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Essay / The image of the wife and marriage according to the Christian worldview
Historically, women have always been under the control of male domination and their value was measured on the basis of their biology. Gender inequality finds its roots in the creation of the world when Eve was created on the side of Adam and thus immediately woman was degraded to a secondary position. Since then, women have been relegated to their corporeality while men are associated with reason and intellect. Therefore, as women became associated with a body, they were virtually excluded from the canons of Western philosophy that celebrated the mind and condemned the body. Even though women have been omitted from the canon, the texts continue to record the nature of women. The message regarding the nature of women is sometimes direct or sometimes just a brief comment, but it is always brutal and cruel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe Autobiographical Confessions of Saint Augustine presents the nature of women, offering both positive and negative views on women, complex and often contradictory. However, the work clearly marks the superiority of men and places women as inferior. In the Confessions, Augustine places women and men on the same spiritual level, but this in no way means that they are equal in the world. He clarifies his point by saying that “in reality, as an embodied creature, woman is “physically subject” to man, just as natural impulses should be subject to reason. Augustine, to put it simply, associates woman with the appetites and the body and subordinates her to man. St. Augustine's belief regarding the inferior status of women is particularly visible in his interpretation of the creation of Adam and Eve as well as in his interpretation of the Fall. Augustine emphasizes that God first created man and then formed woman from a rib of man to indicate the relationship of subjection and superiority between them. For him, it is indisputable that woman must be subject to man because "the hierarchy of the sexes is part of the original design of creation", it is therefore natural that man governs woman and that woman serves him. , as it follows from the order of creation and the intention of God. In the interpretation of the Fall, Augustine addresses the rationality of woman which, according to him, is inferior to that of man. He demonstrates this by saying that the serpent began to tempt Eve, who as a woman had less control over herself, so it was easier to deceive her than Adam, who as a man was more rational and wouldn't be so naive as to submit. Finally, Augustinian conception of marriage also explicitly underlies his belief in the submissive role and inferior status of women. Marriage, according to him, is a relationship of master and slave. In marriage, a person is not supposed to make decisions alone and her most important duty is to serve her husband and carry out his orders. Furthermore, Augustine argues that if a woman behaves independently, the husband has an obligation to subjugate her and in this case, a man is permitted and justified to inflict corporal punishment such as beating on a disobedient wife. Keep in mind: this is just an example. .Get a custom essay now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayA good Christian wife should remain fully obedient to her husband, even if he is womanizing and violent. Augustine even suggests that a woman is responsible for her husband's sexual affairs since "marriage should channel and control the male libido by keeping it linked to a ".