Beowulf: Pagan Values Tied with Christianity

The poem titled Beowulf was composed sometime between the seventh and tenth century in a language that is known as Anglo-Saxon. It incorporates many pagan themes and concepts, yet it also contains many references to Christianity. Although paganism and Christianity can be seen as unalike, the two aspects are brought together by the poet in order to show the need for grouping. The pagan themes, such as fate or the common goal of fame and heroism, raise questions in the religious community that could be misleading or misinterpreted without the Christian insight provided in the text.As a result, it is clear that this combination of pagan concepts and Christianity shown in Beowulf is for a Christian audience. In order to enhance the value of the poem Beowulf, the author reconciles pagan concepts such as fame, vengeance, and fate with Christianity. The pagan concepts play key parts in the storyline and are related to the components of Christianity in the poem. One of the pagan concepts dep icted in Beowulf is fame. Other ancient texts, such as The Odyssey and The Iliad, show warriors who venture out far from home to accomplish heroic tasks and build fame.The poem shows Beowulf and other characters in the story to have the same urge. Beowulf is shown early in the story as â€Å"the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful† (p. 15). The concept of fame is very important to him and to his people. After hearing of Grendel and his strength, Beowulf declares â€Å"to heighten Hygelac’s fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword†¦: hand to hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend† (p. 31). He wants to maximize not only his own fame but the fame of his king.He will fight Grendel equally matched and â€Å"perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches† (p. 43). The pagan concept of fame is accomplished when Beowulf defeats Grendel and gives the arm of the creature to Hrothgar. Beowulf has proven his skills and strength by ridding the land of Grendel and Hrothgar praises him by stating, â€Å"You have made yourself immortal by your glorious actions† (p. 63). Although the idea of fame at this time conflicts with certain notions of Christianity, the author reconciles the two by adding many references to God with the achievement of fame.The author is able to attribute both Christian concepts and heroism to God through the dialogue of Hrothgar. When Hrothgar arrives in the mead-hall the morning after the slaying, he first thanks God by saying, â€Å"let the Almighty Father be thanked†¦the Heavenly Shepard can work His wonders always†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 63). He praises Beowulf and states that the killing of Grendel was accomplished â€Å"with the Lord’s assistance† (p. 63). Another example of the ties between God and fame is when Hrothgar gives his speech to Beowulf over the dangers of power. He tells the stor y of Heremod, a king who eventually loses everything due to selfishness, to Beowulf. Almighty God had made him eminent and powerful and marked him from the start for a happy life†¦ a change happened, gave no more rings to honour the Danes†¦ he suffered in the end†¦his life lost happiness† (p. 119). The story shows that God is the true beholder of power and when man strays from Him, or lives a life of no values, He has the power to take away happiness and power. The only way to live on earth is through the grace of God. Consequently, the pagan concept of fame ties back to God and is reconciled to Christianity. Another concept of paganism found in the poem is the concept of vengeance.The first sign of vengeance comes clear when Grendel’s mother becomes aware of Grendel’s death. She is infuriated and â€Å"desperate for revenge† (p. 89). She had no interest in the Danes or Geats until the death of her son. She goes to the mead-hall, kills Aesch ere, and takes back Grendel’s remaining corpse. This anger and desire to avenge Grendel’s death also leads to her eventual death when Beowulf meets her at the mere and kills her with the mystical sword. After killing Grendel’s mother and resurfacing to land, Beowulf tells his men, â€Å"if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal† (p. 15). The author seems to imply that latching onto anger and vengeance leads to the destruction of oneself. It can also be interpreted that Beowulf was aided by God to destroy Grendel’s mother due to her fixed desire to wreak havoc and revenge on the mead-hall. This can be seen as the authors attempt to reconcile vengeance with Christianity. Another example of vengeance can be seen when Grendel’s mother kills Aeschere and Hrothgar mourns over his death. Beowulf tries to console Hrothgar by saying, â€Å"Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. † (p. 97).This shows the importance of avenging the death of one’s comrade or friend to Beowulf and also the contrast between vengeance and Christian belief. After Beowulf finishes his boast, Hrothgar â€Å"sprang to his feet and praised God for Beowulf’s pledge† (p. 97) This is another attempt by the poet to reconcile the pagan concept of vengeance with Christianity. The desire to seek vengeance is discouraged through Christianity, and in the case of Grendel’s mother, can result in the destruction of oneself. Although, the question rises as to why Beowulf wasn’t corrected for seeking vengeance on Grendel’s mother.This is where a third pagan concept is seen in Beowulf; the pagan concept of fate. The pagan concept of fate in Beowulf is mentioned in association with good and bad fortune. For example, when explaining Hygelac’s death, the author states â€Å"fate swept him away because of his proud need to provoke a feud with the Frisians† (p. 85). The use of fate in this context refers to bad fortune due to Hygelac’s desire to stir up a confrontation with the Frisians. At an earlier point in the story, Beowulf tells Hrothgar, â€Å"no need to lament for long or lay out my body: if the battle takes me†¦Fate goes ever as fate must! (p. 31). Here Beowulf leaves the decision to fate, which is a concept of paganism, but there is no mention of fate being controlled by God. This is in direct conflict with Christianity and the author is does associate fate with Christianity in other portions of the text. For example, when Beowulf is declaring his formal boast to kill Grendel, he states, â€Å"And may the Divine Lord in His wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side He sees fit† (p. 47). This example shows Beowulf’s demonstration of his Christian beliefs and acknowledgement that it is ultimately up to God who will win the fight.After the fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf makes another declaration of fate when he states â€Å"it was hard-fought, a desperate affair that could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal† (p. 115). Beowulf surrenders himself to God and is fully aware that his fate was left to God’s will. Beowulf once again shows his belief in not only the pagan concept of fate but in God as well. Therefore, the author has successfully reconciled fate with Christianity. In order to enhance the value of the poem Beowulf, the author reconciles pagan concepts such as fame, vengeance, and fate with Christianity.These concepts are seen all throughout the poem and act as representation for the relationship between pagan concepts and Christianity. Although in some areas the two aspects of Anglo-Saxon life can be seen in conflict, as in the pagan concept of vengeance, the two seem to be interrelated. Although Beowulf is an epic narrative, it is full of Christian elements t hat show the beliefs of Christians today venture back in time to as early as the seventh century. Christian customs, such as man believing in God and the presence of good in the world, make this pagan story into what is now believed to be a primary Christian story amongst many.

