Insights on "To the Ladies" & "Eveline"

        The central idea Lady Chudleigh conveys to the readers of her poem, "To the Ladies", is that a woman should be viewed as an equal to their husband. She focuses on this idea in her poem primarily because in her era, "wife and servant [were] the same" (Chudleigh 950), in other words, women were subservient to their husbands upon the signing of their "nuptial contract" (Chudleigh 950). This story reflects Chudleigh's views as a proto-feminist. Chudleigh's main theme in her poems argues against a mans demeaning expectations of their wife in the 17th century.  Chudleigh instead supported women to "value [themselves], and men despise: [women] must be proud, if [they'll] be wise" ( Chudleigh 950).   She also writes about how the church views women as second class citizens.  This story pertains to themes explored in the short story, Eveline, primarily because both texts discuss women's loyalty to men. In the story "Eveline" the protagonist struggles to protect her own values and escape "her fathers violence" (Joyce 410). She therefore wants to part away from her controlled and abused life in Ireland and escape to Buenos Aires with her lover, Frank. Yet, because of her "promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could" (Joyce 411), she could not free herself from her life in Ireland.  Just like the women of the 17th century, Eveline is trapped in a society in which she is not able to make a life changing decision without being hindered by a male authority.  According to Mary Chudleigh, women can gain their independence from men by using their own intrinsic abilities and intelligence to shun away men's flattery which prevents them from gaining further authority over women. In Eveline, the authority and malicious attitude of her father hindered her from making a progressive decision in her life.  She was therefore stuck in a rut, continuing on with the same life as her mother did.