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The Discord

“The Discord” shows the battle between males and females for control and rights. They are shown fighting over a literal “pair of pants” in a tug of war between males and females. The males in “The Discord” are on the left, not fully dressed, neither of the two men are wearing pants and one even seems to be wearing a slip or skirt. The females on the right are fully dressed in dresses, and one of the women appears to be wearing a pair of pants under her dress. This painting is showing the power struggle between men and women in family and society in general. The painting shows how both sides feel about the issue.  The women want what they feel is basic rights. The men appear to think the women are asking for too much, since they are already fully dressed and they still want the pants. The man in the middle of the cartoon says he would “Rather die! than let my wife have my pants” and that a man should always be the “ruler.” (Heppenheimer). The woman in the middle says “Woman is born to rule and not to obey these contemptible creature called men!” (Heppenheimer). These two quotes were very dramatic and the quotes themselves seem to show more about how each person perceived the opposite sex felt about their fight for power and dominance over the other. This shows that sentiment that somehow if the women were to get full rights, they would be taking the rights from the men. In reality, the women wanted fair and equal treatment, not special or better treatment.      
Works Cited
Heppenheimer, F. The Discord. 1855.

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