Does the short story âThe Cottagetteâ present a solution to the issues raised in Gilmanâs non-fiction âWomen and Economicsâ? Explain your stance.
I do believe that “The Cottagette” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents a solution to the issues raised in “Woman and Economics” also by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Some of the issues that she raises are that women are the only species that depend on men for survival. She doesn’t believe that women are any lower than man and they need to get rights and be equal. She argues that women need to change how people view them and what society expects from them.
The solution from “The Cottagette” changes the idea that woman have about marriage and what they believe all men want. If all men were like Malda’s husband and not expect women to be their cooks and house maids then the idea of marrying just for that wouldn’t exist. He says “It is not true, always, my dear,” said he, “that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; at least its not the only way.” ( last paragraph)
Gilman argues that women take on too much of a role in the marriage, more than the men, and do not get enough credit which created an image for women as unpaid workers. Some women believe that it is their duty to serve for their husband and only get married for that reason. Lois says âWhat they care for most after all is domesticity. Of Course theyâll fall in love with anything; but what they want to marry is a homemaker.âShe gave her that advice to make her house more homey and have a real kitchen and cook for her husband thinking he wanted that but he wanted the opposite. Malda’s husband only wanted her to continue her hobbies and what she wanted to fulfill her dreams.
I’m not very sure about your overall stance on the issue at hand. But to me it is the people who make society and that our attitudes is what will make both men and women equal. Until women start seeing themselves as “equal” partners in marriages this issue can never be resolved. In most cases when a man enters into a relationship with a woman and he does not “spend” on her, most women will create the impression that the man is “cheap”. If we are really serious about this issue that expectation women have from men must stop and I believe the men will begin to understand that they need to take up other roles in the house and eventually we will have the kind of union we expect between a man and a woman.
Well with the “The Cottagette” it partly solves the problem because the man understands what it takes to have a successful marriage and that there is more to a relationship that what the woman thinks. Having said that, I strongly believe there is more to what makes marriages successful than what “The Cttagette” presents but it’s a step in the right direction.
“The Cottagette” is a perfect example of the issue that C.P. Gillman raises in “Women and Economics.” In the past, Victorian principles have led us to believe that a womanâs role was in the household, and not elsewhere. The wife was to stay at home and care for the husband, children, and the home. The husband was the one who provided for the family and worked to bring in money. Women did not work outside of the home, and were not able to pursue their dreams, if they had any. The solution that Ford Mathews presents at the end of the story is that if Malda was to be his wife, she would give up all housework.
This solution might have been sufficient enough for a story, or piece of fiction, but not in real life. Marriage was an arrangement between two parties in a sense, and women were basically asked to resign to any rights or dreams of careers that they might have had, to become the servant of men. I believe that this role has shifted in our present society. Women are now able to choose whether they want to marry or not, and many other aspects of life that before they did not have the right to do so.
In my opinion, whatever the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote about the issue of family and socialization and ways of improving it. It is very true that we have come to such a rapid change that no one ever expected such a civilization would come that soon. I believe that swift changes have come with education and new inventions like internet. But family problems is unsolvable since human wants are never satisfied. When the greed ceases from human brain, than and only can people of the world starts breathing perfect socialization.
In my opinion, whatever the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote about the issue of family and socialization and ways of improving it. It is very true that we have come to such a rapid change that no one ever expected such a civilization would come that soon. I believe that swift changes have come with education and new inventions like internet. But family problems is unsolvable since human wants are never satisfied. When the greed ceases from human brain, than and only can people of the world starts breathing perfect socialization.