In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, he also advances an understanding of gender and of women’s place in eighteenth-century English society, but does so in a manner that is curious about the ramifications of beauty and the diminished power women had at the time in the process of flirtation and romance. While the poem begins with a description of Belinda and her morning beauty ritual – her preparing for the social game she is to have with the Baron and others – the sense of confidence she feels in being a young woman who is admired for her beauty eventually evaporates. Indeed, not only is her process of applying makeup in the first canto described in religious terms, but it is also likened to military preparations: “Now awful Beauty puts on all its Arms,” as if to suggest that beauty is a sort of weapon that Belinda may deploy at will. As a result, Belinda heads toward Hampton Court with a clear sense of confidence – “And Betty’s praised for Labours not her own …/ But every Eye was fixed on her alone. / On her white Breast a sparkling Cross she wore, / Which Jews might kiss, and infidels adore” – that entails her ability to have agency while interacting with men like the Baron who are likely to be interested in her sexually. But once Belinda begins to engage with the Baron, however, it becomes clear that she has overestimated her ability as a woman to maintain control over the situation: In playing a game of …show more content…
This representation within British literature is showing the shift in British culture towards individualism by taking into account the dissatisfaction of the ruling aristocracy. Male writers, such as Pope and Swift, addressed gendered traditions and inequality to critique male society. Female writers like Haywood and Lady Mary exposed the male depravity to criticize the treatment of women in society. Neither gender of writers ultimately challenged traditional gender roles, but rather exposed and manipulated these roles and their associated expectations in order to comment on society as a