Gender Roles

The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur in 18887

       It is considered normal for a woman to be in the kitchen cooking for her family. In fact, this seems like a requirement most women must meet if they are to have a family. They must also stay home to watch the children and must fulfill their husbands wishes and needs. In the world today, these stereotypes would be exaggerated, but there was a time were this was expected and enforced. Women have more rights an
 opportunities then those who came before them. In the middle ages, women were not seen as equals to thei5). r male counterparts but as property. Their only roles in the community were as wives, nannies, and nuns. These beliefs were enforced by the church, which at the time was a dominant force socially and economically in society. "The Church’s hierarchical organization reinforced the class distinctions in society; its patriarchal dogma included a full set of theories on the natural inferiority of women which can be traced back to ancient Greece and the Old Testament” (Chadwick, 44). Despite the church favoring male domination, it did allow women an alternative. Those who wanted freedom from the stereotypical way of life could devote themselves to god and become a nun. This allowed for women to be able to have an education and allowed them to pursue their art. On the other hand, Women who did not want to become a nun just for freedom were often oppressed and given slim opportunities to be able to succeed in the bias system they live in. Reason for this was the patriarchal system that was unjust. Whitney Chadwick, author of Women, Art, and Society, states, “Within the convent women had access to learning even though they were prohibited from teaching by St.Paul’s caution that 'a woman must be a learner, listening quietly and with due submission. I do not permit a woman to be a teacher, nor must a woman domineer over a man; she should be quiet'” (Chadwick 45). There were consequences if women disobeyed anything that they were ordered to do. This enlisted fear in women and kept them in the social roles that men wanted them in. Women were to "obey their husbands and their husbands could beat her if she didn't" (Guerrilla 22). Yet, despite all the factors that were not in the favor of women, there were some artists who went against all the norms that were established by the patriarchal system. 

The Governess by Rebecca Solomon

              Herrad of Landsberg was one of these women during the Middle Ages. The work she did was "not only the first work of its kind to be written or compiled by a woman" (Clark). She is best known for compiling the Hortus Deliciarum and the Garden of Delights in the 12th century. The work was comprised of a "rich selection of texts and images, skillfully woven together into a coherent and carefully structured presentation of salvation history" (Clark). Another female artist is Artemisia Gentileschi who painted the painting Judith Slaying Holofernes. She paints herself as Judith and Agostino Tassi as Holofernes, the person Judith is slaying. She uses this scene from the Bible to show her feelings towards Agostino Tassi who raped her and took her virginty. He was tried but later escaped his sentence. Gentileschi painted this years later to express her emotion. It was also a way to show that women are possible of being violent and take actions in their own hands. Another Artist who showed the gender roles of women was Rebecca Solomon. She painted The Governess which show two women playing the roles the women of the time period were suppose to play. In the painting there are two women, one in a pink dress and the other sitting in a chair with a child. The one in the dress is meant to show the spectator the expectation that women have to entertain men. You can see she solely there to please the male subjects. The other women shows the spectator the other role women have in society; that of a mother/nanny. The woman in the chair is seen entertaining a child and it seems as if she has a grim face. Since the Middle Ages, the roles women played in society did not change very much. I seems while the human species have evolved, male gaze and patriarchy still tried to slow women down as much as possible. 

                                                         Work Cited
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.

“Herrad of Landsberg.” A Medieval Woman's Companion, 21 Feb. 2016,     
           amedievalwomanscompanion.com/herrad-of-landsberg/.