Idiosyncrasies of a Young Blonde Woman free essay sample

More than just Objects In Idiosyncrasies of a Young Blonde Woman, Eca de Quieroz, the author, offers his insight on how gender roles operate within the relationship between men and women. In each of the relationships depicted by Quieroz, the common and underlying theme revolves around the tendency of men to engage in romantic relationships, solely on the basis of a woman’s aesthetic beauty. Furthermore, by engaging in these types of superficial relationships, men are ultimately entailed to face harsh repercussions. By reiterating this theme in each of his stories, Quieroz manifests the notion that men have been naturally trained to objectify women. By judging women exclusively on their exterior features, rather than on their interior values, men are not regarding women as human beings, but rather as inanimate objects. By ignoring the characteristics of women, men are also prone to become victims of the negative traits in women. Lastly, Quieroz purports that in order to expunge this ignorant habit of objectifying women, men must endure a shocking, yet enlightening, experience in which they are exposed to and victimized by the negative characteristics of women. We will write a custom essay sample on Idiosyncrasies of a Young Blonde Woman or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Quieroz’s Idiosyncrasies of a Young Blonde Woman, Macario objectifies Luisa by being infatuated with her exterior beauty of Luisa. The first time Macario glimpsed Luisa was when he, from his balcony, noticed a â€Å"blonde girl† emerging from the window of the opposite building. Macario was immediately infatuated with her ethereal beauty and thought, â€Å"the whiteness of her skin had something of the transparency of old porcelain and her profile had a pure line to it† [p. 92]. While Macario had barely glimpsed Luisa, â€Å"within five days he was mad about her† [p. 93] and she was constantly occupying his thoughts. When Macario finally converses with Luisa at a gathering, he is certain â€Å"they are destined for marriage† [p. 97]. By thinking that they were destined to be married, it is evident that Luisa is just another object he yearns to obtain. Because Macario has barely conversed with Luisa and is not acquainted to her personality, it is evident that he bases his emotions solely off Luisa’s elegant appearance. For that reason, it is explicit that Macario is objectifying Luisa. Because Macario objectifies Luisa and commences their relationship on the basis of appearance, absolutely ignoring her kleptomaniac personality, he ends up a victim of her swindling nature. The first evidence, albeit slight, of Luisa’s kleptomania comes when Uncle Francisco remarks â€Å"12,000 reis with of scarves; put it on my bill† [p. 95] in response to â€Å"the disappearance of a package of Indian scarves† [p. 5]. Though there is no direct link to Luisa, Quiroz clearly implies Luisa was the thief, as she asked to see them earlier. Macario does not even stop to consider that Luisa was the thief because he is so obsessed with her beauty. As a result, his uncle’s shop loses 12,000 reis. The second theft by Luisa affects Macario in a much greater fashion. One night, while socializing with Luisa and others, Macario commences spinning his new gold coin worth around 7,000 reis. After a wild spin, â€Å"the coin rolled to the edge of the table, fell to one side of Luisa’s lap and disappeared, with no clink of metal on the wood as it fell to the floor† [p. 00]. This description coupled with the fact that earlier Luisa had smiled as she â€Å"watched it spin and spin† [p. 100], makes it explicit that Luisa was the thief. Nevertheless, Macario does not even consider the notion of accusing Luisa because he thinks of her as an object. Macario is only cognizant of her external beauty, and absolutely disregards her character and personality. This objectification leads to Macario losing 7,000 reis. In both situations, because Macario ignores and disregards Luisa’s personality, he ends up a victim of Luisa’s kleptomaniac personality. Even though Macario has already twice been victimized by Luisa’s kleptomania, it takes a truly shocking, horrific and painful theft for Macario to become cognizant of Luisa’s negative traits and ultimately stop objectifying her. While the couple is shopping for a wedding ring, Luisa slyly steals an expensive diamond ring from the counter. As Macario and Luisa are leaving the store, the assistant, who witnessed Luisa pilfer the ring, accuses, â€Å"the lady took the ring from the counter† [p. 112]. Mortified, Luisa eventually relents and admits to the crime. Humiliated, Macario apologizes for Luisa’s actions and purchases the ring. Judging women solely on their exterior beauty rather than their character and personality leads to brutal ramifications. By shunning and ignoring women’s personalities, men render themselves vulnerable to becoming the victim of women’s negative traits. Moreover, in order for men to overcome their innate habit of objectifying women, they must be horrified by the negative traits of women. In all, Quieroz criticizes the objectification of women and suggests that treating women as if they are human beings rather than lifeless objects would ultimately be advantageous for men.