Gender inequality has been a major issue from the old times and it still remains to be a controversial issue particularly for women. There are a number of gender disparities in the world. Some of the gender inequalities are displayed in “Happy Ending” by Margret Atwood. The reference of “Happy Ending” is going to be used often through this paper since it is the book being studied. Women have always been subjected to lower social power compared to men. In Margaret Atwood’s story “Happy Ending”, there are instances of these forms of gender inequality. It is evident, according to the author, that “endings” of stories are all clichés and that the middle of the story exhibits some forms of uniqueness. The text exhibits feminism through the stages of male dominance, women’s denial of social power, and the ultimate subversive attempts against the patriarchal norms. In Atwood’s “Happy Ending”, there are instances of disparities of social power between men and women, ways through which women have been denied social power, and their attempts to oppose this “norms” and ensure gender equality. “Norms” are the beliefs and accepted practices that exist in the society. The sexes continue to battle over this. For instance, one of the norms in the American culture used to be that women are not supposed to work. This has been proven to be unacceptable over time. This paper presents four articles that are related to the story “Happy Endings” and provides a well thought out tentative discussion of each of the four articles in with Margret Atwood’s story.
Gender feminism and male chauvinism go hand in hand. Atwood, in her book attempted address both issues. She also attempted to bring into light the issue of age gap in relationships and the position of “love” in it. “Love” is a natural feeling expressed by both sexes in their own unique ways. Nevertheless, women are more expressive when it comes to this feeling than men. There has never been dispute over this. It is a warm feeling which should be felt by each individual in their lifetime. Women have always been regarded as the weaker and less endowed sex, while the male gender has been seen to be stronger, thus deserving more opportunities in life. This can also be seen where educational matters are concerned. In history, women have always had to fight for their rights. That is what Atwood is also trying to say. In her book, we are able to see that one gender has a wife yet, wants another wife. The man is older than the woman and is even married, but still is in love with another woman. That is also where the question about the position of love in a relationship comes in. should love be the only basis for relationship? Should we not take into account any other factor? Factors like age, marital status, presence of children and others must be taken into account. That brings in another factor, should the heart be allowed to make its own decisions? Love is in the heart, according to Atwood. So should it be allowed to make the decisions where critical areas of life are concerned? Those are the factors that are discussed by Atwood.
The first article is called “Judith Grossman: A Mother, A Feminist, and Aghast”. MS Grossman became a feminist after his son was arrested and charged wrongfully in court. She says that the charged brought against her son were baseless and out rightly out of touch with the actual reality on the ground. What were the charges? Sexual misconduct was the charge (Grossman 2). Without substantial evidence, he was charged. This relates to Atwood’s book on Happy Ending. Opposition towards male social dominance continues here. It was a man that charged her son. This continues until the times when her son gets released from the prison. Judith is a deft lawyer. This skill she uses in court to argue out the case against her son. Madge shows the same kind of skill in form of feminine mystique when she decides to embark on charity work (Grossman 2). Deciding to settle down on a specific career shows a confident woman-uncharacteristic of women in the society. She continues to love Fred-though dead- but decides to run her own life independently from the influence of other men who might have disrupted her life and career choice.
While still on Judith’s case, there is what is called sexual harassment. Sexual harassment has been rampant in many parts of the society. In addition, there are a lot of real and horrifying stories of sexual misconduct, harassment and abuse. In colleges and university campuses for example, it is very rampant. This is what happened to Ms. Judith’s son. These offenses should be investigated, the culprits’ prosecuted and appropriate action taken (Grossman 3). That should not be a subject of debate. What however does remain a question is how we can make the process fair for everyone. In relation to “Happy Endings”, Atwood uses her story to indicate the differences in opinion and how women resist, and are subversive to the patriarchal powers. Despite the individual conflicts in the story, the characters stories in the text end in similar ways. The author points out to the similarities experienced from the beginning and towards the end of life. Love plays a major role in the short story towards the developing of the perspective that females are up against male dominance in the society. The author writes in a manner suggesting that “love” is the ultimate objective in individuals’ lives. Love is, however, not the sole factor that maintains and creates other new relationships. People can be in a relationship and maintain it perfectly without a form of love. This is what Madge confirms when she marries John after the later failed to marry Mary when their love faded away.
The next article, in relation to feminism, is related to Female Genital Mutilation. FGM, as is commonly known, is a way of the society subverting the rights of women. Since time immemorial, FGM has been a thorny issue. Women should not be circumcised. The article is called “Female Genital Mutilation: ‘Mothers need to say no’.” this article gives a story of many young girls who have undergone female genital mutilation and the reaction of their mothers. It further goes on to say that the young girls mothers should learn to say no to this (Khaleeli 1). This is a monolithic practice that has been passed by time and only societies that are not progressive still do them (Khaleeli 3). Relative to “Happy endings”, resistance to male dominance is evident that after the botched relationship between John and Madge, Madge finds John cuddled up with Mary and bed. She does nothing but moves on despite the couple having two children and a beautiful house. After the events in the house, feminine will to fight the predominant male patriarchy in the society is evident when she goes away and finds a man the author refers to as “understanding”- Fred. When women say that a man is “understanding”, men interpret it to mean that women want them to bow to their every whim. This is where the conflict is. Women say they do not mean that, but men interpret it to mean so. Therefore, there is resistance from the side of the male gender to be “understanding”. Women take this to mean that men do not love them. All in all, things happen in a replica of the A-part where love, understanding, tolerance, and maturity take center stage. This is continued in D where Madge and Fred find time to correct their mistakes through mature dialogue instead of throwing tantrums. This is because the main reason for FGM is to please the man since it is said that it prevents promiscuity in women.
