1) Women are portrayed as relatively equal to men in social status within the context of Brave New World; however, no women occupy positions of authority in the novel. How does this relate to the evolution of women's roles in the workplace in the real world, especially considering the time period during which Aldous Huxley wrote?
The feminist movement began in the late nineteenth century as a means of advocating women's suffrage and political equality. Karen Offen defined it as an "encompassing program of sociopolitical critique and remediation, with gender issues at its very core" (24). Published in 1932, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was therefore likely influenced by feminism, since it emerged as both a political ideology and social movement shortly before this time. Feminism predominated Europe, including Huxley's home in England, and although national feminist movements in Portugal, Spain, and Austria had failed around the post-war era, Ireland's was far more successful. The women's organization Cumann na mBan encouraged women to support Irish independence, which was successfully achieved in 1921, and the constitution of the Irish Free State subsequently granted equal rights to both sexes. During the years of undeclared war with England in the 1920s and 1930s, Irish feminists argued their case regarding issues such as divorce, contraceptives, the age of consent for girls, the legal situation of unmarried mothers, and prostitution ("Feminism"). It is possible that Huxley's portrayal of women in the book (occupying no roles of authority) stems from this battle waged by the Irish against England as well as other tensions that ran high between the two nations at the time.
He has even been considered by some critics to be a misogynist, thinking of females as subordinate to males because this was the most common belief during the time period in which he lived and wrote, attributing his patriarchal societal depiction in Brave New World to the trend present in most utopian and dystopian literature that rarely conferred non-patriarchal control to societies (Douglas-McMahon 12). Although some of these claims have been dispelled, there is no question of male dominance as a social norm throughout history, as researchers Carol Dyhouse, Deborah Gorham, and Joan Burstyn observed that this notion was instilled in young women at a very early age. For instance, mothers would encourage their sons to play outside, while their daughters were required to stay inside and help with household duties. Additionally, doctors regarded older women as incapable of caring for their families or even themselves, and schooling was vastly different for girls than it was for boys, with the focus on maintaining the household as opposed to the liberal arts curriculum (Smith). Over time, women gained more of the rights they sought and reached the status they are at today; however, this later progress did not influence Huxley's work, although it would have been interesting to examine what effect it may have had on his writing of books similar to Brave New World.
He has even been considered by some critics to be a misogynist, thinking of females as subordinate to males because this was the most common belief during the time period in which he lived and wrote, attributing his patriarchal societal depiction in Brave New World to the trend present in most utopian and dystopian literature that rarely conferred non-patriarchal control to societies (Douglas-McMahon 12). Although some of these claims have been dispelled, there is no question of male dominance as a social norm throughout history, as researchers Carol Dyhouse, Deborah Gorham, and Joan Burstyn observed that this notion was instilled in young women at a very early age. For instance, mothers would encourage their sons to play outside, while their daughters were required to stay inside and help with household duties. Additionally, doctors regarded older women as incapable of caring for their families or even themselves, and schooling was vastly different for girls than it was for boys, with the focus on maintaining the household as opposed to the liberal arts curriculum (Smith). Over time, women gained more of the rights they sought and reached the status they are at today; however, this later progress did not influence Huxley's work, although it would have been interesting to examine what effect it may have had on his writing of books similar to Brave New World.