates how although women experience the same persecution, women uphold oppression onto their daughters thus becoming a cycle.
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy W@PZ Uncle’s Wife Quote
“[my uncle’s wife] said precisely men well versed in religion beat their wives. The precepts of religion permitted such punishment. A virtuous woman did not complain. Her duty is perfect obedience.”
When Firdaus decides to confide in her Uncle that her husband beats her, Firdaus is rejected and justified through religion, that abuse is permissible.
Semantic field of religion through “well-versed” “religion” “precepts” “virtuous” “duty” entangles patriarchal oppression with religion as synonymous, to convert questioning patriarchal marginalisation as sinful. Thus revealing religion is weaponized to justify patriarchal violence. Patriarchal norms of wives being perfectly obedient also becomes related to religious virtuosity to ensure wives are silent, submissive, and dehumanised as objects which only serve to carry out the husband’s every desire lest be met with religious “punishment”.
Irony that another woman, Firdaus’ aunt-in-law, is defending abuse incriminates other women themselves as actors in patriarchy which uphold female oppression.
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy W@PZ Authorial Choice
Relationships - Parental Relationships
The mechanisms through which Firdaus is indoctrinated into patriarchal roles all occurred through relationships specifically those with parental figures which elucidates the manner of generational transmission of patriarchal norms.
Narrative Structure - Exposition
Exposition in the narrative structure which details Firdaus child life depicts the culturally-ingrained ways patriarchy is perpetuated as the events of her childhood which go on to connect to the impacts of patriarchy which are illustrated in her adult life. This achieves a holistic examination of patriarchy as the rising action of the novella unfolds with connections to the causes elucidated in the exposition.
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy ADH Fellow Female Quote
Christine: “Don’t be so silly! […] it’s rash to do something without his knowing…”
Imperative/Exclamatory sentence demonstrates Christine’s shocked disapproval of Nora disobeying her husband and borrowing money without his knowledge in act I. Which elucidates that other women in society also uphold standards of marriage wherein women cannot act without the permission of her husband. Christine’s shock reveals that Nora’s patriarchally subversive behaviour is unorthodox and severely condemnable. Christine’s disapproval portrays that women uphold patriarchal norms expecting other women to conform to them as well.
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy ADH Nora Herself Quote
Nora: “Yes, Torvald, I can’t get along a bit without your help.”
Hyperbole demonstrates Nora’s exaggerated and distorted self-perception of her own helplessness which, although falsified, causes Nora to minimise her autonomy.
Direct address to Torvald emphasises Nora’s sense of dependence on Torvald to be significant and personal. This perceived reliance implicates her patriarchal marriage is perpetuated by her own belief that she cannot have her own agency, and musn’t attempt to achieve it.
POA 1: Culturally Ingrained Patriarchy ADH Authorial Choice + Quotes
Set design of Drama
Set design translates real life Victorian societal structures into the play to parallel implicit societal dynamics which contribute to women’s oppression.
“[A comfortable room, furnished inexpensively, but with taste.] … [Helmer’s study to the left]”
Set design replicates a typical Victorian house as a realist drama, whilst the props and doors mirror that of a doll’s house. Although Torvald and the other characters leave the stage into their own spaces with their own multidimensional identities, Nora, without any space of her own, is constantly on stage performing as a doll in her doll-like stage for society and the audience.
The set design thus mimics the way Victorian society perpetuates patriarchy as the set, representing societal structures, only relegates Nora to exist within the confines of the house, as patriarchy implicity only values wives domestic functions, and discards her identity outside of the home.
“Nora: [walking about uneasily]”
Stage direction creates an atmosphere of tension to elicit Nora’s entrapment and claustrophobia in her doll-house, where she is forced to perform for Torvald and audience which uphold social expectations of Nora consisting of her role in entertainment. Nora’s sense of claustrophobia and entrapment reveals that women feel coerced and suffocated by cultural expectations to fulfil their patriarchal wifely duties
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency W@PZ Husband’s Abuse Quote
“[Firdaus’ husband] got into the habit of beating me. […] The blood ran from my nose and ears. […] My face and body became swollen and bruised.”
Visual, visceral, vivid imagery grimly portrays the severe abuse and undeniable dehumanisation of Firdaus at the hands of her husband. The vivid descriptions of her disfiguration represents the loss of her autonomy in her marriage.
Firdaus explicitly loses her autonomy in her patriarchal marriage as she is unable to escape is ritualistic, purposeless abuse. This vividly demonstrates that men perceive women as property to abuse at their discretion, and the bloody ramifications of this perception.
Detached tone through declarative statements portrays Firdaus’ has dissociated from her abuse, and normalised her traumatic patriarchal experiences.
Firdaus repeats the pattern of abuse she witnessed between her parents’ marriage in her own marriage.
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency W@PZ Dissociation Quote
“I surrendered my face to his face and my body to his body, passively, without any resistance, without a movement, as though life had been drained out of it.”
Parallelism in “my face to his face and my body to his body” emphasises that Firdaus “surrender[s]” the entirety of her bodily autonomy to her husband without any other choice. Implying she is raped by her husband.
Anaphora of “without” generates a rhythmic atmosphere surrounding Firdaus’ passivity as contrastingly calm, and smooth, despite the adversity of her situation. This reveals her dissociation as she passively submits to her husband by disconnected her conscious from her body as a coping mechanism.
