Lovely, quiet girl, no trouble, no trouble at all. You wouldn't even know she was in the house.

That is often the yarn twisted around women's wrists. ue !onk "idd,The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine. #ow do women in Top Girls and The !andmaid's Tale submit or rebel against $atriar%hal $ower& The quote above shows how women are quite submissive, quiet, gentle and hardly ever heard. This is the $light of women even in the '(st %entury. )atriar%hal $ower and the o$$ression of women is still seen in modern so%iety. *oth te+ts $ortray the theme of submission or rebellion against $atriar%hal $ower. There is a %lear %ontrast between %hara%ters in both te+ts. ,or e+am$le in Top Girls submissive %hara%ters in%lude Lady -i.o, the /m$erors %on%ubine, and 0riselda, the ruling marquis e+ bride. #owever there are also rebellious %hara%ters su%h as !arlene, the $rotagonist, whom fights against $atriar%hal $ower and her o$$ression. 1hilst doing so she s%arifies im$ortant as$e%ts of her womanhood su%h as !otherhood. 2n The !andmaid's Tale the stereoty$i%al obedient housewife is de$i%ted through the %hara%ter of erena 3oy and !oira is a %hara%ter who resists being ob.e%tified at the hands of o$$ressive men. 2n Top Girls we are introdu%ed to the %hara%ter of Lady -i.o in 4%t 5ne. 1e soon learn that at the young age of fourteen she was %hosen to be the %on%ubine of the /m$eror of 3a$an, aged twenty nine. #owever we soon learn that she was taken advantage of by the /m$eror, her thin gowns were badly ri$$ed. 1hen questioned by !arlene on whether she was ra$ed she sim$ly states -o, of %ourse not. 2 belonged to him The use of the word belonged is very signifi%ant as it shows Lady -i.o to be a mere ob.e%t. he is not a human with feelings or emotion, the /m$eror is free to use her body for $hysi%al $leasure. This reiterates the theme of submission as Lady -i.o is submitting her body to the /m$eror. 2t is as if it is not her body but the /m$eror's body as she is allowing him to %ommit su%h a heinous a%t, in this %ase ra$e. 4nother startling fa%tor is that she doesn't even a%knowledge that she has been ra$ed, -o, of %ourse not. This also shows the submission of her mind. #er mind nor brain tells her that she has been the $oor vi%tim of ra$e. #er brain is also telling

her that she belongs to him and it is her duty to obey him. 4t the tender age of fourteen she has been outrageously ob.e%tified by a grown man. Lady -i.o links to the histori%al and so%ial %onte+t of medieval 3a$an. 1omen were very mu%h dominated by men during this time $eriod. )atriar%hal $ower was vastly seen throughout this time, women were heavily o$$ressed by men. They were given the ty$i%al housewife role, taking %aring of %hildren and fulfilling domesti% as$e%ts of said role. ome women were for%ed into %on%ubinage and were then for%ed to fa%e the ordeal of ra$e and violen%e at the hands of o$$ressive men in the $resent so%iety. This vastly links to the %hara%ter of Lady -i.o as she is $ortrays the young women who were for%ed into %on%ubinage whi%h led to a life of violen%e. !any fa%ed this horrifi% e+$erien%e and %ouldn't do mu%h to resist it. ome didn't try as they were emotionally drained and mentally s%ared due to the e+$erien%e. They a%%e$ted their $light thus submitting to $atriar%hal $ower. 2n The !andmaid's Tale the submission is shown through the unfortunate %hara%ter of erena 3oy, a stereoty$i%al housewife. he is shown as quite obedient, almost as if she was a $et or an ob.e%t. 1hi%h links to the idea of women being ob.e%tified in a $atriar%hal so%iety. he is eager for %ontrol or any form of %onne%tion between herself and the 6ommander. This is shown when she noti%es the li$sti%k mark found u$on the her winter .a%ket. *ehind my ba%k. You %ould have left me something. The fa%t that she uses the word something %learly shows her submission to the 6ommander. he is outraged at the thought that 5ffred is sharing intimate moments with the 6ommander without her $rior knowledge. The word something shows her to be a weak and feeble $erson, des$erate for a bit of attention or intima%y from the 6ommander. 2t reinfor%es the ideology of women being weak and des$erate for male attention, regardless of how de%re$it it makes them seem. he later refers to 5ffred as a slut. This shows her anger towards her however she dis$lays no hatred towards the 6ommander. 4lmost as if she solely blames 5ffred, after all man %an do no wrong, erena 3oy reinfor%es $atriar%hy as she res$onds to it and doesn't try to rebel against it. !en %an do as they wish and women should be blamed for it even if they are not at fault. This also shows how the disunity between women allow men to be more $ower and more dominant, another theme shown in both te+ts. They fight against

ea%h other whi%h allows men to divide and %onquer thus making them more su$erior in %om$arison to the female gender. The %hara%ter of erena 3oy is an obvious link to the role of women in the (789s. 2n (78' :8; of women were married with an average age for marriage being '( years old. 1omen were e+$e%ted to be $erfe%t housewives and be !others. !en were the breadwinners in their family and held a dominant role within the household. This is a %lear link to the relationshi$, or rather la%k of relationshi$, between erena 3oy and the 6ommander. 1omen were to be seen than heard, whi%h links the quote above, they were to be obedient and dutiful. !en were taught to assert their rights u$on women and must also be the dominant %ounter$art within their relationshi$s<marriage.