The Rape of the Lock

8 Pages 1903 Words

Dehumanizing Women
Women are portrayed as commodities in both Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” and in William Congreve’s “The Way of the World”. However in Congreve’s “Rape of the Lock” women play a more active and cognizant role wrangling a suitable marriage than in Pope’s poem. In both texts elite society is portrayed as a group that have complex social interactions. The stakes are quite high: marriage. Marriage in those days was not simply a matter of the heart, but it is an institution that defined people’s class status, wealth, and connections. This is a battlefield of affection and the spoils of marriage go to the victor. Here the weapons are verbal spars and witty parries replacing the clash of metallic swords and armor. However despite the similarities of the subject matter there is a crucial difference between the two authors: the depiction of women Pope portrays women as shallow vapid creatures completely absorbed in the social trivialities of their upper crust world. Congreve on the other hand paints a kinder picture of the “gentler sex”. A woman, despite being a good herself, has certain resources at her disposal: wit (intellect), her sexuality, and wealth. The women in Congreve’s world all have some form of power and are distinctly aware that these are bargaining chips to “conquer” a man into a good marriage i.e. a marriage that provides wealth and respectability. Essentially Congreve portrays women similarly to men as creatures with real concerns, intellect, power but limited so that it is a struggle to achieve one’s goals while Pope portrays them as beautiful inconsequential ornaments.
The pursuit of women, in Congreve’s it is the witty Millamant and in Pope’s it is the ravishing Belinda, drives the plots of both stories. In both texts these beautiful and virginal “prizes” can only be won through much verbal maneuvering and ambushes. In Congreve’s ...