Gender dominance is a nationwide issue that has progressed throughout the course of history. In the majority of societies around the world, men assume the role of taking care of the family financially. In countries with the majority of Muslim ethnic, women are expected to cover their face and if they do not, then they are seen as a disgrace to society. Throughout history, women have been expected to sit on the backburner, have no opinion, and do what they are told to do. The feminist movement began in the late nineteenth century and impacted the lives of women all over the world; not only has the movement impacted individuals, but has provided an outlet for writers to express their opinion about how women are viewed and treated. The texts, A Sleeping Beauty in the Wood by Charles Perrault and There Was Once by Margret Atwood are two very interesting pieces that have multiple similarities and differences that raise awareness to important issues about societies negative view of women in all aspects throughout history.

The tone that the women use in both of these pieces of literature comes off as condescending and forces the reader to see the women in a negative way. In A Sleeping Beauty in the Wood the wicked Queen talks to the clerk in a very demanding way, " 'I will have it so,' replied the Queen (and this she spoke the tone of Ogress who had a strong desire to eat fresh meat) and will eat her with a sauce Robert" (Perrault 301). In this scenario, the Queen does not give the clerk a choice and is portrayed to the reader as condescending without any morals. In There Was Once someone is trying to tell a story, but the woman keeps on interrupting her with little comments about everything that the person is saying. "- There was once a girl who was a little overweight and whose front teeth stuck out who-,  -I don't think it's nice to make fun of people's appearances. Plus you're encouraging anorexia.   -- I wasn't making fun! I was just describing-,  - Skip the description. Description oppresses. But you can say what color she was." (Atwood 305). The woman is so picky about every aspect of the story and how it is told that she is made out to the reader as being someone who is condescending and has the attitude that her way is the only way. A study performed by students at California Polytechnic State University found that females are seen as devalued (Burn, Aboud, and Moyles). The tone of the women and how they come off to the reader parallels with societies negative view of women and how they are condescending. 

A very important component of both of these texts are the way that the stories end and how the ending effects the reader's perception of women. In A Sleeping Beauty in the Wood the wicked Queen orders for the other Queen and her children to be killed by " toads, vipers, snakes and all sorts of serpents", but her plan was ruined by the King and the wicked Queen was killed by her own doings because she jumped in the creatures (Perrault 302). The way that the Queen dies is very ironic because she ordered her own death sentence. As soon as women were given power in this piece, negative consequences were soon to follow. This shows the reader that women are the reason for their own destruction when they try to do things outside of their expected role. The same message is portrayed in There Was Once because it ends in a very similar way. Because the woman was so critical about every aspect of the story, the story abruptly ends with the complaints of the woman. The piece ends with, "-So?  -So what?  -So why not here?" to show that because of the woman's attention to detail and inability to accept other ways of telling the story the piece just ends. When the woman does voice her opinion and it is actually used to revise the story, the story becomes so detailed with things that are irrelevant that it just ends. The writers of both of these pieces of literature have their work end in such a way to portray the view that when women assume different roles outside of the household, or traditional roles, they are never effective and cannot get work done. This shows how male dominance throughout history has engrained in peoples' minds that the work that a female does is always inferior to the work of a man. Typical stereotypes of women include, "Women are not as strong as men, women don't need to go to college, women are not politicians, and women are never in charge" (Brewer). These texts emphasize societies perception of these stereotypes by showing the negative effects of what would happen if women went against the norm of the expectations of a housewife.

The differences in the structures of both of the pieces are also a very essential aspect of showing the variety of the overlying theme. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood is a longer short story with long descriptive syntax in paragraph form that flows from one paragraph to the next. It engages the reader with its imagery and fairy tale context. In contrast, There Was Once is short poem with almost complete opposite elements from A Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. It has very short syntax with very informal diction and is formatted in a conversational method. Although the physical structure of these texts are polar opposites, the context within relays the same message and has the same effect on the reader. The differences in the structures of the pieces give the effect that this is a broad issue and can be interpreted in many different ways. The typical roles of women physically look different in every single country around the world. Like stated earlier, women in Muslim societies are expected to dress a certain way, while women in American are expected to dress a different way. But where the two topics merge, is when women differ from this expectation, they are looked down upon as being weird or freaks. These two texts are a model for the conflict of how women are perceived. Physically, women are expected to do different activities, dress different ways, and act differently; but in all societies women have an underlying similarity in the struggle to obtain gender equality.

A Sleeping Beauty in the Wood and There Was Once are two stories that emphasize the theme of societies negative perception of women who obtain power. Through the similarities in the tone of the women, the reader perceives women in power as being condescending and ineffective. The actual context of the plot of both of these pieces is very essential to the affirmation of women's struggle to obtain power in a positive light. The endings of these stories support the struggle because once the women obtain power, destruction soon follows and the readers always look at women in these texts with a negative connotation, which parallels to societies view of women. Because the physical structures of these texts are so different, the reader can imply that this issue is expansive in nature and has infected multiple countries. These texts raise awareness to the issue of gender equality and how it has changed throughout history and over the world.
