Sister Kate
Jean Bedford portrays the women as victims in ?Sister Kate?. Do you agree Discuss with detailed reference to the text.
The women are portrayed in the novel ?Sister Kate? as victims of society and especially men. The author of the novel, Jean Bedford, is an active feminist and uses the characters in the novel to express her views on 19th Century working-class women. The text suggests that men are continuously degrading the females in the workplace and in their own homes. Police officers were constantly harassing the Kelly women when the men were gone. The women were expected to stay home and look after the house and the large numbers of children while the men were out working, stealing or just having fun. The majority of the women had dull lives due to family commitments (which the men were exempt from) and limited employment opportunities.
All of the lower class women in the novel tend to be housewives, barmaids or prostitutes. Jean Bedford really stresses the point that women had no rights as employees, if they somehow managed to get a job. When Kate Kelly obtained a job at the Hotel she was told she was on ?half wages, while you?re learning?.
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