Knight Templar

The Knights Templar is an organization founded in the year 1112 A.D. within the Christian community with a sole aim of protecting the Christians who were visiting   the Holy Jerusalem through Palestine, a land dominated by the Muslims. They were protecting the Christians from the attack of the Muslims. They were so courageous and fierce in battles, and had vowed on obedience,chastity and poverty(Knight Templar Website,2008).Notably, they also engaged themselves in other activities including banking, building,farming,engineering and they were monks(Templar UK Website).They were also known to as the Poor Knights of Christ, which was a kind of a symbolic name. Even though they engaged in other activities like banking, the core activity was in warfare. The activity of banking just arose due to the trust that the crusaders had in the Knights Templar members ,leaving them with valuable items on which they took custody of them at fee. The Templars were considered to the best trained and d isciplines war men of the time and they were directly responsible to the Pope, who was the leader of the Catholic Church. It believed that It is this Knights Templar that laid a foundation for the   development of the modern army systems and operations. On their seal, its was a picture of one horse boarded by two Knights which was symbolic in showing how poor they were.On the start of Knights Templar Organization, its quickly grew becoming politically influential in the international politics, in the sense that it took control of the areas that it hard influence to an extend that is used to collect taxes and initiated tithing in those areas,which accelerated the fast growth into a form of a political institution. The commanding structure of the Knight Templar was like that of the Monastics Order, which was designed by Bernard of Clairvaux, who was the the founder of Cistercian Order. They were above all the authorities,as declared by the Pope but under Pope.The Knights' involvemen t in banking was not intentional, but it rather came due to their reputations in terms of the confidence that the public had on them. The confidence came from their trustworthiness and the respect of their military system, which was mighty and their financial soundness too. Their banking system just started from the point when they stared transporting money and supplies from Europe to Palestine, that later developed into a very efficient banking system which was incomparable to any other banking system that one could have thought of by that time.The Knights were characterized of being generous in defending Jerusalem and other holy lands, which in turn enabled them to gather a lot of wealth from these lands that came in as gifts from their thankful benefactors, from their activities of protecting their lands. They used to get more other wealth from those other orders who joined them,in the form of money and property. These sources of wealth enabled the Knights to have excess money th at it used to invest and lend, in the process of honoring their vow of of poverty, given that they had taken oaths of fighting poverty. Other than these aforementioned sources of wealth, the Pope also used to grant the funds ans in this case,funds of huge sums.The cash which the Templars collected and had in reserve was normally kept in chapter houses and churches(temples), which created avenue for easy access to money for the lender that encouraged even the Spanish who were visiting the Holy land,Jerusalem to lend by the year 1135.The made easy   means of accessing cash by the pilgrims real enable  Ã‚   growth in the banking activities that the Knights involved in, and the banking system itself got favor from it not bringing complications within the order and the Church, which was a show of its political mighty. The Knights chose not to involve the church in the banking system to avoid complications, and specifically it did not involve the church directly in the building of the mortgaged assets.The banking system grew bigger and become more efficient, given that it took care   and understood the needs of the communities in which they were operating in, that made it so influential at the holy land and also in Europe. It is ways of operation and specifically with its banking system, drew the attention of other order from the Europe who were aspiring to solely take control of the money and the   banking sector after the Civil war. Their attention was drawn because the Templars were possessing a lot of holdings in areas covering   Europe and the Middle east and the island of Cyprus(Crystalinks website,2008).The formation of the Knight Templar   followed after the deliverance of Jerusalem (Knight Templar website,2008), when the Crusaders decided to to go back to their home in the process of honoring   their vow, although their was hostility from their Muslims neighbors residing in Palestine. The formation of the Knight Templar was initiated when ther e arose need for protecting the Christian community and they were accepted by Baldwin II in providing the services , after taking a vow of perpetual before the then Patriarch of Jerusalem and later assigned a part of his palace that as bordering with the temple of the city in Jerusalem,that followed the naming of them as the poor Knights of the Temple. They barely started being only nine in number of which they were unable to delver any of their intended services and especially the one for protecting the holy land and the Christian community and they were headed by Huges de Payend.In preparation to kick start their operations their leader,Huges traveled to the west in requesting   the acknowledgment by the church and also to recruit more other members. Knights never had a specified code of rules by then until they came to adapt the Rule of St. Benedict, which was later refined to Cistercians, and they also adapted the three vows of perpetual in addition to the crusaders' vows , th e rules of the church and the   rules of the dormitory. The new recruits were expected to behave in accord   to the set rules within the Knight Templar   composed of four major categories consisted of the farmers,Knights, chaplains and Sergeants. In addition to their rules, the Knight Templars   also adapted the Red cross sign   from the Cistercians Rules.The establishment of Knights Templar was welcomed with a high spirits, to an extend that   even before they had shown their abilities, they received a lot of favor of every kind, where the preceding Popes safe guarded them by exempting them from all kinds of prosecutions, episcopal or secular. All the property owned by the Knights was free from tax and they did this by assimilating their property into