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    Gender Roles and Sexuality in Pope's "Rape of The Lock"

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    Cassidy Gomez
    1) The poem "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope uses gender roles and female sexuality to critique and redefine the rules of traditional society. 2) The main character, Belinda, defies expectations for women by being described in traditionally masculine terms and seeking revenge against Baron for cutting her hair rather than passively accepting it. 3) Both male and female guardian spirits (sylphs) guide Belinda, showing that gender is irrelevant to character; Pope uses this to argue that issues important to women, like the loss of hair, should not be viewed as trivial.

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    Gender Roles and Sexuality in Pope's "Rape of The Lock"

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    Cassidy Gomez
    2K views3 pages
    1) The poem "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope uses gender roles and female sexuality to critique and redefine the rules of traditional society. 2) The main character, Belinda, defies expectations for women by being described in traditionally masculine terms and seeking revenge against Baron for cutting her hair rather than passively accepting it. 3) Both male and female guardian spirits (sylphs) guide Belinda, showing that gender is irrelevant to character; Pope uses this to argue that issues important to women, like the loss of hair, should not be viewed as trivial.

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    Gender Roles and Sexuality in Pope's "Rape of the Lock"

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    1) The poem "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope uses gender roles and female sexuality to critique and redefine the rules of traditional society. 2) The main character, Belinda, defies expectations for women by being described in traditionally masculine terms and seeking revenge against Baron for cutting her hair rather than passively accepting it. 3) Both male and female guardian spirits (sylphs) guide Belinda, showing that gender is irrelevant to character; Pope uses this to argue that issues important to women, like the loss of hair, should not be viewed as trivial.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    2K views3 pages

    Gender Roles and Sexuality in Pope's "Rape of The Lock"

    Uploaded by

    Cassidy Gomez
    1) The poem "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope uses gender roles and female sexuality to critique and redefine the rules of traditional society. 2) The main character, Belinda, defies expectations for women by being described in traditionally masculine terms and seeking revenge against Baron for cutting her hair rather than passively accepting it. 3) Both male and female guardian spirits (sylphs) guide Belinda, showing that gender is irrelevant to character; Pope uses this to argue that issues important to women, like the loss of hair, should not be viewed as trivial.

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    of 3

    Gomez1

    CassidyGomez
    Mr.TimothyCurran
    Lit2000.003
    1March2016
    Gender,Sexuality,andtheRolesTheyPlayinTraditionalSociety
    RapeoftheLockbyAlexanderPopehasatitlethatimmediatelydrawsthereadertoa
    certainofassumptionofsexualrapewherethemaleistheaggressorandthefemaleisthe
    helplessvictim.Whilethereareunderlyingsexualthemesinthepoem,thewordasusedinthe
    titlereferencestheforcefulseizureofsomethingprecious.Iarguethatthroughthemanipulation
    ofbothtraditionalgenderrolesandfemalesexuality,Poperedefinestherulesoftraditional
    societyandcrushesthedoublestandardsplacedonfemales.
    IbelievethatPopeusesBelindaasaprimeexampleofafemalecharacterthatdoesnotfit
    withinthetypicalsocietalconfidesplaceduponwomen.Belindaisdescribedasbeautifuland
    rich,whicharecharacteristicswomengenerallywantedtobeassociatedwithbecausetheyare
    viewedasthedesirablecharacteristichowever,Belindaisalsodescribedinatraditionally
    masculinewaythroughoutmostofpoem.Popecompareshertoadetailedmilitaryleader(33).
    AfterBaroncutsofherhair,sheisnotsatisfiedwithacceptingwhathappenedinsteadshetries
    tofighthimtogetrevenge.ThegameofheartsbetweenBaronandBelindaactsasa
    metaphoricalbattleinwhichBelindawinsandassertsherdominanceoverhim.Belindasover
    dramaticreactiontolosingherhairwasanattempttobringattentiontothewayfemaleemotions
    areviewed.Anyemotionsdisplayedbyawoman,evenwhencausedbylegitimatesadnessor
    anger,areimmediatelyseenasanoverreaction.IbelievethatPopeintentionallydescribedthat
    scenesooverzealouslytosatirizetheideathatwomenaretooemotionalandthereforeless

    Gomez2

    capableoflogicorreasoningthanmen.
    Thesylphsthatwatchoveryoungwomenarebothmaleandfemale.IbelievePope
    includedbothgenderstoshowthatgenderisirrelevantinregardstocharacterandattitude.For
    example,Arielwasawomanwhilealive,butmaleasasylph.Bothmaleandfemalesylphs
    guideBelindatheyarenotconcernedwithhervanitylikefemalesarenormallythoughttobe,
    butinsteadtheyguideherthroughsocialsituations.ItisinterestingthatPopewritesapoem
    satirizingfemalefrivolityusingiambicpentameter.Iambicpentameterisadominantlymasculine
    formofcommunicationbecauseofthewayanauthorisabletostresscertainlargeideas.Iwould
    arguethatPopechosethatstyleofwritingtobringequitytothedifferentproblemsmaleand
    femaleviewasimportant.Itallowsissues,,suchasthelossofacouplelocksofhair,toseemless
    trivialandjuvenile.
    Throughoutthewholepoemthereisanunderlyingsexualtheme.Thepoemitselfis
    entirelyaboutawoman'shair,whichisasymbolofherstatusanddesirability.Thalestris
    describesBelindashairasa

    unrival'dShrineEase,Pleasure,Virtue,All,[their]Sexresign
    (39).
    Thelossofherhairseparatesherasapersonandtheobjectinwhichshewasviewedas
    bymen.Additionally,asPopesuggestedattheendofthepoem,thelockofhairisgoingtobe
    aroundforever.Iinterpretthatasthedurabilityofthefemalespirit.Hairisimportanttowomen.
    Itisironicthatthelossofsomethingsoimportantisviewedassotrivialwhenmenwouldreact
    similarlyifanobjectthatalsosymbolizespowerandstatuswasforciblytakenawayfromthem.
    Itisadoublestandard.Societyholdssuchlowstandardsfortheactionsofwomenincomparison
    tomen,andPopecommentsonthatthroughoutthepoem.Popeusesthispoemtoalterthelens
    throughwhichfemaleemotionisviewedintoonethatpositivelyreflectstheminsteadof
    demeansthem.

    Gomez3

    Belinda,althoughupsetovertheincident,refusestoletherselfplaythevictim.Her
    unwillingnesstobepassiveinthisincidentofassault,likewomenaresupposedtobe,implies
    thatPopesintentionherewastoempowerwomen.Belindawasjustifiedinheranger.Her
    braveryinchallengingtheinjusticeagainstherisatypicalforwomeninsociety.Although
    Belindaisadesirable,youngwomen,Popewritesdepthintohercharacterthatallowshertobe
    morethanjustherlooksormoney.

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