In the late 1960s and 1970s, the social construction of gender became a subject of heated debate among feminist theorists. The argument that patriarchal values ​​embedded in American culture (rather than purely biological factors) were responsible for the construction of male and female roles in society has attracted strong criticism. Before the introduction of gender construction theory, many theories regarding gender were based on the idea that biological factors alone determined the roles of men and women in society. During the 1960s and 1970s, however, a divide formed between those whose thinking about gender roles had evolved and those who held true to the belief that traditional roles for men and women should remain intact. In Ragtime, a novel written in the mid-1970s, Amidst this controversial debate, EL Doctorow uses the revolutionary theory of gender construction to explore masculinity and femininity in the early 1900s and its effects on fictional and non-fictional characters. fictional parts of his work. This may not be the main subject of the novel, its characterization of women (particularly Evelyn Nesbit and Mother) as victims of their femininity, is an integral part of the plot. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe comparison and contrast of Evelyn and her mother and their feelings toward the importance of their appearance, sexuality, and relationships with men reveals how The patriarchal construction of gender in Early 20th century American culture limited women to purely "feminine" roles, which oppressed their ability to become independent members of society. From a young age, Evelyn's mother taught her that she could use her beauty as a tool to propel herself into upper-class society. Due to her mother's insistence that she use her beauty to secure an advantageous marriage, Evelyn agrees to take a vacation with Harry K. Thaw, one of the richest men in the country, and finds herself half-trapped in a violent situation. It is only when she realizes that her beauty could be sacrificed if Harry continues to physically abuse her that she decides that "their relationship has gone beyond her tacit agreement" (Doctorow 23) and she demands to be fired. at her home. Evelyn appreciates her appearance only because she sees that her beauty is a trait much admired by the men in her life. The reaction she receives from her audience of admirers determines her self-worth, and because she can control her appearance, she feels like she has power over that part of her life. However, she quickly realizes that her beauty, like her power over men, only lasts temporarily. For the first time, she begins to doubt her ability to continue to rely on her beauty when “she looks in the mirror and sees the unmistakable features of femininity appearing on her girlish face” (Doctorow 88). . Evelyn never tried to accomplish anything on her own without using her looks to her advantage. She has no idea what will happen to her once her beauty begins to fade and men are no longer willing to pay for her to live like an aristocrat. Her beauty becomes a disadvantage for her as she realizes that the control she thought she had over her life never existed. She has maintained her appearance solely for the pleasure of the men in her life and she realizes, when she sees the evidence of aging on her face, that her life has always been under the control ofthese men. In her article on the social factors that lead women to become dependent on men, Carol Gilligan outlines her beliefs about how women are raised to believe that "intimacy goes hand in hand with identity" and that "the A woman learns to know herself as she is known, through her relationships with others. " (12). In Evelyn's case, she has become accustomed to having a gang of admirers obsessed with her beauty. She defines herself through them; she is treated as a helpless, simple and delicate object, because she was raised to believe that it is their opinion of her and not hers that matters. In this way, Evelyn creates her own femininity through the patriarchal perspective of the men in her life Although Mother and Evelyn Nesbit seem. Coming from completely different backgrounds, their dependence on their appearance to secure their potential futures is similar in that they each use Western notions of femininity to attract possible wives. The mother, for example, is described as having "golden hair." 'she wore in the fashion of the day' (Doctorow 68) Although Mother is already married when this description of her is presented in the text, Doctorow makes it clear that she is still aware of current social views on the role of women. in the home because, despite the security of already having a family and a home, The mother continues to follow current trends. When the father leaves for his long journey, the mother finally manages to free herself a little from the social restrictions that control her when her husband is present and she decides to “not take the time to comb her hair but to let it hang on her shoulders all day.” » (Doctor 234). A mother's womanhood is a spectacle that she puts on for her husband and the public so that they will believe that she is a suitable woman. She wears her hair tightly on her head when she thinks someone might be looking at her, because wearing it over her