church compounds, and they were exempted from paying the ecclesiastical tithes   and having their churches and   cemeteries interdicted. The special treat that was offered to these Knights later brought misunderstandin g among the clergy men of the holy land debating on whether to wipe or not   wipe these favors, although this was never an issue to discuss in Rome as they were guaranteed these favors without question and the favors that they received from the Europe   were worth to make an impact.The Templars had representative in every state, in the name of commanderies, including France which had forty two commanderies and Palestine where grabbed wealth at the disadvantage of the Muslims. For example in the Palestine they had build major possessions like the Safed, Karak and the Castle of Pilgrim that was built in the year 1217 with an aim of defiling the coast of the sea.The character of the Knights was   indefinite ,with respect to the services that they provided. They were fierce in war and very humble in chapels without fear of death on protecting Christianity, and they were the first to attack not giving up easily, while keeping word from their leaders, although they were not very man y by then(Veling Website). On the start of their prosperity, there were only 400 knights in Jerusalem, but composed of noble men who inspired the rest of the Christian community.They normally used to fight to the end without giving up,even if it means held as captives and   when held mostly by the Muslims in forcing them to deny Jesus Christ, on which they died keeping to their faith. Although they were not easily giving up,this situation and experiences scared more recruits   because it required more commitment just more than being recruited in the order,Knight Templar, because all that was expected from a new recruits was total obedience to the rules without compromise. They new recruits were normally put into test in, on testing their sincerity and keeping of secret, although later their was some kind of laxity in observing the rules caused by the great wealth they had acquired and also the greedy for poor.At the amid of its growth,the Knights Templar had 9000 estates   amo ng other wealth holdings that were deposited in the temples at both Paris and London, including the deposits that were under custody received from the princes and individuals just because of their trustworthiness. On this order reaching a kind of an independent state it started extending assistance to the disadvantaged members of the society, that included the minorities and people with various disabilities.During the growth of this order, their happened to be another order by the name Hospitallers that was started in imitating the Knights and which later brought conflict between the two orders due to clashing activities and greed for power. The Hospitallers engaged in military just as the Knights which ignited rivalry between the two orders, but this rivalry was solved by uniting the two order, which was suggested by St. Louis in a council of Lyons in the year 1274, but the union was proposed to start in a new   form by Pope Nicholas II in the year 1293 (Templars UK Website,1996) , on calling for consultations from Christian states.The troubles that led with the collapsing of the Knights Templar started from their denial to compensate the then king of France, Philip IV for his wars(New advent Website). The King had tried so many way in persuading the Knights to pay   including the proceeding Popes from the time of Pope Boniface VIII to Clement V, although Pope Clement V had agreed with King Philip IV but the Knights Declined. In revenge for decline of the Knights Templar,on October 13,1307,King Philip IV of France   arrested the Knights Templar in France and tortured them.The king later held the treasury of the Knights   and disbanded their money banking system, and it was perceived of him being jealousy of the Templars' operations , more especially their wealth and power, which made him envy in controlling them alone. The act of King of France, Philip IV over the Knights sent a deterrence to other orders like the Hospitallers,the Rhodes and the Malta, which convinced them giving up the banking operations in some states like Jerusalem.This was a real break through in the collapse of the Knights Templar as the assets which were outside France were transferred to the ownership of Knights Hospitallers, which was a directive from the Pope and the survivors from the Knights Templar menace were admitted into their former rival Hospitallers. Pope Clement V commanded the dissolving of the Knight Templar. even though so many Kings in various states had not advocated for that, and for instance the king of Spain declined in giving in to the demands of Pope Clement V in transferring all the assets belonging Knights Templar to Hospitallers, although they were later transferred to another order by the Montesa. In Portugal, they only changed the name of the order and rather called it Order of Christ, which was led by Price Henry for 20 years before his death, while the King of Scot had disbanded the order of Knights Templar with different reaso ns.Conclusion. Knight   Templar is an organization that was formed in the the year 1112, with a membership of Nine members, with a sole aim of protecting Christianity and more especially the pilgrims to the holy land from the Europe from their   Muslim neighbors who were trying to deter the spread of Christianity. The nine members headed by Huges,   recruited more new members  Ã‚   and the recruitment was real fast because the order.Knight Templar was highly accepted within the church community, and later after having new recruits they adapted a set of rules which were designed by   Cistercians. Involuntary during their operations in providing military services, they found themselves with a very efficient banking system and this was triggered by their trustworthiness in winning the public confidence, and it started by them being left with precious goods by the crusaders,which later become as big as transmitting money and , building mortgaged property , acting as a custodia n for the stored money and   also the lending of money in fulling their Vow of poverty.It grew bigger,extending to many states   including France,Spain and Scot. The fall of Knight Templar originated from their decline to compensate the then king of France,King Philip IV for the wars that he fought. He revenge by arresting the   Templars and seizing their Assets in France. On adding an injury to a wound, the the Pope, after the arrest of the Templars in France he gave a directive disbanding the Knights Templar organization, ans the transfer of their assets to another