One of the recurring themes in our course lectures is the Western societys tendency to institutionalize according to male and female gender constructs. Males are often seen as the superior gender and are often associated to concepts of bravery, valor, devotion, and pride. Noticeably, these are all elements of war. The superiority of the masculine is the product of an age-old belief that males are physically stronger, more adept in battles. On the other hand, females are seen as the weaker gender, who wont survive in battle because they would easily be overpowered by the males. This is one reason why it still is strange to see women in uniform nowadays. Consequently, those males who prefer not to fight and duck out of war are seen as weak, cowardly, and women-like. Using two famous literary works, Mark Twains The War Prayer and Homers Iliad, this paper demonstrates the malefemale dichotomy existing in the Western society, and determines the factors and elements affecting this dichotomy.
Mark Twains The War Prayer talks about the benefits and consequences of the war to the people who support it. It opens up with the idea that war is brought about by and is an act of bravery. Those who involve themselves in was shows a great act of heroism that everyone can be proud of. It asserts that idea that whatever the outcome is, war would always be a noble act. Dying in war is an unmatchable act of nobility. At this point of the story, it is clear that war is shown in a positive light, and that a persons involvement with it is something that their parents, relatives, and even neighbors can be proud of.
However, it is later revealed in the story that fighting and going for war is limited only to a specific gender, the males. The nobility and honor that war promises can only be achieved by the males, because theyre the ones who are capable of doing so. At this point, we know that war is exclusively for the males, and it is limited to them because theyre the only able-bodied ones that can bring about victory. With this, we can say that nobility and honor brought about by war is equal to a persons strength, so in this aspect, only the males can join the war.
This is justified in the story when it tells about parents who are envied by their neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor. This means that a person without any son or brother should be disappointed because they have no one to send to war and bring honor to them. It didnt mention anything about sending a daughter or a sister to war because it is a male-only affair. This is proof that women are viewed as inferior, and even until now, it is rare to see a woman in uniform. In the Western society, fighting wars, fighting crime, or even just fighting, is limited only for men.
Wars are indeed associated to the masculinity in the Western world, and as a result, patriotism is then measured using the qualities associated to the masculine. These qualities include bravery, heroism, valor, and ultimately, violence.
Wars in the West are always characterized by violence, that it often overshadows the real purpose of the war. War is easily initiated even at the slightest aggravation and the simplest of reason because the society permits it so. We would again go back to the male and female dichotomy in this aspect. Females are often depicted to choose a path of non-violence because they are portrayed as weak. On the other hand, males would often resort to fighting because they would always equate such aggravations and misunderstandings to their manhood and their dignity. Since the society glorifies those who stands up for their dignity even at the cost of countless lives, men are permitted to proliferate violence in the guise of war. Others would consider this as an opportunity to showcase their bravery and earn for them the honor in fighting the war.
There were also those who opposed the war, but they often fell silent because the war advocates they are against with represent a far greater part of the society that they belong to. In the story, it was stated that the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightaway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safetys sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way. Again, these people are belittled and perhaps called with different names, all pertaining to weakness and cowardice. They were surely likened to women, just the mere fact that they dont like wars.
Nearing the end of the story, people were shown the grim side of the war. A man claiming to be Gods messenger told them that every time they prayed for victory, they were also praying for the demise of their enemies. Every healthy, living troop on their side corresponds to a gruesomely disfigured body of a soldier on the other side. This is supposedly their moment of enlightenment, a realization that war is not something to be glorified instead it should be condemned, or at the very least avoided. However, it seemed that the masculine side of the society prevailed, and in the end, the people ignored everything that they were told and continued with their war-loving ways. The messenger on the other hand, was dismissed as a lunatic.
The other literary work that exemplifies the malefemale dichotomy is Homers Iliad. The Iliad is a Greek epic poem that describes in detail the great Trojan War. This is a detailed account of the main characters involved in the epic battle. Focus was given to their individual exploits, as well as their battles, vividly describing who gets killed by whom, and how. This epic poem clearly glorifies war, and it sends a message to the readers about dying in battle means preserving ones dignity. Once again, it is the males who are considered the superior gender, which is why theyre the ones fighting the war. This poem also commodifies women, which is a common aspect of the Western society in the past, and even at present.
In this story, females were given minor roles and supporting roles. The ones who play the major part and are perhaps the focus of the whole story are the male protagonists who are deeply involved in the Trojan war, Other than the goddesses, females never took any part in this war because they were considered as the weaker, feminine gender. They lack the brute strength and the will power to fight which are all possessed by the males. These females are encumberments in this war, considering the fact that the reason for this war is a woman. Helen is the main cause of the rift between the Trojans and the Achaeans. She was commodified and was seen as property that has to be retrieved by the Achaeans from the thieving Trojans. This was also the case for Briseis, a female prisoner kept as a property of Achilles. She was part of the spoils that Achilles received for participating in the war.
Another weak female role was that of Hectors wife, Andromache. She kept on urging her husband to stop fighting, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The dignified decision is to fight even at the risk of death because thats what you expect of a man. And we can expect nothing less from Hector even though he knew that it will cost him his life, he continued to fight in the war.
Women never seem to understand the logic behind the wars. Andromache knew that Hector wouldnt stop fighting but she still kept urging him to stop. This just shows the Western portrayal of weak-hearted women. When faced with an adversity, they would always choose the life-preserving path even though it would mean living a life of shame. Men on the other hand, are all too eager to risk their lives just to preserve their dignity. Several characters in this story chose to die in battle rather than live in shame. These include Achilles companion Patroclus, and the Trojan hero Hector.
On the other hand, this story shows that cowardice is an act of weakness, and that it is a negative trait especially for males. This was shown by Paris, the one who took Helen from her Achaean husband. His loss in a duel and his eventual escape from death was seen as antagonistic in this story, since he is also equally responsible for the war. In this story, those who chose to maintain their dignity and died fighting were much better than those who cowardly scampered away from battle. Glory and honor will only be given to those who fight, even to those who died fighting.
The two literary works show that historically, males have stronger roles than the females. Gender superiority was mainly based on physical strength and the ability to fight, which unfortunately doesnt characterize the female gender. These stories show that wars were generally associated to masculine characteristics like bravery, valor, and pride, which is why women were never depicted to be involved in wars. The War Prayer mocks this association, clearly showing the grim side of war and replacing bravery with savagery. On the other hand, Iliad glorifies this association, giving emphasis on the beauty of war and the honor and dignity of the combatants. These literary works are able to show the malefemale dichotomy the males are the superior, stronger gender, the females, weaker and inferior. Honor and dignity is given more regard than preservation of life, and emphasis was also given to dying with honor and dignity is rather than living a life of shame and weakness.
