Reading Gender: The Eternal Feminine

While reading The Eternal Feminine, by Castellanos, I found that many scenes were very significant in portraying gender. However, I thought that the Honeymoom scene clearly demonstrated the best portrayal of how unkindly men treated women. This act showed in a very comical way how women are seen as nothing more than sex objects who gave their bodies over to their husbands. They were not suppossed to enjoy sex in the least bit and were also not allowed to have slept with any other man before they got married. The man was also allowed to question his wife as much as he wanted. For example, Juan asked Lupita question such as, "Have you ever been married before?" or "Is this your first time?" However, the woman wouldn't dare ask her husband these questions because that would be seen as disrespectful. It is only acceptable for a man to ask a woman these questions, which personally I think is ridiculous. It made me upset that men could treat women so badly and that women could not stand up for themselves.

I think the main point Castellanos is trying to make is that women really are treated this way and that men think they have a right to their wife's or girlfriend's body. A lot of men think that they own their girlfriend/wife and can take control of them whenever they want. However, they do not want their woman's body when it has been taken by another man in the past. This bothers them so much that they will take drastic measures to makes sure that she has not been with another man before. I was shocked when I read about the bloody sheet and thought that it was awful for a man to check and see if his new wife was a virgin. Consequently, I also think that Castellanos wants us to believe that a woman must always give the right answer when asked a question. For example, Juan became extremely defensive when Lupita told him that she didn't enjoy having sex with him. Juan told her that "she vowed to obey him" and that she was breaking her promise when she did not enjoy sex. Castellanos was also showing that women are not supposed to like sex...it is just something that they are supposed to tolerate in the marriage. This is why Lupita told Juan that he would have to force her to have sex with him.

From the in class discussions, we talked about the traditional gender roles that men and women are supposed to play. Women are typically the "faithful lovers" who do all the housework while the men make all the money and can do what they please. In the article, He's a Stud, She's a Slut, Valentini discusses how if women go out and sleep around they are considered a "slut", but if a man sleeps around he is seen as a "stud" These gender roles and stereotypes are seen in the play as well because it is a huge deal if a husband finds out that his wife has slept around. It didn't matter if Juan had slept around, but it was a big deal if Lupita had. Personally, I think that our society still uses this kind of logic today because men still think it is "slutty" if a girl sleeps around. Most men will not even date a girl if they know that she has slept with a lot of guys. I also feel that women are still seen as objects and are told to behave in a certain way.