order by the name Hospitallers which was a rival order to Knights Templar, on their clash in their respective responsibilities as their operations were like a duplicate.ReferenceLuther J. ,2008 , Knight Templar, Retrieved May 9th,2008 From from the World Wide web;  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.crystalinks.com/templars1.htmlDrill M.,2008,Grand Encampment of Knight Templar;Retrieved Ma y 9th,2008 From from the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Wide web; www.knightstemplar.org/purpose1.htmlCharles M.,1912, The Knights Templars;New Advent Website  Ã‚   ,Retrieved May 9th,2008 From   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from the World Wide web;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.newadvent.org/cathen/14493a.htmSimon F.,2008,The Grand priority of Knights Templars in UK and Wales.,Retrieved May   Ã‚  Ã‚   9th,2008   From from the   World Wide web;   www.templars.org.uk/Vatican II,1996, Knights Templar,Retrieved May 9th,2008 From from the World Wide web;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     www.veling.nl/anne/templars/

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How to use modern technology - Essay Example These young minds must therefore, be educated through events or activities on the benefits of modern technology. Consequently children equipped with knowledge on modern technology will provide a stable future for the country. Use of technology is central to the philosophy of developing a system equipped for the future and, to that end all children must have access to tools that form part of the fabric of their everyday lives. Technology is a tool, not a subject (Verma 78). Digital cameras have dramatically changed the way we take photographs. By suing cameras during the modern technology week fair children will be able to take photographs and later write projects and add pictures into them. In the process off this activity students get to know more about their community its surroundings and local people. In addition to this, they will also be gaining knowledge about modern technology as they handle the digital camera. In the event, a multicultural activity may be used to teach childr en about their community and also the use of modern technology. Multicultural education includes teaching children about their own culture and their ethnic heritage. It means exposing children to other diverse culture and helping them be comfortable with and respect all the ways in which people appear different to each other. This may be achieved by teaching the children how to relate to one another and how to play fairly. This encourages children to notice and think about fairness and challenges them to do something about the unfairness towards people they perceive in their world. Through activities like photography and use of other modern technological equipment children will get to intermingle with other people in society who come from different ethnic groups. This will help create a rapport as kids share the equipment and also put in efforts to attain set objectives of the modern technological event (Verma 78). Another activity in the modern technology fair includes the designin g of a community library. Emerging multi-ethnic populations in many communities and the increasingly urgently need for literacy and information technology skills call for a change in the design of library buildings(Verma 75).Libraries could become key communication centers, for mobile populations and their design will need to reflect the different levels and layers of entry or different temporal zones. Young people in this event get actively involved in the design of the service that would benefit hem in future. Through voicing their ideas by drawing or art or photography or in question and answer segment in the event, valuable information will be acquired of how to run a community library. Movies and short films may be aired in the event. During the event short films may be aired to be viewed by the children. Short films and movies offer the most visual and engaging learning tool for today’s children. This technology enhances the curriculum children are taught at school. On the spot, teachers can show video clips about almost any topic mainly those relating to the

BINGE DRINKING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BINGE DRINKING - Essay Example The effects of binge drinking are harmful not only to the social and professional life but also to the physical health of a person. Hence, preventing young people from developing the habit of binge drinking is extremely essential. It is important to note that the study of risk factors have shown that binge drinking is more of a lifestyle related problem. Binge drinking is considered as a ‘courageous’ and ‘macho’ thing to do and hence, is taken as a challenge by aggressive young people. It is the desire to live a thrilling life that leads to binge drinking. Hence, if binge drinking is to be reduced or prevented among adolescents and young adults, then immediate and essential steps are needed to be taken by authoritative bodies to make changes in the college environment, and form some strict rules as it is the desire of enjoying a rash and dangerous lifestyle that leads young people to indulge in binge drinking. Definition Throughout the world, binge drinking is defined differently (Tischler 29). In Sweden, binge drinking is defined as â€Å"drinking a half bottle of hard liquor or two bottles of wine on one occasion† (Tischler 29). For Italians, having even eight drinks a day is not binging (Tischler 29). English people think that a person can be called a binge drinker only when he has 11 or more drinks on one occasion (Tischler 29). This shows that the definition of binge drinking differs on the basis of the amount of alcohol consumed on one occasion. In 1994, social psychologist Henry Wechsler defined binge drinking as â€Å"five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women† (Watson 98). According to Wechsler, when men take five or more drinks in one sitting and women take four or more drinks in one sitting, then they are said to be indulging in binge drinking (Watson 101). However, some groups refused this definition as they say that the factor of amount of time over which the drinks were consumed is not ref lected in the definition (Watson 101). This definition was modified to include the factor of short time in binge drinking. According to the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, binge drinking is defined as â€Å"5 or more drinks for males and 4 or more drinks for females in a 2-hour period† (Kearney and Trull 249). From the definition, it is clear that when alcohol is consumed in large amount on one occasion, then it creates fatal results. The effects of binge drinking are extremely dangerous. Effects of binge drinking Studies have shown that binge drinking affects young people in very serious way. It not only affects their performance at schools, colleges or work, but also prove to be life threatening. Binge drinking is known to kill people as it has the potential to affect the functioning of the body in serious ways. Some of the negative effects of binge drinking are discussed below. Negative impact on academic performance One of the wrong understandings that lead to binge drinking is the idea of ‘occasional drinking.’ Young people tend to forget that it is by getting into a trap of ‘occasional drinking’ or ‘few drinks’ that one usually becomes addicted to binge drinking. People lose control and never realize when they crossed the limits of ‘few drinks’ or ‘once in a while’ (Alagna 29). It has been found in one of the national studies that the rate of educational, social and health problems are higher in students who

How far does family law allow individuals to engage in private Essay

How far does family law allow individuals to engage in private ordering, and how far should it Discuss with relation to at leas - Essay Example However, this list is not exhaustive and may vary from one jurisdiction to another since family law covers a wide range of social and economic cases in existing and broken households2. The main contentious issue in most domestic cases heard in domestic courts is often of financial nature since, as families and marriages break, there is always the need to settle financial arrangements made while the family was still intact3. In fact, until recently in many countries, there was little, if any enforcement of the private arrangements and rules that surrounded and sought to change the personal or family status of people4. Nonetheless, there existed some kind of private ordering in which people could decide whether to marry or not and whom to marry. What is more, once an individual got married, he or she had to adhere to the enforceable rules of marriage and exit routes such as annulment, separation or divorce. Importantly, there were rules to guide couples in meeting their financial oblig ations on annulment or divorce5. It is also worth noting that even in historical times, the state had the power and mandate to set and enforce family laws6. Thus, by these laws, the state had the power to limit an individuals’ free will and powers to distribute their property upon divorce or a spouse’s death. For instance, in most countries, family law states a spouse’s statutory share of family property upon marriage divorce or annulment7. Similar to the case of marriage, once an individual had a child, the state would have a say in the child’s rights as far as the financial obligations of the parents were concerned. That is, the state set the terms and determined the limited circumstances under which one’s parental rights to a child could be surrendered. However, recent times have reported quite drastic changes with different countries permitting various types of private ordering in different family law situations and cases8. Examples of the area s in which private ordering is allowed in many a country in modern times include marital agreements, separation agreements, open adoption agreements, co-parenting agreements, premarital agreements, agreements9. In other words, currently, a lot of agreements are entered to help arbitrate in disputes if the above events occur. In modern society, people cohabiting or legally married often wish and decide to venture into financial agreements before or during their domestic lives. In general, such agreements are referred to as cohabitation agreements or domestic relationship agreements10. Similarly, upon terminating their domestic relationships for whatever reasons, people may resort to negotiate financial agreements, often called separation or termination agreements11. Private ordering thus refers to the attempts and activities by which parties to a domestic relationship who had entered a financial agreement order their financial affairs without seeking court interventions or solutions. This paper explores the changes and the limits to private ordering in family law, in the process discussing the nature and extent of the changes and their positive developments in a financial perspective. In this regard, the paper explores the role of private ordering in family law in an economic perspective. Historical Background The

Hard work vs Easy money Essay Example for Free

Hard work vs Easy money Essay The film industry is a very influential force in our society today because through it our choices, likes, beliefs, values and ideas are somehow affected and changed. It is so strong that sometimes it already affects our decisions and way of life. According to Supreme Court officials, the motion picture is a significant medium to convey ideas and beliefs so that in order for people who adheres democracy to make informed judgments on debatable issues or questions, they must be appropriately exposed to a fair and just representation of the ideas on all sides of said issues or questions. Americans value their freedom to express their thoughts and ideas, their freedom of speech that’s why the only reason why the constitutional rights to free speech is applied to film is because the movies or motion pictures are important medium for communication, for conveying information. Through this industry, a lot of people are educated, informed, and even transformed to better and useful individuals of the country because whether we like it or not, movies really inspire and motivate people. It touches their lives. However, movies are not created for mere entertainment only. Good or bad, they are still considered as important sociological and cultural documents of our times because they do not only record and reflect our values and ideas at the time the movie was created, they also shape them. For years, movies or films helped structure the American culture, the values, beliefs and traditions of the American people. Hollywood during the 1930s up the late of 1960s for example, helped in shaping up a shared concept of the American history and its role to other countries. Hollywood kept the American’s values and traditions alive during the Great Depression. Unfortunately though, after 1960, it produced films that targeted a smaller segment of the American population. Instead of producing and creating films that depicts the American’s common set of values, it began to venture and produce films with more conventional values. Movies do not only reflect social values of one’s