Critical Reading Analysis of Emilie Carles’ A Life of Her Own

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Introduction

A life of Her Own by Emilie Carles describes the autobiography of a woman who is farmer. She is born and raised in the small village of Alpine, France. The village is mountainous and stony. However, the story depicts the life of an arduous individual. The autobiography also notes that she born in 1900 in southern parts of the country. The life featured a variety of things including cruel or picturesque, tragic and funny. Emilie Carles, describes her adored Claree Valley where she spent her childhood. In her life, she suffered from lack of a mother hence she was forced to work together with her father in the meadows. This is where she started to go to school. Later she realized that the intelligence as the important factor which facilitates success in the outer world. She also demonstrates patriarchal structure and simple life in the village. However, the village life provides a loving system through her family, which provide the background of her political activist, feminist, mother, farmer and a teacher.

Carles survived all of the most critical historical actions in the twentieth century. The life in the rural areas had an exceptional perspective that enlighten on how individuals viewed important events in history. Small daily happening affected Carles because of the experiences of women and other disadvantaged members of the society. The world Wars were crucial to the villagers s her family members had to struggle and contend with soldiers who were attempting to conquer their small rural community. However, large political debates did not affect her at all.

Women experience and roles

The novel describes women oppression that contributed to lower knowledge and strength of women in the society, community families, which remain the major cause of gender inequality. Since the society was patriarchal, this created a barrier to achievement of women equality. Moreover, cultural beliefs and customer that reinforced male dominance systems supported the community in Alpine village. The behaviour had been continually and commonly used, hence it was viewed as a natural process instead of socially created order. Carles lost her mother who was hit by lightning as she was doing her normal jobs in the fields. The novel suggests that there are deep cultural and psychological pedigrees of patriarchy because of a belief structure in the mind of men and women. As Carles highlighted that patriarchy, system promoted mans superiority over all women. In addition, it organizes this essential inequality in a hierarchal system where men hold crucial powers in religious, educational institutions, militaries and economies.

Consequently, women have limited power as compared men. In Alpine village, women do not hold powerful positions. Therefore, women belong to the low social and economic status hence has less authority as compared to their men counterparts. Women are victims of social suffering. For instance, one of the Carles sisters is married to a man who is always drunk and irresponsible. Therefore, her father is forced to care for the four children. This indicates that women in Alpine village belong to oppressed and vulnerable hierarchy because of the high rate of poverty. In this respect, the standards of human rights should be utilized to solve global problems that affect quality of life and their dignity.

Patriarchy and gender inequalities provide many obstacles and problems, which affect the international relations because of political, economic and social issues. Understanding issues and factors that undermine women is important because it assist to overcome them. For instance, women are not given opportunity to pursue their education, which has devastating effects in their future. This is evident in case where Carles father had refused to allow her to join high school although she was awarded scholarship. Similarly, her teachers had to persuade him to embrace higher education for her daughters. Lack of education among women has confined women to domestic roles. Therefore, they fail to pursue important careers in their lives. Additionally, they remain as subjects of the other members of the society particularly men. This has forced women to suffer from social exclusion based on their sexual orientation. Men occupy positions where they make decisions and policy making at the expense of women. For instance, most of the aristocracy in France at the time were men. Therefore, women have no opportunity to advance their plights or make policy that would allow access of financial empowerment in the country.

Lack of higher education among women in the Alpine village affects their ability to understand their human rights in the society. For a long period, women have faced barriers, which limit their ability to enjoy their rights. Not all the violations and denials of human rights are outcomes of patriarchy although many are. Certainly, patriarchy has been the catalyst of dictatorial system in the society. Moreover, exclusion and violations of the rights of women have been promoted by elitist systems of social governance and organization that have committed, sanctioned and tolerated perpetual oppression and exploitation. In Alpine village and rural parts of France, gender inequalities have affected the womans ability to benefit from human dignity.

Conclusion

Carles emerges as a wonderful person because of her passion on value for life as she tries to care for other people. She also attempts to assist them and interacts freely with other. However, she is against manipulation and consumerism by opposing rulers who misuse their power. She grows from peasant life in the rural areas to a magnificent thinker.

Bibliography

Carles, Emilie and Robert Destanque. A Life Of Her Own. 1st ed. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1992.

Carles, Emilie. A Life Of Her Own: The Transformation Of A Countrywoman In Twentieth-Century France.. 1st ed. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1991.