Epistle II: To a Lady of the Characters of Women Essay Example

Introduction

In "An Epistle to a Lady," Mary Leapor responds to Alexander Pope. The poem Epistle to a Lady is written in the form of a pseudo-Horatian epistle and is a satire against women. The poem by Alexander Pope is an integral part of an ambitious ethic work illustrating women's best contradiction. The stereotypical view of women from the poem reveals the proper sphere in domestic life as well as the modern sensibilities through the criticism of women. Epistle to a Lady does not focus on hatred of women but the ends of praise for the sex with the presentation of a feminine ideal of goodness. The painting metaphor of women in the poem is depictedwhen the Pope invites the reader on the art of painted beauties which exhibit all inconsistency. "Most Women have no Characters at all." From this, it shows that women are infinitely fickle and unprincipled. The primary concern is the female personality which is paintednegatively. Lady Mary, a contemporary friend of Pope, responded to Alexander Pope through her letters.

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The Male Perception of Women as Pleasurable Objects

The male perception of women as pleasurable shows the segregation in society in terms of the beauty of women.The beautiesof women are seen as objects for the male gaze. Leapor discloses that authentic femininity is highly artificial which is achievedthrough the use of money and art.Leapor's poem shows the perspective on beauty through liability and construction. The battle for sexes is based on the beauty which is a weapon for the women swift. Although the Popemaintainsthe effect of women beauty, Leapor mocks the painted beauty by Pope thus ridicules how beautyis seen as the order of marrying the woman. The empathy for the woman is also shown through the use of beauty with the victimization of the wife due to neglecting the pleasures of the husband.

The Ambiguous Value of Women's Beauty

The idea that the women's property hasincreased considerably due to their beauty in the eyes male shows the impunity of the Epistle to lay by the Pope. As a result, the ambiguous value of wealth in female reveals the contempt for beauties. For Pope, women use their beauty to acquire power over men,but they forget that they will grow old and ugly. However, the Pope wants the ideal woman "to raise the Thought and touch the Heart" of a man. However, there are doubts in Pope's edifying of women since men prefer the pleasing power of beauty which is just a sense of a woman with ordinary looks. Therefore, the Popelacks a heart for a significantdifference in emotion and fashionable attire that attract the male gaze. Although sex may be necessarythan sentiment to men, women respond to the challenges of performance thus playing the role of sexual object. Insinuating that men are a fault if women employ beauty instead of striving for discretion. The male gaze rules the young woman behavior which is an appeal for the mother's responsibility for the education of men. The Pope's demand is not asserted since the women's duty to please men is depicted from their natural desires for social esteem.

The Battle of the Sexes: Power and Empowerment

The women's share in power is a natural right and not as Pope claims in the Epistle to a Lady. Therefore, the echo of the Pope should be ignored since the women should maintain the anatomy of beauty with domestic duties. The sarcastic comment of Pope is therefore contracted"Yet mark the fate of the wholeset of queens! /Power all their end, but beauty all the means."Women are privileged with a beauty which should not be termed as useless or be neglected. Therefore, the selfish and envious eye of men should displace the mother nature of loving (Pope, 2009b). The man's strategic appellation of women seems to be a direct critique of Pope in Epistle to a Lady: "Woman and fool are two hard things to hit, / For true no-meaning puzzles more than wit."The battle of the sexes shows the authority of men thus revealing that despite the women's weak claim of authority, women should be subjected to the power through empowerment with the deprecating of male parallel to women.

Redefining Authority and Creating a Feminist Version

The stereotype of women which is based on the weak beautifies shows how authority is defined thus the need to create a feminist version which should be centered on the mother nature as well as the explicit of powerful subversive of female counter-discourse. From the description of Sophronia, the value of mental work is neglected thus denying the social position as well as the demands of the physical skills which are essential for survival. Male are given the voice for class prejudice thus reflecting on the physical deformity with the anticipation of enlightenment. The body is useful as a servantwho has to comply with the norms for a mid or as a wife. The homely concerns of the proud mother are heavily ridiculed. In the eyes of the Pope, the narrow-minded mother is unfavorable since the poem wastes her which gives the characters of a good wife.

The Art of Beauty: Female Nature and Aesthetic Norms

The female nature enhances the art with is erotic beauty in the eyes of a man. The natural voice of women creates aesthetic beauty which is the norm of men. The artless voice gives a chanceto the skillful masters for the musicalthat requires the control of passion as well as the standards. The life of women which is created through the art of beauty is also essential for the qualities that Pope pays tribute to:"This verse epistle considers Man in the abstract, arguing that we can judge only with regard to our own system, being ignorant of the relations of systems and things. Man is not to be deemed imperfect, but a being suited to his place and rank in the creation, agreeable to the general order of things, and conformable to ends and relation to him unknown. It is partly upon his ignorance of future events and partly upon the hope of a future state that all Man's happiness in the present depends. The pride of aiming at more knowledge, and pretending to more perfection, is the cause of Man's error and misery. Pope also discusses the impiety of putting himself in the place of God, and judging of the fitness of unfitness, perfection, or imperfection, justice or injustice of his dispensations. The author describes the absurdity of conceiting himself the final cause of the creation, or expecting that perfection in the moral world, which is not in the natural, and the unreasonableness of his complaints against Providence, while, on the one hand, he demands the perfections of his Angels, and on the other, the bodily qualifications of the Brutes; though, to possess any of the sensitive faculties in a higher degree, would render him miserable. Throughout the whole visible world, an universal order and gradation in the sensual and mental faculties is observed, which causes a subordination of creature to creature, and of all creatures to man. the gradations of sense, instinct, thought, reflection, reason. Reason alone countervails all the other faculties. Pope describes how much further this order and subordination of living creatures may extend, above and below us. Were any part of this broken, not just that part, but the whole of connected creation must be destroyed. Pope also notes the extravagance, madness, and pride of such a desire, and the consequence of all, the absolute submission due to providence, both as to our present and future state, to the end. (Pope, 2009a). The sense of sparkling gives stresses the women description which is through the encounter with Pope's instructive. The pleasure of intellection leads to the interpretation of the Epistle to a Lady which give the critical empowerment that shows naivety to sophistication.

Conclusion

The potential message of Pope in Epistle to a Lady is confronted through the biases of masculine and attitudes towards women. The ignorance of men shows the misperceive of the work of female through the beautiful. The double perspective on women's beauty, as well as the usefulness of the body,is voiced through the poem. The display of the male norms shows female beauty with the use of terms of wealth or work (Pope, 2009b). The women's subjection to the male gaze reveals the struggle which is characterized through the attraction of men through the women solidarity. The foolish gossip on the claims of potential equality in terms of moral and mental power is as a subject of erotic beauty through the pragmatic. The aesthetic norms of beauty shape the natural voice of women that enhances the physical appearance which rejects the male critics. Therefore, the natural bodies of the text show the logical work of art that expresses the doubled voice judgment through valuableartwork.

References

Pope, A. (2009a). Epistle I. Of the nature and state of man, concerning the universe. An essay on a man (enlarged and improved by the author). https://doi.org/10.1037/11763-001

Pope, A. (2009b). Epistle II. Of the nature and state of man, concerning himself, as an individual. An essay on a man (enlarged and improved by the author). https://doi.org/10.1037/11763-002