Reading Gender: The Eternal Feminine

Honeymoon Scene
The Scene Honeymoon from Act I in The Eternal Feminine, by Castellanos, is about the night of the honeymoon and what the man thinks he is suppose to do. This act is shown in a funny comical way but has a serious point that women are seen as objects and the man is suppose to take all these things away from her. This act shows that the man is in charge and if the woman does not answer the way that meets the man’s standard then she has done wrong. The act shows this by how the character Juan asks Lupita questions such as “Is this your first time?” and “Have you ever been married before?” When she answers the way that he wants they move on to the next question. In many situations one would never see a woman asking these questions but when the man does it is perfectly fine.
From this act Castellanos wants us to believe that women really are treated this way and that in most relationships this is how men really are. Men think that they own the women and that the women’s body is now theirs not hers and that they can do everything they want to it as long as she has not gave it to anyone else in the past. In this act she wants us to believe that women have to always give the man the right answer or the woman is worth nothing to him. In the play Juan asks Lupita if “she liked it” and when she told him no he became all defense and pretty much told her that she will have to like it because “she vowed to obey him at the altar”. Castellanos was showing by this that yes vows should be taken seriously because it is a promise to your significant other and also to God, but in many situations the man usually takes this to extremes and thinks that they are now in full control of the women. When in all reality it is an equal obedience between the both of them. She was also showing that women are not "suppose" to like sex and that it is bad for them too. That is why Lupita told Juan that he was going to have to force her into having it again because she did not like it that much. This also shows that women do not get to think for themselves and that what the man thinks is usually how things go.
From the in class discussions we talked about how women are held at a higher standard then men and if a woman does one bad thing then she gets called all kinds of names, but then is it perfectly fine for a man to go out and do those type of things and nothing is ever said. In the class reading the article He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut by Valenti talks about how if women go out and do sexually things such as even kiss a guy she is considered a “slut”. Valenti then states that “men cannot be sluts; they are not judged like women.” If men are judged then it is considered a positive thing and they are known as studs. Just as in the play in the Honeymoon scene Juan was the one asking Lupita the questions about her body and what she has done with it, it was not the other way around. Lupita would have been seen as worthless to Juan if she had not answered the way he wanted. It did not matter if Juan had already been married or had sex all he cared about was if she had done those things. That is how it is in the world we live in today the women are seen as just objects and they have to behave in the way men want them to, this was Catellanos point in this particular scene of the play.

Works Cited
Castellanos, Rosario. "Honeymoon Scene Act I." The Enternal Feminine. Vol. T Press. Maureen Ahern, 1988. 4-6.

Valenti, Jessica. "He's A Stud, She's A Slut." He's A Stud, She's A Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know. Seal P. 1-5.