Question 5. Discuss the relationships between men and women in The World’s Wife, ‘The Bloody Chamber’ or Voyage in the Dark. In your answer, refer closely to at least two focal texts.The relationship between men and women affect women’s lives in all fields of life, gender relations refers to social interaction and social relationships between women and men- in the private and the public life. Gender roles can In Jean Rhys Voyage in the Dark there are many interesting relationships between men and women, Rhys shows the difficulties and restrictions that women face in society that privileges the male, she deals constantly with the nature of the psychological relationship between men and women, despite the fact that the protagonist is passive and the sexual act is hardly erotic.
The women in Voyage in the Dark are mainly Anna’s friends from the chorus, these girls were an easy target for male exploiters of all kinds, because they were physically attractive, but with little talent and almost no money. These naive girls with no educations and no ambitions, most of them became mistresses and prostitutes. Also, its Anna’s laivete that draws her to Walter, which he plays the role of seducer with consummate skills: as from the beginning when they met anna realized that “He didn’t look at my breasts or my legs, Not that i saw. he looked straight at me and listened to everything i said with polite and attentive expression, and then he looked away and smiled as if he had sized me up” (12) hester is the female character that by incorporating an account of her protagonist’s work in the theatre with a narrative which is alert to the part that performancethe main one been the protagonist Anna Morgan and Walter. Anna is naive Walter is the main male Character in Voyage in the Dark, he repeatedly patronises and ridicules the protagonist Anna Morgan by intimidating her. One great example is when Walter told Anna, “you looked awfully pathetic when you were choosing those horrible stockings so anxiously” (20).
This statement does nothing but lower Anna’s self-esteem, as it is so negative and insulting. I meant to say “what are you doing?” But went up to him instead of saying “Don’t do that,” I said “All right, if you like-anything you like, anyway you like.” And I kissed his hand … I felt miserable suddenly and utterly lost.
“Why did I do that?” I thought. (33-34)This is when Walter puts money in Anna’s pure after their first sexual contact, here he confirms his view of the relationship from the begging. Anna here feels compelled to stay blank, passive and expressionless, Later she feels “felt miserable suddenly and utterly lost” this demonstrates the disturbing impact that he has in her. The relationship between Anna and Walter dIn this relationship Anna experiences passive and pain emotions with Walter, When Anna and walter meet again in london for dinner, Anna feels that this man does care about her and likes her, but later realized the room and knows that he is only using her for his pleasures. when anna is waiting for him in the bedroom she is thinking “it’ll be different …
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it must be different” (rhys. 21), this shows that Anna dont want the relationship between her and walter to be just sexual. Later walter apologises which confirms their relationship is not in an intimate level. later Anna describes her room been empty and unwelcoming feeling which emphasizes Anna’s loneliness and her inability to find happiness due to the conditions of her relationship with walter.