shoulders suggests a certain boldness that women like Mother were not supposed to have. The mother was “trained” to be the epitome of the perfect wife through the strict social restrictions that shaped her femininity. Nevertheless, she finds that her temporary escape from these restrictions (letting her hair down) reveals to her a beauty in herself that has nothing to do with her feminine appearance. In this way, “Mother seems to become, simply through her practical experience, a concrete example of the abstract doctrines of women's liberation” (Morris 91). Although her mother never takes any drastic steps to free herself from the husband she never loved, she seems to make changes in her life that make her happier and she is able to reject some of her restrictive feminine roles in order to to be able to look for ways to free herself from the husband she never loved. become more independent. Although Evelyn takes great pleasure in the attention she receives from men, her sexuality, because it is entirely framed by her views of masculinity and femininity, is a part of her that speaks to the men in her life rather than to the men in her life. for herself. During his first sexual experience with Harry K. Thaw, "he takes off her dress, throws her across the bed, and applies a dog whip to her buttocks and the backs of her thighs" (Doctorow 23). . Evelyn's sexuality was shaped by her beliefs about her role as a woman. Because she is seen as the epitome of femininity, she does not feel entitled to her own sexuality. As in the case of Harry Thaw, his body is a sexual tool for male pleasure rather than his own. Even when she finally abandons the stigmas that suppress her sexual desires and allows herself to feel sexual pleasure, her exploration of her own sexuality is interrupted.by Younger Brother as he “falls [fell] into the room…and jets of sperm leave a trail. [traced] the air like bullets and finally settled [settled] on Evelyn” (Doctorow 63-64). Once again, Evelyn is forced to realize that men's sexuality constantly overshadows her own. Even though she is able to take a step forward toward seeking what can lead to her own pleasure, she is blocked by the invisible social restrictions that prevent her from seeing herself as an individual rather than an object. In an interview with Doctorow, he talks about his preoccupation with sex as power, revealing why Evelyn is unable to truly realize her own sexuality. Doctorow states that he "uses sex as a metaphor for political relations, helplessly annotating what passes for sex in a society that suffers from paternalistic distortions" (121). Because Evelyn will never be able to overcome the social forces that mark her as a second-class citizen, her conceptions of her own sexuality will also remain unchanged. Evelyn is too entrenched in the patriarchal social structure and its “paternalistic distortions” to even realize that her sexuality is affected. Similarly to Evelyn, the mother represses her sexual desires and allows her husband to use her body solely for his own pleasure. Before her father leaves for a long journey, she allows him to have sex with her but she "closes her eyes and holds her hands to her ears" (Doctorow 12) until he is finished. For Mother (and Evelyn), sex is a duty to their husbands; it is not an act from which either party can benefit. “Feminine” women like Mother are not expected to have their own sexual desires because sexual urges are considered masculine behavior. Yet as times change before Mother's eyes, she begins to yearn for independence from her traditional, restrictive marriage and views sex with her husband as an "intrusion, not as of old but with a a certain awareness of one’s own person, a certain intrusion.” a kind of waiting on the skin that hits it” (Doctorow 249). After Father leaves on his long journey, Mother seeks to find herself as an individual rather than as a wife and mother. Unlike Evelyn, she is able to look at her life differently during her husband's absence because she takes the time to read and learn about the social movements taking place in the United States at the time. While Evelyn simply replaces her husband with new men who will. take care of herself, Mother realizes that she should not have to define herself in relation to her husband and becomes somewhat distant from Father upon his return. While Evelyn feels powerful in her awareness of the effect her beauty has on men, her marriage to Harry K. Thaw ruins her illusion of control over him and her own life. When Harry commits a murder and is put on trial, Evelyn realizes that her livelihood depends entirely on her ability to portray herself and her husband as perfect examples of feminine and masculine nature. When she testifies on his behalf, she portrays “Harry as the victim of an irrepressible need to find honor for himself and for his young wife. She performs perfectly” (Doctorow 85). Evelyn speaks up, ready to present herself as the embodiment of femininity. A victim of rape perpetrated by the murdered man, Evelyn claims that her potential to become a real woman has been destroyed. The only way to regain her honor, in her husband's eyes, was to kill the man who had "ruined" his wife. When presented with this story, the jury is likely to agree that Harry was simply fulfilling his role.