The third article that relates to Atwood’s book is called A Critical Analysis of Orange Is the New Black: The Appropriation of Women of Color in the feminist wire. The author is called Mohadesa Najumi. It talks about women reformation in prison in the Orange County. Women who are prisoners need reformation. “This is because when the women go to prisons they have done some mistakes that need correction” people, both men and women, go to prisons for various reasons. These are murder, rape, thievery and many others. Mohadesa in her article discusses the women who go to prisons for gender related crimes. For example, husband battery, spousal murder or even marital rape. She says that men are not the only culprits in gender related crimes. Women too are culprits, though in most cases they are usually the victims. (Mohadesa 2). When we relate this is to Atwood’s book. There are several versions within the story that shows gender bias. In Version A, the characters, John and Mary, are in love with each other and are leading a happy life. There is a change in the storyline in the subsequent version. John is described as an exploitative man who uses Mary as a “weaker sex” just to satisfy her sexual desires. “Weaker Sex” has always been a phrase associated with women. There is no substantial evidence which shows that women are weak whether biologically or otherwise. Male chauvinists coined this phrase to massage their egos. The failure of feminism is evident in this scenario because the perceivably stronger man is using the woman because of his sexual lust. It gets worse when Mary strives to get married to John but it does not work in the end. Out of this heartbreaking disappointment, Mary dies and John gets another woman in the text known as Madge. In version A, they continue living a happy life. This is a different degree of exploitation of social power granted to the males. This is what women in prison undergo. Therefore reformation is critical.
The final article which is related to Atwood’s book is called “some examples of feminist analysis on sexual violence” by Canadian Association Sexual Assault Centers (CASAC). This deals with the thorny issue of domestic violence. Wife and woman battering has always been a thorny issue since time immemorial. “Women have been greatly affected both physically and psychologically” (CASAC 1). This is one of the reasons why feminist movements rose. Relative to Atwood’s book, Opposition towards male social dominance continues in C. This continues until the times when Fred dies from a heart disease. Madge shows some form of feminine mystique when he decides to embark on charity work. Deciding to settle down on a specific career shows a confident woman-uncharacteristic of women in the society (Atwood 190). She continues to love Fred-though dead- but decides to run her own life independently from the influence of other men who might have disrupted her life and career choice. This is all symbolism since Atwood’s work has mainly been written in symbolism.
Atwood in her book discusses a number of subjects that relate to women. She discusses the subservience of women’s rights, issues concerning their wellbeing, male dominance in their lives, their battles for equality and “love”. Female Genital Mutilation, though not a critical issue in developed nations likes the United States (Mohadesa, 1), continues to hold a critical position in the global arena since the less developed nations still practice them. Wife battering is also still existent in other less developed nations. In the U.S. it is still also there, though the government has taken measures to curb it. For example the family department deals with such issues relating to those crimes. However, it is still rampant in many areas and continues to pose a challenge to family development. Sexual violence can also be in terms of marital rape and denial of conjugal rights. Most men are blind to the fact that women too need sex. However, men are generally selfish and only think that they are the only ones in need of conjugal rights. Marital rape also still exists in many societies. The man has never accepted that sometimes the woman is not in the mood. That is why they will go ahead and rape their wives.
Moreover Atwood has addressed the subject of love. “Love” is said to make the world go round. That is why the main theme of Atwood’s book is about love. Love is what controls Davies, Marge, John and Mary. Be it not for love, the inter-age affair between John and Mary would not be in existent (Khaleeli 4). They love each other to bits. Though one is married and has two children, they do not care. They continue with their affair. However, the ending is a bit sad. “Happy Ending” is in fact written to show the sad ending. Ironically, the lead characters die. This is because of love. The book therefore is not only a symbolism, but also an ironical piece of work. Atwood did a good job. Consequently, the book is an interesting read and takes ones breath away. The characters are magnificent and the writer very skillful.
In conclusion, there are issues relating to society and gender discrimination and the changes respected in the society. The four highlighted articles show how gender disparity has been evident over the years reinstating Margret Atwood’s “Happy Ending. Issues are highlighted on how gender imbalances exist where males have always shown predominance. This is through the analysis of the lives John and Mary live; a life of “sexual exploitation” despite claiming to be in love. It is evident that there are changing roles and norms concerning the gender roles and interactions as visited in this article. After John leaves Mary, Madge also leaves him as a show of the emerging gender balance. Finally, when Fred dies, Madge decides to live her life away from intimate relationships. She proves the subversive nature towards male dominance in the society that forces women to rely on men for economic, emotional, and other forms of support.
Works Cited
Grossman, J. "Judith Grossman: A Mother, a Feminist, Aghast." The Wall Street Journal (2013): n. pag. Web.
Mohadesa, Najumi. "A Critical Analysis of Orange Is The New Black: The Appropriation Of Women Of Color." The Feminist Wire (2013): n. pag. Web.
Khaleeli , Homa. "Female genital mutilation: 'Mothers need to say no'." The Guardian (2013): n. pag. Web.
"Some examples of feminist analysis on sexual violence | CASAC." Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres. N.p., 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