Simile “as though life had been drained out of it” conveys her depersonalisation as by her switching to third person to describe her body reveals she no longer identifies with her now objectified body now “it” in order to endure patriarchal abuse.
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency W@PZ Authorial Choice + Quote
Symbol - female circumcision representing loss of sexuality in identity
“A part of me, of my being, was gone and would never return.”
The removal of Firdaus’ clitoris symbolises a loss of bodily autonomy literally but also metaphorically as Firdaus loses the right to agency over her sexuality. In this act Firdaus is fragmented and cut up, and she loses access to a fundamental part of her identity; her sexuality. This is expressed in adulthood as Firdaus can no longer access some intangible part of her sexuality.
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency ADH Torvald Belittling Quotes
“Torvald: My little skylark”
Hypocorism belittles and objectifies Nora, demonstrating the way husbands view their wives, and revealing Nora’s subordinate position in her marriage and society at large, whilst presenting the superiority of Torvald. The hypocorism to animal names presents Nora as unintelligent and incapable of living on her own thus reinforcing patriarchal hierarchy
“Nora: Don’t look at me life that / Torvald: Mayn’t I look at my dearest treasure? At all the beauty that belongs to no one but me - that’s all my very own?”
Repeated possessive pronoun presents Nora as Torvald’s pet or property, and demonstrates Torvald only recognises Nora so long as she is beautiful and considered his property, which forgoes Nora’s identity of her own outside Torvald’s ownership of her
High modality word ‘all’ highlights that Torvald cannot see Nora as autonomous, and that she entirely belongs to him
Rhetorical question demonstrates that Torvald disrespects Nora’s imperative command, and treats her as if he is entitled to do what he pleases with Nora
Caesura places emphasis on Torvald’s perspective that Nora is his property
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency ADH Tarantella Quotes
Practising Tarantella scene act II
“[Nora’s hair comes down and falls over her shoulders, but she goes on dancing]”
Proxemics of Nora in centre stage represents how she is performing to appease Torvald and the audience, and her behaviour and identity is not for herself, but a show for those around her, causing the deterioration of her own self-actualization
Props of the hair falling down in the Victorian era was a sign of madness which symbolises Nora is becoming mad in her frantic attempts to please Torvald, and thus losing her sanity, identity, and agency, as she values pleasing Torvald above herself.
“Helmer [putting his arm around her]: Slower!”
Imperative conveys that Torvald orchestrates Nora’s behaviour which can be applied outside the context of practising the Tarantella. It also represents in Torvald’s view, the dynamic of their relationship, wherein Nora is wild and excitable like a pet, which Torvald protects, guides, and tames, simultaneously implicating her loss of autonomy
Stage directions depicts Torvald physically controlling Nora and positioning her like his doll, demonstrating her loss of autonomy as he physically positions her to behave how he desires
POA 2: Loss Autonomy & Agency ADH Authorial Choice
Symbol - Macaroons representing rigid restrictions on women’s beauty, forgoing autonomy
Torvald bans Nora from consuming macaroons because he believes they will spoil her beauty which reveals Torvald values Nora so long as she is attractive to him and strict patriarchal rules husbands impose on their wives.
This rule represents a larger disregard for women’s autonomy due to their societal value on beauty making this permissible, as in Nora’s case, she greatly enjoys eating macaroons, however, as Nora outwardly forgoes her desire to consume macaroons to satisfy Torvald reveals how wives put aside their personal desires and identity for their husbands
However, as Nora surreptitiously disobeys this rule characterising her as rebellious to symbolise her ultimate, subconscious desire for freedom
POA 3: Social Change to Achieve Liberation W@PZ Pimp Quote
“[Pimp] every prostitute has a pimp to protect her from other pimps, … You cannot do without protection. Otherwise the profession exercised by husbands and pimps would die out”.
In the context of the story, through prostitution where Firdaus has finally found some semblance of financial freedom, when the pimp begins exploiting Firdaus the reader feels the rage yet powerlessness of Firdaus as she is patriarchally marginalised once again.
Irony that pimps must protect prostitutes from other pimps reveals that men in this patriarchal society create the need for women to be protected by men which ultimately then allows men to exploit women for their benefit.
Antithesis between pimps and husbands, prostitution and marriage, reveals these patriarchal institutions are one in the same, both serving to exploit women for the benefit of men.
Imperative conveys the demanding way patriarchal standards are upheld and presented at absolutes
Through this it is ultimately understood that for women to be liberated from patriarchal exploitation, the patriarchal institutions themselves must be dismantled, so that women no longer rely on men for survival.
However, as Firdaus knows all too well these patriarchal systems which coerce her exploitation, she is brought to the point of murder, which is cathartic for herself and the reader, as she is, through murdering the pimp, symbolically murdering the patriarchal society.
POA 3: Social Change to Achieve Liberation W@PZ Liberating Feel Quote
“My body was as light as a feather, as though its weight had been nothing more than the accumulation of fear over the years”
Simile comparing her weight to a fear from her liberation from patriarchal embedded fear represents that Firdaus has regained agency in her life and can control herself as she is light and no longer restricted by fear of men
Juxtaposition of a brutal act of murder with liberating imagery reveals that her subversion of gender roles where the woman is submissive, and men are strong and protective, is unexpectedly liberating elucidating that overcoming patriarchal norms will grant women agency
After killing the pimp she is free from fear, representing how she feels she has regained agency in killing her pimp and symbolically overcoming patriarchy
