The Corrupt Patriarchal Society of Jane Smileys A Thousand Acres :: Smiley Thousand Acres Essays

The Corrupt Patriarchal Society of A Thousand Acres Jane Smileys A Thousand Acres tells a dark tale of a corrupt patriarchal society which operates through concealment. It is a story in which the characters attempt to manipulate one another through the secrets they possess and the subsequent divine revelation of those secrets. In her novel, Smiley gives us a very simple moral regarding this patriarchal society women who remain financially and emotionally dependent on men radioactive decay those able to break the economic and emotional chains develop as women and as humans. Roots of A Thousand Acres can be seen in numerous novels and plays, the most obvious of which is King Lear. The parallels are too great to ignore. Smiley is successful because she fills in so many of the gaps left open in the play. She gives us new and different perspectives. One of the particular strengths of the novel lies in its depiction of the place of women in a predominantly patriarchal culture. In th is male rule culture, the values privileged in women include silence and subordination. Ginny is acceptable as a woman as long as she remains oblivious (121). She is allowed to differ with men, contingent upon her doing so without fighting (104). Ultimately, her opinion as a woman remains irrelevant. Ginny remarks, of course it was silly to talk about my po int of view. When my father asseverate his point of view, mine vanished (176). When she makes the mistake of crossing her father, she is referred to as a bitch, whore, and slut (181, 185). It could be argued that many of the male characters in the novel are suffering from a type of virgin/whore syndrome. As long as the women remain docile receptacles they are good when they resist or even question manly authority, they are bad. Rose complains, When we are good girls and accept our circumstances, were glad about it....When we are bad girls, it drives us crazy (99). The women have been indoctrinated to the point that they init ially bargain for into and accept these standards of judgem ent. The type of patriarchy described by Smiley simply serves to show the inscription of the marginalization of women by men in the novel and in our society. other strength of the novel is its treatment of secrets and appearances.