Alias Grace Through a Feminist Lens Anonymous College

Feminism is defined as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes and the organized activities on behalf of women’s rights and interests” (Merriam-Webster). This includes liberation from sexual, religious, legal, and economic oppression as well as breaking free from rigid gender roles, which are justified by the biological differences between men and women. These differences include, first and foremost, the fact that women bear children. This fact has had effects on the way women in the United States are expected to live and behave. Throughout the history of this country, up until about the 1960s, women had been thought of as subservient to men. Males are typically supposed to be “the provider” in their families and women are supposed to be child-bearers, nurturers, housekeepers, and cooks (Blum 77). This harmful divide of the sexes was put in place by the patriarchy long ago, the effects of which can still be seen today in pay inequality, the media of the modern day, the glass ceiling, and the current division of domestic labor (Blum 83). The issues that feminists face today, however, are but a ripple effect of the mistreatment and oppression of women before and during the nineteenth century....