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When bringing up the topic of misogyny in history and literature, many tend to shrug their shoulders and say well, thats just how it was back then, or women just didnt have the same rights. It was the tradition. Even a certified educator approved by eNotes Editorial on enotes.com argues that …during Pope’s day, women had no rights. Feminism was a far-off idea. Pope’s attitude toward women would have been considered within the norm. What some people do not realize is that just because something was normalized, it does not mean that it was okay and misogyny is not always a man deciding that he hates women. Misogyny was deeply ingrained in the culture of England in the eighteenth century and still is today, though to a much lesser extent, and Alexander Popes mock epic poem The Rape of the Lock is a great example of this. The work is actually based on true events which caused a feud between two wealthy families. A Lord Petre had cut off a lock of Arabella Fermors hair, to her and her family’s dismay and outrage. A friend of the family and Pope suggested he write something in the hope that a little laughter might serve to soothe ruf

fled tempers (Alexander Pope 506). In the poem, Arabella is represented by the character Belinda and Lord Petre is represented by The Baron. Pope also uses this poem as a commentary on vanity, triviality, and high expectations and standards in society, specifically the bourgeoisie; however, he seems mostly to make use of women to make his point. Despite the fact that the mock epic is riddled with misogynistic themes, The Rape of the Lock is one of the most, if not the most, well-known and often-read works by Pope along with being commended by many as the best mock epic in English-language literature. The Rape of the Lock is beautifully written, but that beauty hides Pope’s misogyny in his negative portrayal of women’s behavior, his objectification of women, and his promotion of rape culture; this is supported by the critical work ‘The Rape Of The Lock | Feminist Analysis from UKEssays.com, ’Quick as Her Eyes, and as Unfix’d as Those’: Objectification and Seeing in Pope’s Rape of the Lock by Rebecca Ferguson, and Re-Reading the Power of Satire: Isaiahs Daughters of Zion, Popes Belinda, and the Rhetoric of Rape by Miles Johnny.