all images of the male engaged in an ongoing relationship with a female
are at least faintly tainted by the Caspar Milquetoast image. The
following is from Sheila
Ruth [Issues in Feminism: A First Course in Women's Studies. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin 1980]:
In the patriarchal barroom myth, marriage for men is a trap. A man in the
excellent condition of bachelorhood, free and unencumbered, encounters a
lady, wily and manipulative, who tricks him into "falling in love".
He becomes so besotted with her that he loses his good sense and marries
her. The door slams shut; he will find out only later that he has been entrapped
and is now the captive of a "ball and chain" who, for the rest
of his life, will nag him, keep tabs on him, spend his money, and bring
him difficulties.
(p. 253)
(return)