The Study of the ways patriarchy oppresses grace and her struggles as seen in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace

W, Cicilia Suryani (2005) The Study of the ways patriarchy oppresses grace and her struggles as seen in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. Bachelor thesis, Petra Christian University.

Abstract

Patriarchy is an ideology which refers to men?s dominance in all spheres of life. In my study I trace it through family life in which the father holds the authority of the family, and later from the work place and the life of female criminals in prison. In this novel these institutions are proven to perform the patriarchal ideology and they oppress women, especially Grace. Therefore, in this thesis I want to reveal how the patriarchal system oppresses Grace and how she struggles to liberate herself. In order to analyze this work I choose cultural approach utilizing feminist concepts with the concepts of patriarchal ideology in family and society. My finding is that patriarchal ideology uses family, work place and prison to oppress Grace. Moreover, the unequal power division between man and woman may be the source of female oppression. Finally, Grace struggles to fight back the oppression and has made a great contribution toward her own life. Therefore, I conclude that patriarchal oppression is unavoidable but in order to fight back, self-awareness is firstly important and after that taking the action. To be free and not to be submissive I think are the keys of Grace?s success; she is not afraid of those who oppress her and she also has self-protection from anybody that might harm her.

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