Explain and evaluate de Beauvoir's critique of patriarchal man-woman relations - Essay Example

There is a proverb which says that “Men make houses, women make homes!” (Metin, 2011). This very proverb points out the fact that relationship between men and woman is quite mutual. If the men acquire houses for their family, then women with their love and care make it a home. Yet one has always seen that relationship between men and woman comprising of love as well as conflicts. The paper here seeks to examine the patriarchal man- woman relationship with reference to an evaluation of de Beauvoir’s critique of this concept and her notion of woman as the other.

Disparities between men and women: different views Man and women are the creations of God, and each has been endowed with different features. Their existence is mutual in nature because active participation of both is required to build and sustain the next generation. However one often comes across situations where women are considered to be imperfect and weaker compared to their male counterpart. Generally, in a male dominated society it is believed that women are completely unfit to lead an independent life and hence she has to be under the supervision of men.

The topic of dissimilarity between men and women was also seen during the time of Plato and Aristotle. Plato believed that the disparity in men and women were quantitative in nature, that is, women were considered to be physically and mentally weaker than men. . Even the Old Testament believes that man and woman are made of the same flesh and blood but they differ in terms of their views, needs, and other things (Women and her Rights, n.d). The relationship between man and woman has various dimensions.

They can be as friends, as spouses or as siblings. According to Marx, the relationship between man and woman is essential. This is so because need is an indication for essence. If we need something then it plays a crucial role in our development and in realizing our essence. It is through need that one can understand that their requirement is related to them: in fact it is a part of their essence. Similarly, man and woman are considered to be an essence for each other. This is so because they need each other to give birth to build up the future generation (Kain, 1993, p.323). Patriarchal man-woman relations The relationship between man and woman had gone through many changes with the passage of time.

Even in ancient civilizations one can see variations in this relationship. In some cases women were given equal importance and in many cases one would come across a patriarchal society. In case of civilizations which were agricultural in nature, one would find that they had always underestimated the potential of women and their society had been patriarchal in nature. Such type of society is built on the assumption that the reigns of political, economic, and cultural life was in the hands of the man.

Here after marriage the woman was expected to act in accordance to her husband’s wishes. As women were considered to lack certain features which were possessed by men so they were subjugated in their relationship. Not all agricultural economy had the same patriarchal conditions. If conditions were stringent in the