country, it also shapes them. It reflects views about gender such as masculinity and femininity, about manners and/or ethics, language and some other characteristics that make up the society. Movies appeal to all classes and all levels in the economic ladder of one’s country. This is so because movies represent the values, aspirations, frustrations, and fantasies of these people. Movies definitely show the good and bad sides about life and about the world we live in. American History through Film During the Great Depression, between 1930s up to 1939, the American people were so devastated with the economic condition of the country. Money was scarce and life became difficult. To be able to cope with the new economic changes of their lives, the Americans began to patronize fictional movies to make their selves happy and alive. Movies, big bands, and all sorts of parlor and board games became a popular means of entertainment. Film production was accordingly organized on an industrial model and manufactured a mass-produced output aimed at capturing a secure audience share and thus realizing a substantial profit. As a commercial enterprise, American film developed as an entertainment industry, rather than as an educational instrument or art form (Horkheimer and Adorno 1972). Consequently, American dreams were turned into nightmares and bad dreams. What was once considered as the land of promise and of opportunity, of hope and of optimism, became the land of great desperation and depression. People began to question their leaders, their system of government and democracy. Some people moved to agricultural places to find a living. It was during this time that the people’s goal was that of survival instead of advancement. Other countries were also undergoing the same difficulties but the Americans were able to cope such that democracy prevailed in the country. To be able to help the people cope with their present situation, Hollywood created fictional films that entertained them. Popular movie stars played an important role in Hollywood cinema and became fantasy figures for idealized romance and desire (Dyer, 1979). Matinee idols such as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Errol Flynn and Shirley Temple became popular. One of the top grossers during this time was Gone with the Wind (1939) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Consequently, Hollywood films were divided into the most popular types of genres like the western, melodrama, crime drama, costume film, horror film, and, with the coming of sound, the musical (Schatz, 1981). Film soon became the most popular and influential form of media culture in the United States (Sklar, 1975; Jowett, 1976). It became a source of leisure and socialization providing trends in fashion and designs, guides to love and relationships, marriage and professions. Some Americans thought that early films were produced largely for working class, immigrant and urban audiences, and some critics of the movies thought that they had negative or subversive effects (Jowett, 1976). Some others believed that these films help Americanize immigrants, to teach their audiences how to be good Americans, and to provide escape from the cares of everyday life (Ewen and Ewen, 1982). More theoretical approaches to Hollywood began emerging in the 1960s, including the ideological analyses of Cahiers du cinema and the extremely influential work associated with Screen that translated many key Cahiers and other works of French film theory, including Roland Barthes, Christian Metz, and others which generated much more sophisticated formal approaches to film (see Metz, 1974 and Heath, 1981). Some researchers believe that during this time feminism was considered to be important among the gender and that the construction of dominant ideologies of masculinity and femininity were a central aspect of Hollywood film (Kuhn, 1982; Kaplan, 1983). Studies also began appearing in the 1970s of the business of film, dissecting the political economy of the Hollywood studio system (see Balio, 1976 and 1985; Gomery, 1986; and Wasko 1994). Then the succeeding years became a turning point for Hollywood Films. Movie making became more of a business venture rather than an aid to promote entertainment and relaxation to people. During the past years globalization has made Hollywood film a popular business icon throughout the world. If Hollywood films became the most popular and well respected film company in the early years, dominating the world market, it became more so today with American global corporations promoting and distributing its products throughout the world. Hollywood films are the most capital and profit intensive and thus have the most advanced technological effects for every product released; they are marketed worldwide and patronized by all races around the globe. To this day, Hollywood movies are created not only to gain money but to also influence or change the beliefs and ideas of its audience. Some are produced with the purpose of arguing for the acceptance of some behaviors and lifestyles so that these become parts of the film maker’s concept of cultural morality. As concluded by the Barna Research Group, the single most influential profession in society today is the film business. Unfortunately, some producers, investors and film makers neglected or seem to forget their roles and responsibilities to the viewing public. Some create projects without understanding the basic principles on how this industry works and how it affects the lives, behaviors and values of its audience. Hard work vs. Easy money in Film making industry Film makers have an important role and a great responsibility when creating or producing films. They should be very careful especially when making stories that deals with history and with people’s lives. Although the film industry is not in business just to lose money, it should not be that its goal is to only gain money. There has to be some kind of balance between responsible film making, one that entertains and educates people and that which enables the business to keep going. According to some experts, this could be attained without losing either way. But how are they going to do this? Do they have to exert more efforts to be able to attain both objectives? Or they just have to forget that ‘role- and- responsibility thing’ and focus instead to earning more money? Film making is actually lots of hard work and more had works. Lack of talent according to recent research findings, is irrelevant to success in the film making world. According to Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor-at-large of the Fortune Magazine, â€Å"Talent doesn’t mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It’s an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well’. