Novel Voss and the Role of Men and Women in Society Essay Example
Voss is a text that truly questions the rigid gender norms in people’s way of life. This novel outlines both the role of man and woman in the society, however, according to this text; both male and female roles in committed relationships have undergone significant scrutiny. What was once the established status quo of the male task as dominant and protective, and the female role as supportive and adaptive has transitioned.
The woman is a pillar of victor expedition in the society. It is shown when Laura and Voss shed their decorum in the garden and vehemently disagrees on the issue of faith; this betrays their undisguised selves and determines the course of their relationship. Laura claims that her instinct, which she strongly believes and respects, is a superior faculty of women, which enables her to “enter into the minds of most men.�
...�� Although Voss shows an aversion to female flesh at first, afraid of contaminating his masculine self, he meekly obeys Laura’s spiritual guidance in the end.
Worshipping and having faith in the supernatural being is addressed as a woman's responsibility only. Voss’s arrogance extends to God; a Moravian missionary at Moreton Bay told him, “You have contempt for God, because He is not in your own image.” Though aware of his egoism and the way it has estranged him from people and from worldly comfort, Voss sees religion as an occupation for women and finds Laura’s condition for accepting him difficult. He knows that he must have humility for salvation.
Some people have rejected their own culture. Laura is intellectual and contemptuous of conventional men, she has chosen to reject her childhood Christianity and considers herself
a rationalist when she meets Voss; he perceives that she is in reality a believer with a concern for humility and compassion. Attracted by his vision she falls in love with him.
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