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Agnes de Castro - Coggle Diagram
Agnes de Castro
In "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence," Adrienne Rich argues that "women-identified" experiences, whether they by explicitly erotic or just deeply intimate, are ways to resist heteropatriarchal order. (That essay is up under course content if you want to revisit it btw). How do Philips and Behn's work both resist and maybe reinscribe themselves within a 17th century heteronormativity-in-progress?
"women have a richer, ongoing inner world to fall back on.... men do
not become as emotionally important to women as women do to men."''
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without Agnes and Constantia's strong friendship, both women could have lived miserable lives governed by men, but Behn doesn't use this narrative in her work. She uses the social support of the two women to up rise against patriarchal ideas and pressures
The men in this story try to govern Agnes by kidnapping her and they try to govern Constantia by planting a seed of revenge in her conscious that would drive a wedge between her and Agnes.
This tactic doesn't work because Behn wants to show women rely on other women for social support, but men rely on women for social support as Rich suggests. This is a modern idea that women are therapists for their male partners by providing advice and social support not found in their male friends.
It has been shown that women go to other women for social support and interrelationship bonds, and after marriage, men only have their wife and their wife's friend's husbands as friends, not their own friends. This goes along with the idea of toxic masculinity, so men feel uneasy about coming forward about emotions to other men, but women have emotional intellect so they are more likely to go to women.
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An extremely heteronormative and heteropatriarchal motif in stories is the love triangle where there are two people dating/married and one of them loves a third party but the third party doesn't love them and is friends with the other person, etc.
This put women up against each other for no reason and creates a conflict and tension between women that is set up by men.
"The King...went immediately to Constantia... but she was not capable of receiving such impressions, and follower her own natural inclinations, she generously defended the Virtue of Agnes. The King angry to see her so well intended on her rival...." p. 144
Why is this issue not focused on Don Pedro who is starting this conflict and tension? Why is it centered on the women who did nothing wrong, and are actually handling the situation in a great way, yet they are upsetting the men. The King was angry to see Constantia so level headed and understanding. Like bro girls talk way more than you think... they already know the tea and have made up somewhat
Agnes and Constantia's friendship is more important to them than some dude, and I wish this narrative of women being mad at each other because a man messed up their friendship would diminish, but that ain't gonna happen
Through Philips, women experiences of friendships are exhibited. Philips continues to discuss the relationships she has with women, but I don't remember anything about men...