In “Women in the Market” by Luce Irigaray, she argues that in patriarchal societies, women are essentially reduced from the status of human beings to goods whose exchange is controlled by men. According to Irigaray, this exploitation of women is so ingrained in our culture that it is in fact what “establishes the functioning of [patriarchal] society”; in other words, the current social order could not exist without it (Irigaray 807). Mrs. Brympton, one of the main characters in Edith Wharton's ghost story "The Maid's Bell," simultaneously reinforces this argument while challenging it in some ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayMrs. Brympton's name itself means that she is something of a commodity. The reader is never informed of Mrs. Brympton's first name, nor her maiden name, so she is only known by her husband's last name. This suggests, not so subtly, that it is indeed owned by Mr. Brympton. Additionally, Mrs. Railton, Mrs. Blinder, and Mrs. Ansey are each referred to the same way, so it can be assumed that they are also the property of their husbands. Alice, Agnes, and Emma, ​​the only female characters lucky enough to be given their own names, are young and not yet married (or dead, in Emma's case), but even Alice is most often referred to as Hartley, which means immediately designates her as her father's property. Aside from her name, Mrs. Brympton's submissive behavior toward Mr. Brympton, her unpleasant, alcoholic, ill-tempered husband, indicates that she is more of a possession than a partner to him. She always speaks to him in a "kind voice", despite his almost constant gruff and rude nature (Wharton 5). Alice immediately takes note of this, remarking indignantly that it makes her “sick to think what some women must endure and keep quiet” (Wharton 5, emphasis added). The word "have" reveals that women like Mrs. Brympton have no choice or power in their relationships with their husbands: they must tolerate whatever injustices are inflicted on them because of their status as property rather than as a person. Perhaps a less obvious piece of evidence supporting the argument that Mrs. Brympton's character functions more as an object belonging to Mr. Brympton than as an autonomous individual is her relative immobility due to her illness. She is mostly bedridden, apart from her occasional walks in the garden. This means that it is still on the land that belongs to Mr. Brympton, which insinuates that it is just as much his property as the land itself. However, Ms. Brympton possesses several qualities that inherently challenge the idea that she is just a piece of land. of property. Her ambiguous relationship with Mr. Ranford is a prime example; by choosing to associate with a man other than her husband, she not only demonstrates her autonomy but eventually commits adultery with respect to Mr. Brympton, an act which, in its disloyalty, is utterly revolutionary. Likewise, her close relationships with Emma and Alice demonstrate a sense of female solidarity against male power and even save her from at least one potentially negative situation with Mr. Brympton. The fact that Mrs. Brympton is fully capable of taking total control of the estate during Mr. Brympton's frequent and prolonged absences shows that she can succeed in a position of authority rather than submission. Wharton makes sure to note that the house often falls into complete disarray upon Mr. Brympton's arrival,.