Brazilian Women Redefining Women in Essay

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Maria Helena, another woman from later in Patai's book, shows a much more direct rejection of masculine dominance, particularly in the context of a marriage. She admits to being something of a lapsed Catholic, which could be seen to tie into her statement that "when I was married, my husband always liked to tell me what to do, but I wouldn't let him. For example, he didn't want our boys to go to school...When he dies, most of them were already in secondary school" (Patai 195). Maria Helena did not completely reject her Church or her husband, but she refused to let either of these institutional structures make decisions for her, or to influence or even dictate what she felt would be most important and advantageous for her family.

These stories also illustrate the increasing importance the women of Brazil felt, perhaps unconsciously at first, in having the ability to make their voices and perspectives seen and heard. Carolina asserted her independence, but did not attempt to make a show of it -- she wished to escape the patriarchal dominance of her society, but she did not explicitly challenge it. Maria Helena, on the other hand, recalls many specific instances where she rejected the opinions and even the commands of her husband and other authoritative male figures in the schools and in the Catholic Church.

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Her rejection of the patriarchy is far less passive; the feminist movement grew not only to demand the ability to choose for themselves, but also equal opportunity to affect and change the world around them. This is perhaps put most clearly and profoundly, though unintentionally, by another of the women Patai interviewed. After railing against the ridiculous divisions of labor that exist, especially in the domestic sphere, Marta turns her analysis on herself: "it seems to me that when a problem crops up a lot in my talk, it's because I'm trying to resolve it. It's begun to trouble me so much that I've got to look for a way out, and this is my way of starting to look for a solution" (Patai 207). This might seem very simple, but in a culture where women had traditionally not been allowed a true voice, the discovery of a voice's importance is an essential and fundamental moment in a struggle for equality.

The issue of gender inequality is of course not limited to Brazil. The uniqueness o the Brazilian feminist movement, however, makes it especially worthy of study. The incredibly active role that the movement played in redefining the very idea of feminine identity is a testament to the strength and intelligence of the women involved.

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