Men are seen continually oppressing women throughout history because of the belief that women are weak and naïve. The oppression can be viewed in different cultures that practiced the maltreatment of women such as China, India, Europe, and even America. For example, in 17th century China, women’s feet were bound because men thought that smaller feet were more beautiful. These women had to walk with canes and were in much pain most of their lives. This was a way that men executed their dominance over the women. In A Farewell to Arms, we are taken to Italy where we get a firsthand look on how men treated their women and how the main female role, Catherine, is depicted as the ultimate female character. Hemingway critiques the way women were viewed during this time by allowing Catherine to be the typical negative stereotype of a woman during World War I.
One critic, Judity Fetterley, writes in her interpretation of the treatment of women (‘A Farewell to Arms’: Hemingway’s “Resentful Cryptogram”), that Hemingway is allowing Frederic Henry to view himself as superior to women, in particular, superior to Catherine. Catherine succumbs to Frederic by letting him use her for his own selfish reasons. He uses her by making her work nights at the hospital when he is injured so that she might stay with him and keep him comforted, even though she worked all day as well. His lack of concern for her sleep deprivation illustrates that he is a character who knows that he is superior to women and that they should do whatever is necessary to please him. Catherine does not do argue with Frederic but goes with his demands which makes her seem weak. Fetterley also mentions how that Italian culture as a whole views women. She determines this by using A Farewell to Arms characters like the doctors and Frederic’s friend, Rinaldi. The doctors treat the women by only valuing their looks and their ability to produce a male. Rinaldi also exhibits a similar behavior by asking Henry inappropriate questions about his and Catherine’s intimate relationship. These Italian men in the book only see women for what they can offer to the man which creates the male dominance over the weak, insignificant women
Another critic, Sandra Spanier, disagrees with Fetterley’s position that Catherine is a weak stereotypical female character. Spanier views Catherine as strong and an essential role to Frederic Henry’s life. According to Spanier, Catherine is a “code-hero” which means that she was part of Frederic Henry’s education because she has already had her own difficulties. Although, it is true that Catherine has had her own troubles throughout her life, Spanier is clearly lacking the fact that Catherine is willing to just go with Frederic Henry and is allowing him to control her for his own benefit which proves that Catherine is not stronger from her obstacles. Also, Frederic Henry already has the notion that he knows all and is superior; therefore, Catherine does not make much of a difference in Frederic Henry’s education. The flaw is shown because Henry does not change his views on women at the end of the book. He loves Catherine for her beauty and still feels it when she dies. It is still seen as her fault that she has died. Henry does not grow as a person or as a character throughout the novel.
The superiority men have over women is seen throughout time as a part of the culture, and not necessary to present to modern day oppressions. It is still seen today that men make more money than women do at the same job. This discrimination against women may not ever go away however we can still make it known by viewing characters like Catherine who are weak and subservient to their superior male counterparts.
You do a great job of adding weight to your argument by giving the reader historical contexts on patriarchy. In the end, though, I feel like you don’t have enough textual evidence to support your claims. You do a good job of referencing certain situations that appear to be examples of Catherine’s weakness, but in the end you make a general assertion seem overarching without probable cause. Your only response to Spanier’s argument is that Catherine was willing to hand over her control to Henry, proving her weakness. Here your claim doesn’t necessarily clash with Spanier’s, you’re just repeating your argument over again. I’m not trying to change your opinion or anything, I’m just saying that in order to make your argument more valid you need to create some clash with Spanier. Plus, I think it’s a little farfetched to say that Henry doesn’t grow as a character or person at all. I believe there is totally a change when comparing Henry before he meets Catherine and after he meets Catherine. In the end, this change in character could be interpreted by both sides of the feminist debate in different ways, so, if anything, his change in character is something you want to focus on to add weight to your argument.
ReplyDeleteCatherine is viewed as weak and subservient where as Henry is viewed as strong and assertive. But I believe these stereotypes were necessary to make this novel stand out. No one would have wanted to read a book about a strong assertive woman in love with a man who was weak and subservient. At least I wouldn’t.
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