Tocqueville's Democracy in America, and many works of Impressionist art, address the modern sexual division of labor, wherein women are relegated to a domestic role separate from the world of gainful work occupied by men. Women serve as the guardians of the home, helping to maintain social cohesion. Tocqueville celebrates and idealizes women's domestic life. In his view, marriage involves women's sacrifice of youthful freedom as they willingly take on the responsibility of maintaining the "mores" that reinforce democratic government. Tocqueville depicts women as heroic figures happily serving the public good. He omits, however, many of the harsh realities of women's domesticity. In contrast, Impressionist artists like Caillebotte, Degas,
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Men frequently objectify them, and they fall victim to sexual abuse because of their vulnerable positions. Degas's The Curtain sheds light on these unfair conditions by representing the relationship between higher-class male clients of the opera and working-class ballerinas. Because opera houses pay these ballerinas so poorly, the women need other ways to increase income, so they perform one of the few jobs that fit within their domestic sphere: acting as a sex partner to male clients. Similar to how Manet's barmaid sells herself (Bar at the Folies-Bergere), these ballerinas fall into a vicious cycle of exploitation because of societal expectations. These women cannot just simply go out into the city and find any job they want-they must remain within domestic bounds. Degas portrays this internment by depicting the male clients looming over the ballerinas, and physically confining them to the stage. Fully blinded by his own idealistic renditions, Tocqueville again fails to understand the blatant truth of the female condition. He continues to romanticize how women respond to their confines, claiming they "submit to them in the firmness of [their] reason" (Democracy, 566). In reality, these women have no choice. Women do not, and cannot, freely submit to their societal expectations because of reason-they must do so for the harsh reality of
Men frequently objectify them, and they fall victim to sexual abuse because of their vulnerable positions. Degas's The Curtain sheds light on these unfair conditions by representing the relationship between higher-class male clients of the opera and working-class ballerinas. Because opera houses pay these ballerinas so poorly, the women need other ways to increase income, so they perform one of the few jobs that fit within their domestic sphere: acting as a sex partner to male clients. Similar to how Manet's barmaid sells herself (Bar at the Folies-Bergere), these ballerinas fall into a vicious cycle of exploitation because of societal expectations. These women cannot just simply go out into the city and find any job they want-they must remain within domestic bounds. Degas portrays this internment by depicting the male clients looming over the ballerinas, and physically confining them to the stage. Fully blinded by his own idealistic renditions, Tocqueville again fails to understand the blatant truth of the female condition. He continues to romanticize how women respond to their confines, claiming they "submit to them in the firmness of [their] reason" (Democracy, 566). In reality, these women have no choice. Women do not, and cannot, freely submit to their societal expectations because of reason-they must do so for the harsh reality of