Essay on Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity
In the article Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity written by Griselda Pollock, there is much important information on the role of women in the construction of modernism. According to the author, “modernity is presented as a far more than a sense of being “up to date.”1 The spaces of femininity take a special place in the representation of modernism in art. Modernity deals both with male and female sexuality, but there is a close relationship between modernism, modernity and sexuality. Griselda Pollock is focused on the analysis of the art pieces, which reflect the use of different spaces to place females for the proper art analysis. There are several important arguments made by the author of the article in relation to the role of the spaces of femininity in modernism and modernity.
First, the author states that “sexuality, modernism or modernity cannot function as given categories to which we add women.”2 From the masculine point of view, women are presented as the other because of social difference that plays an important role in gender relations. Artists use different dimensions of space. For example, they use “dining rooms, drawing rooms, bedrooms, balconies/verandas, private gardens.”3
Second, the author states that “femininity is not the natural condition of female persons.” 4 Women are represented as a sign or a confection of fantasies. Artists use female images to highlight the role of female identity in the assessment of male superiority.
Third, Griselda Pollock argues that “femininity in its class-specific forms is maintained by the polarity virgin/whore which is mystifying representation of the economic exchanges in the patriarchal kinship system.”5 This argument means that the money and property influence human relations, especially marriage relations. As a result, it is necessary to assess femininity as the ideology of female sexuality.
Fourth, the author states that the spaces of femininity have a strong impact on women’s lives as they reflect the roles of women, their status and the effects of their sexuality.
In addition, the author uses various types of evidence to support his arguments. He refers not only to the works of art, such as paintings of famous artists, but also to literary pieces, such as publications, essays and poems. For example, the author uses a wide range of art pieces, including The Loge by Renoir, The First Outing by Renoir, At the Opera by Mary Cassatt, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Manet, Women Bathing by Cassatt, and many other art pieces. In addition, he uses Baudelaire’s essay “Women and Prostitutes” to describe femininity as the natural condition of women. The author pays due attention to the descriptions of urban spaces, which help to better understand the notion of women in modernity. In addition, the author believes that Baudelaire represents Paris as “the city of women.”6 The author also refers to the poem “A Une Passante” by Baudelaire to support his arguments about femininity and sexuality of women. Moreover, the author uses Mary Kelly’s article “Desiring Images/Imaging Desire” to address the issue of the spaces of femininity.
Moreover, the arguments are constructed based on the use of evidence in the article. The author supports his arguments using long discussions which help the reader to better understand the key message. In other words, the arguments are constructed by the author based on his own experiences and feelings, which he shares with the reader. Griselda Pollock adds his own attitudes toward the issues discussed in his article. In general, the article is worth reading and analyzing.
Do you like this essay?
Our writers can write a paper like this for you!
(13 votes, average: 2.54 out of 5)
Loading...