A caring
mother, diligent homemaker, an obedient wife – these are the apt descriptions
for a perfect mother and wife decades ago and even a lot of us today would
agree with it.
The movie, Mona Lisa Smile, conveys a very
significant message about the woman’s role in the society and family years and
years back. Moreover, there are noteworthy issues included in the movie.
A sketch of a perfect mother and wife was
depicted in the previous entry for it is the way the Wellesley College, a conservative women's private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, the setting of the movie, wants their graduates
to be.
The same as Wellesley’s thinking,
their society also looks women to be like that. Women are highly expected to be
in the lineage of motherhood rather than be like at the present generation of
working moms. Women should be more about housekeeping rather than in out of the
house jobs.
Elder women foster a predetermined path in
life for youngsters who are to stick to traditional mores and thoughts, with
the primary goal of marrying into a good family. They are taught to trail with
the rules and are trained to fill in the roles which they are supposed to fill.
Escaping the roles dictated by the society
is a big no or else the family’s reputation and name is at risk. There is no
way out for the women and they have to keep their selves on track on what is highly
acceptable and appreciated in the eyes of many.
With this situation, women’s right is
degraded. Yes, they have reached the college degree but deep inside they were
not able to reach their utmost potentials. If I, ambitious lass, was on their
shoes on that era my drives would suddenly vanish and rather stay at home,
marry a reputable man and take care of my family. Perhaps, I can do more than
that but since it’s the society that dictates, I am much pressured to keep on
track.
Women were not given chances to show what
they’ve got and express what they really wanted. They simply follow what the
elders would say as it is also what the society is saying. They are bounded in
a hidden line. A line that would keep them on their comfort zone and not
exploring what are the other things they can do and more or less they are like
prisoners, prisoners of old society’s thinking.
Not everybody has seen it but women indeed
portrayed a great role in yesterday’s society which became the strong
foundation of today. They performed a significant part in civilization. Though
they are not the ones seen as the front liner, they too had a contribution
equal to what the men did.
In a
deeper sense of thinking, it is very undeniable that women played a very vital
role in the society decades ago. They were the hidden backbone of the society.
Men at work depend on women at home.
In a family for instance, yes it is the
man who works for them but seeing the function of a woman inside as her wife
makes me say that he is very reliant on his wife’s home services. If the wife
doesn’t prepare a breakfast, the husband may not be able to go to work; the
same thing happens if she forgets to iron his husband’s office suit. To avoid
these scenes, Wellesley College (in the movie) and others alike exist.
Women before are not valued much because
of the fact that they are not the ones earning and bread-winner of the family. Yes!
Women are merely at home but they too have a character to make the society go
round. Though the society before doesn’t see the importance women’s role, I,
not being biased, see the great part of them in what we are today.
Moreover, the women of mid - 1900s’ should
be the models of mothers of the present generation. Before entering a family
life, they are much prepared on it. Women of today and before don’t differ
much, but in terms of training, the women of yesterday have the edge; they are
greatly ahead in terms of housekeeping.
On
the other hand, women should be valued, not just because they are the ones
taking good care of the family but also because they do a special task in the
existence of human race.
A woman performs a certain function that
the whole anthropocosmos needs. We all know that a woman is the one capable of
bearing a child, thus responsible for the continuity of Homo sapiens sapiens. With this role they play, they should be
given value as much as how humanity values men.
However, it is still clear that women are
still being belittled. Try to peek on the list of government officials, woman
is outnumbered by man. Even in workplaces, a task is often given to male, thinking
that females can’t handle it.
Women’s reputation is also degraded. In
the Philippine setting for instance, there is an increase in crimes involving
woman. It is also vivid that there is prostitution where women are paid for
entertainment thus degrading their standing.
Also, men’s superiority over women is
still observable. In decision making, leading a group and still, patriarchal
type of family still exist in our society thus making me say that in the eyes
of many, women are just subordinate of man.
A woman plays a great part in the society
and what hurts most is that it is not appreciated and given value. The problems
stated above prove that woman and man has still a gap on the society. Women are
very much affected with it and as the ones affected we must hand in hand fight
for our rights.
I do believe that we, women, do not aim to
overpower or overrule the society. We are just pushing for the equality and
respect.
I also do believe that equality and
respect is what the yesterday’s woman concern.
The
face of a woman changes drastically, but they have the same desires – to be
respected and be given equality among men. They slowly breakdown the walls of
limitations and step by step changing the society’s expectations
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