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda concluded in an extensive study, â€Å"The evidence we have surveyed does not support the notion that excelling is a consequence of innate gifts. † Hard work and practice combined actually makes an individual a master of his craft. No one made it to the top without putting so much work on it. There’s no such thing as ‘born champion’ without going through a lot of work or effort. Greatness can never be achieved without hard work, hard labor. Hard work combined with practice equals work of high level performance and quality. Consistency too is important. Make quality movies all the time, hard yet worth the efforts. People patronize movies created by makers who adhere to the policy of producing high quality films. Filmmaking is making money consciously. Money is a resource material important to everybody, to businesses most especially. Businesses operate with the aim of gaining profits. Film making industry is not an exception. However, it should not be the main reason why the business exists. The role of movies Films have an important role in the lives of its viewers. It connects one generation to the other. It provides an image, concepts, and ideas of how people coped and dealt with their lives in the past; how families are formed or transformed and how it fell apart. It informs us past events, good or bad. It helps us realize that all human beings undergo turmoil and calamities throughout life. It helps us understand why we are here, why we are created, and why we exist. Films are stories about people, their experiences and how they go through life. Films are reflections of our past, present and future lives. Films do not only mirror the social and cultural backgrounds and attitudes of people in the past. It also provides evidences and records them for the future generation to see. Films are good sources of history, of culture and of people. Conclusion: Our world is very much structured by differing thoughts of both politicians and film makers in our society today. These thoughts and ideas are easily and quickly passed through the media that sometimes are readily accepted without thorough investigation for truth. Modern media are so powerful that they are able to deceive people. They can influence your thoughts and views about life. Film making is more than just a business or a calling; it is about influencing and transforming to be able to change the world. It is more than the value of money. Money is just an end. It won’t compensate to the changes that good films bring to its viewers. The visions created by prominent people in the industry has a profound or tremendous impact in our society, inspiring, motivating, and transforming people’s lives for the better. This is one of the few industries that are gifted with the opportunity and responsibility to change our society and our world. Therefore, film makers should be responsible enough to create films or movies that inspire people to do well and to make a difference in their lives. This is possible if they thought of film making as more than just an arena to make profits, to become rich and famous. We, as responsible citizens on the other hand, should be vigilant and exert influence over the cultural impact of the media. We should not patronize films that portray or show violence, subversive activities, and morally degrading stories to its viewers most especially the younger ones. We have a responsibility to protect our society too, that, we should not forget. Institutions, schools and other agencies need to exercise their cultural and social influence on these types of films too. They should condemn companies and personalities that market violence and immorality to viewers, young and old. This is the only way that we can declare war to irresponsible investors and artists. When we are vigilant to these types of propaganda and activities, we can’t certainly be affected or influenced by the film maker’s thoughts, values, ideas and beliefs and our traditional culture will not be in any way, structured by their concepts of the Modern American Culture.

Analysis of E-grocery Systems

Analysis of E-grocery Systems Introduction:- The literature reviews the operational and strategic analysis of E-grocery systems. There are many business models in E-grocery business. To make E-business model a sustainable one they are using different strategies in different targeted markets. Each individual model varies from one other in various dimensions such as placing of order, assembling and delivering the goods. The first part of the literature provides statistical description of online grocery industry in various geographical and measures. The second part provides review of the E-grocery industrys market and its customer base. The final part offers previous studies opinions and factors about various outcomes of e-grocery business. Industry Over View:- Over last five decades grocery business has transformed into new sector of supermarkets in UK. Many of the supermarkets changed the grocery field dramatically. These champions of consumers brought vast choices in product and price to improve their business sector. Online grocery shopping and Home delivery system has became one of major aspects in grocery industries. The revolution of technology advancement in internet promoted grocery industries to embark on new methods in retailing industry. However, many grocers have been unsuccessful to consider the advantages of how it can support grocery business. These developments lead to dismissal of complete-online supermarkets such as webvan, homegrocer, shoplink and homeruns (Ramus and Nielsen, 2005). These results demonstrate the necessity of careful crafting of e-grocery strategies which exploits internet technologys potential of increasing company profit and also customer service (porter, 2001). On one hand, strategy conceptualisation is difficult for pure-play grocery stores since companies have not tried business models before. On the other hand, formulation of strategies for clicks and bricks grocery shops requires strategies which will combine both existing retail practice and internet based shopping processes ( Teo, 2002). Online shopping or e-grocery retailing service involves customers online buying behaviour and practices, order fulfilment and delivery of order, development and maintenance of online websites to facilitate customers to enter their orders (Hong and Kim, 2004). This literature provides insight of e-groceries and the strategic methods. Development Of Home Deliveries In The UK:- In United Kingdom, from centuries home delivery