When bringing up the topic of misogyny in history and literature, many tend to shrug their shoulders and say “well, that’s just how it was back then,” or “women just didn’t have the same rights. It was the tradition.” Even a certified educator approved by eNotes Editorial on enotes.com argues that “...during Pope's day, women had no rights. Feminism was a far-off idea. Pope's attitude toward women would have been considered within the norm.” What some people do not realize is that just because something was normalized, it does not mean that it was okay and misogyny is not always a man deciding that he hates women. Misogyny was deeply ingrained in the culture of England in the eighteenth century and still is today, though to a much lesser extent, and Alexander Pope’s mock epic poem The Rape of the Lock is a great example of this. The work is actually based on true events which caused a feud between two wealthy families. A Lord Petre had cut off a lock of Arabella Fermor’s hair, to her and her family's dismay and outrage. A friend of the family and Pope suggested he write something “in the hope that a little laughter might serve to soothe ruffled tempers” (“Alexander Pope” 506). In the poem, Arabella is represented by the character Belinda and Lord Petre is represented by The Baron. Pope also uses this poem as a commentary on vanity, triviality, and high expectations and standards in society, specifically the bourgeoisie; however, he seems mostly to make use of women to make his point. Despite the fact that the mock epic is riddled with misogynistic themes, The Rape of the Lock is one of the most, if not the most, well-known and often-read works by Pope along with being commended by many as the best mock epic in English-language literature. The Rape of the Lock is beautifully written, but that beauty hides Pope's misogyny in his negative portrayal of women's behavior, his objectification of women, and his promotion of rape culture; this is supported by the critical work 'The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis” from UKEssays.com, “'Quick as Her Eyes, and as Unfix'd as Those': Objectification and Seeing in Pope's ‘Rape of the Lock’” by Rebecca Ferguson, and “Re-Reading the Power of Satire: Isaiah’s ‘Daughters of Zion’, Pope’s ‘Belinda’, and the Rhetoric of Rape” by Miles Johnny.
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Beginning in the dedication to Arabella, Pope begins to build up an idea that women are flawed or less intelligent. He is definitely trying to tiptoe around offending Arabella by using flattery and describing the construction and wording of the poem but still manages to insult her knowledge. He explains his use of “machinery” in his poem, which, according to him, “...is a term invented by the critics, to signify part which the deities, angels, or demons are made to act in a poem...” (Pope 508) and then apologizes for “how disagreeable it is to make use of hard words before a lady” (Pope 508). The language is simply demeaning; it is as if he is talking to her like a child. It almost sounds like a joke, but that is his real dedication to her. Before this, he also indicates that his poem is aimed mostly at “...young ladies, who have good sense and good humor enough to laugh not only at their sex’s little unguarded follies but at their own” (Pope 507). This solidifies the idea that he is being more critical of women than he is of men. This dedication alone largely sets the misogynistic tone of the poem. 'The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis” brings to light some of the elements of the actual poem that reflect a belief that women are inferior in the game of cards that Belinda plays at the party. It also mentions that the poem builds Belinda as a “mock-hero” and a powerful female character while describing how she has everything done for her and is not fighting a real battle, but a game of cards, and “by portraying Belinda as a powerful woman as the leader in a mock battle, Pope effectively exaggerates any sense of true power that Belinda possesses” ('The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis”). The essay reveals how Pope is basically giving Belinda pointless and exaggerated. authority and power; her card-battle is meaningless. 'The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis” shows that while The Rape of the Lock is not only a mockery of epic poems and heroes, but a mockery of women and their authority or lack thereof and also brings up important ideas like those that women were believed to have only the purpose of serving men.
Something in Pope’s work that is insulting to women not discussed in the aforementioned essay is The Cave of Spleen in Canto 4. In the article “The Cave of Spleen,” Lawrence Babb states that “...Pope represents Spleen as a sullen goddess who holds court in a misty underworld cavern filled with apparitions and subsidiary personifications.” He also says that “The malady... called spleen (vapors, hypochondria, and hysteria...) had had a long history in medical tradition.” It wasn’t that long ago that medical professionals believed that women were hypochondriacs and had false pains and ailments along with female hysteria, a broad term that could be used as a diagnosis for any physical or mental ailment suffered by a woman for no other reason than having a uterus (McVean). It was commonly believed that not only were women inferior in character but also physically inferior and naturally flawed. In Pope’s work, Belinda is overcome by this “hysteria” when her attention is brought to her now severed lock of hair. Belinda “sighs forever on her pensive bed, Pain at her side, and Megrim at her head” (Pope 519). Pope is describing some false illness or pain and melancholy that she must be feeling, which paints her as dramatic. He goes on to describe all women as “feel[ing] such maladies as these When each new nightdress gives a new disease” (Pope 519). This excerpt is basically saying that everyday women will have some new dramatic pain or ailment allegedly afflicting them. 'The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis” and the references to female hysteria in Canto 4 of The Rape of the Lock paint a clear picture of a man who generalizes women as inferior to men in their gender role, their mental ability, and their physical health.
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