The Notebook Gender Roles

Silvia Federici author of Caliban and the Witch argued that women’s unpaid labor and reproductive labor were the preconditions to the rise of a capitalist economy in Europe. Federici presents the argument that women posed a threat to the power structure. Women were feared because they gained power from their sexuality, control of reproduction and the ability to heal. The fear of the power that women held was deeply instilled in men and these men were made to believe that they had to protect the power structure from the threat of women. These men were in essence given the role of grand heroes because they know what is best. The preconditions outlined by Federici have set a precedent for sex, sexuality and gender roles that we now see deeply …show more content…
The male lead, Noah, played the role of the hero. In the film, Noah is introduced as the “ideal man” but is overlooked because of his low social status, he is seen as “ideal” because he is helpful, determined, manly and good looking. There was a scene in which Noah attempts to teach Allie how to drive, but they get into an argument that results in Noah getting angry and Allie becoming emotional. I argue that this scene reinforces gender roles for men and women. Men are supposed to possess manly skills such as driving a car because women don’t possess the capacity to do such things. This scene also depicts how the female lead, Allie, is made out to be overly emotional which is a stereotype for women. There is a particular scene in the film in which Allie’s boyfriend Lon attempts to propose to Allie by telling her that he is the perfect man for her. Lon says “I'm wealthy, I'm from the South, I got a decent job... I'm a really smart guy”. This scene instigates that a woman looks for a man that is smart, wealthy, powerful, and a leading force in the relationship. The scene also reinforces the gender roles for men, men are expected to be able to supply and take care of a woman in order to get …show more content…
The development of the protagonist, Ariel, is quite different, but still falls within gender roles. Ariel’s character thinks independently and at times is rebellious, but the film has largely play on sex characteristics and gender roles. There is a scene in which after falling in love with Eric, Ariel picks flowers and plucks the petals asking if he loves her or not. This scene depicts Ariel being delicate and feminine through the picking of the flowers and questioning Eric’s love. The film also depicts Ariel largely interacting with male characters and at one point she loses her voice completely; leaving the males dominating the dialogue. I argue that Ariel’s world is dominated by men, which leaves her with no other choice but to depend on them. Ariel depended all her life on her father, King Triton, but she then falls in love with Prince Eric and comes to the realization that she wants to leave her father and depend on the Prince to live happily ever