Feminist criticism takes into account the feelings and actions associated with the male and female characters in a literary work. A woman named Carrie Chapman Catt was clearly ahead of her time when she stated at a senate hearing on women’s suffrage in 1900 that “No written law has ever been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.”
Cultural Beliefs
These are the beliefs that are carried out from one generation to the next and become embedded in a culture with certain characteristics are assigned to each gender. For instance, these sexist assumptions lead us to believe that men possess the characteristics of thought, aggression, assertion, and rationalism and women possess the opposite characteristics of feeling, passivity, and non-rationalism which inhibit them from holding positions of power in the workforce.
Updike’s Representation of the Male Chauvinist
In Updike’s short story “A&P”, he patterns these characteristics. Lengel represents the aggressive man with hierarchical power in his position as “Manager.” He verbally attacks the girls and when Queenie rebuts his accusation she gets “sore” when she “remembers her place.” When Updike says “her place” he is referring to the place women hold below men in the social hierarchy. The girls are made to appear non-rational or emotional.
According to Rebecca West, Queenie may have been trying to express a sense of feminism when she was put back in her place. West states, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.”
These are the feelings of Updike’s main character, either women were to stay in one place and allow themselves to be walked on as “houseslaves” or mothers or they were to provide their sexual services when men so desired. Sammy has no problem admiring Queenie’s chest and comparing them to the “two smoothest cups of vanilla” or the “soft-looking can” of one of the other girls; he admires the girls as “raw material” only.
Overcoming Pre-assigned Gender Roles
It is possible for women to overcome gender stereotypes in their culture. It takes great amounts of time and effort but countless women have proven it can be done. Stories such as A&P by Updike can either prove detrimental to women in their quest for equality or they can provide as fuel for their fire. The main character symbolizes women’s ever-present enemy- the male chauvinist.
In today’s society, all but one primarily male role has yet to be threatened by a woman. Barbara Bush remarked on the subject at the 1990 Wellesley College Commencement, “Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the President’s spouse. I wish HIM well!” Maybe one day not all of the “kingpins” will be men.
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