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  • Essay / Male chauvinism Ancient texts

    Misogyny tends to devastate a woman's authority by depriving her of equal treatment compared to her male counterpart. There are two conversations that seem to revolve around ancient texts and misogyny. Have religious texts directly affected society's perceptions of women or has society's mentality played a role in cultivating what is written in these religious texts? As Dean Frisina explains in his lecture, this topic can be associated with the famous riddle “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” » The woman created for man, from a man's rib, in ancient sacred texts, can be at the origin of sexism in its various forms of condescending physiognomies. However, it may also simply be a reflection of an already existing mindset that has persisted within humanity since the era of hunters and gatherers where men were seen as the physically dominant sex and women as the fragile guardians. Alongside ancient religious texts from the Hebrew, Christian and Islamic Bibles, plays such as “Aeschylus II” whose writings present clear evidence of misogynistic ideals that were (and may very well still be) believed. Misogyny is traceable through the plots as well as the characteristics and personalities portrayed by the women in these texts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit has often been placed at the center of heated debate over whether whether sexism existed or not. in these early writings. Biblical scholar Phyllis Bird suggests that misogynistic ideas linked to biblical stories are misconceived. She declares: “Woman is, with man, the direct and intentional creation of God and the crown of his creation. Man and woman were made for each other” (The Hebrew Bible Accounts). This side of the argument has sound reasoning behind its claim of equality between the two, even though Adam was formed first and Eve from Adam. Both were made from the same rib, perhaps to show two halves of a whole. But it rather seems that Eve would not be complete without Adam even though Adam was born whole. Later, it was Eve who was attracted by the serpent and by the wisdom that would come from the forbidden fruit. She was described as weak-minded and stupid for giving in to her temptation. On the other hand, Adam was just a docile husband who ate the fruit his wife gave him. In early writings, women were often vilified for the same actions a man would be praised for. They would be maligned because they had the same personality traits that a man would be admired for. Clytemnestra, for example, was considered deceitful for killing her husband, even though the goal was to avenge the murder of her daughter. Both her daughter and son despised her for her actions. However, when Agamemnon killed his daughter Iphigenia to win a war, his other two children, Orestes and Electra, praised their father's heroic sacrifice. Electra mourned the death of Agamemnon, declaring: "Calling you father is a de facto constraint, and all the love I could have had for my mother turns to you, while she is hated as she deserves ; my love for a mercilessly massacred sister turns to you” (Aeschylus, 239-242). This quote illustrates the admiration of a man whose murder of his daughter is justified by his incentive to win a war. One might think that Iphigenia's sacrifice for another woman (Helen of Troy) demonstrates that women were valued, but this is not the case. Helen was considered..