Men Writing Women

Something that got brought up in class today that I found interesting was that men often write about women in ways that were never uniform. The quote: "Are you aware that you are, perhaps the most discussed animal in the universe?" really made me think about the literary fascination men have had with women. They can be portrayed as the goddess, the milkmaid, or the damsel in distress. However this was not reflected in everyday life during that time. There was a very rigid role that a woman played with no room for difference. It almost seems as if men were writing a one sided conversation on understanding women, but refused to acknowledge the input that budding women writers were trying to provide. When women attempted a voice in the dialogue about themselves, they were silenced.