of goods has been taking place. During 20th century some local door to door field sales and home deliveries were go down due to rise large number of retail centres and also availability of cheap cars, however, some other home delivery business still in existence such as milk and catalogue distribution. The innovation of large consumer products such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, televisions etc results in certain type of delivery methods after mid-twentieth century. (Spufford, 1994) The recent development of information technology has contributed many new methods to retailing sector over the internet which drastically increases the demand of home deliveries. Online shopping and home delivery became an ideal path or approach in a society where people themselves believe they are cash-rich and time-poor for grocery or household goods. E-commerce along with some other forms offers the opportunity for consumers to buy household goods from their homes and also to receive deliveries at their flexible timings rather than travelling to stores. (ibid) Grocery And Grocery Industry:- Groceries and other food retailers function each and every day, yet it is fundamental and permanent industry sectors in the business world. Everybody require food, thus everyone must and should purchase food from one or another retail outlet. Therefore, the grocery industry is a vast, fragmented and tremendously competitive environment ( Kelly Delaney et al, 2003 pp 187). â€Å"In Great Britain, food retailing industry constitutes 36 percent of overall retail turnover annually (Central Statistical Office, 1990). In United Kingdom the largest individual category of family expenditure and along with some other groups, which are partially sold in supermarkets, like household goods, tobacco and alcohols, clothing and leisure goods for a considerably large share of customer shopping (Central Statistical Office, 1991).† (Russell Aylott et al, 1998,. Pp.363) Customer Base And Market Trends:- According to Verdict (2006a), 80% of the online shoppers were of 29 to50 age group in 2002. Majority of responded shoppers were female. There are three groups of online shoppers: firstly rich and busy people who are pressed for time, secondly families with one or more young children and thirdly people who find difficulty to get into stores. The first group of people are those who have higher incomes and less time to shop. These people are normally high internet users, technology comprehend or family with dual income. These rich and busy people prefer someone to shop behalf of them. The second group are those who have got young children in their families. They constitute higher number of e-grocery shoppers. The age group of e-grocery shoppers is 29 to 50 years old with at least one young child under five years old. This group usually spend their time in cooking dinners for their family therefore they prefer shop online for regular household groceries. This category of people wants to avoid hassle situation at stores by dragging kids along with them for shopping. The final group is comparably small to other two categories. This group of people are those who find difficulty to access the store environment due to several reasons like age or physical disability. People average life span increased in recent decades comparing to 1950s and 1960s. People average life span increased from 67.8 to 77.2 in 2007 and they estimated life span is 82.4 for 2015.Aged people and physically challenged people may need little more extra help while doing shopping. They may found it as difficult to drive to supermarkets and to carry heavy household goods back to home. Online shopping will be the good alternative source for grocery shopping. Estimation Of Home Delivery Shopping Market And Market Share:- In the year 1999 the total home shopping market worth was figured  £12.36bn in UK market. The projected view for 2004 was  £24.12bn. All sectors have been experienced by considerable growth and constant increase has been expected for following 5 years as customers accept different new channels for purchasing of goods. Traditional grocery shopping is matured market. However, recent development and growth predicts that, it has been generated by potential e-commerce and majority of grocers converted a part of their business into e-grocers. UK e-shopping was  £581m worth in the year 1999 and estimated growth to  £1.53bn in 2000. Verdict research predicted there will be huge growth of 3.36% of total sales in online market and it was estimated as  £8.84bn by 2004(Nielsen, 2000). Market Trends In Home Shopping:- E-commerce growth in recent decades (excluding some declined cases) transformed old traditional companies into technology implemented new companies. Moreover, now companies are in better position to exploit and implement new technologies to business models to grow their sales and profit. In the starting days of internet technology there were comments from academic commentators that most of incumbent businesses were unwilling to try internet for sales channel. There was lack of internet knowledge and also uneven distribution of amount for physical distribution. These companies distribution infrastructure have their brand names and customer base which will help to command and access the funding, and provide stronger position to embrace e-commerce (Anderson consulting, 2000). If we consider present situation, majority of internet user are males compare to females. This socio-economic difference in internet profile user also affects online shopping. Along with these higher proportion of society contains children and youth who currently own their own computer systems and access internet more than older generation. However, research depicts that some of these variations may diminish over the growth of technology. For an example, the prediction of women internet user by the 2005 will increase by sixty percent of total UK online users. (Tesco, 2000). Many more established retailers are likely to adopt a new approach, Multichannel retail sector implementation and development, in future. Already there are alternative channel development methods by many large retailers. It will also permit retailers to create alternative channels to draw supply chains and resources from their existence channels. For manufacturing companies it will provide good opportunity to access customers directly and to formulate new methods of delivering service or product. There is an expectation of launching of new niche catalogues from major drivers in UK as growth rate penetrates. (Webb, 2000). Geographical Characteristics:- Sandoval( 2002) mentioned analyst Robert Rubin said that average population density in UK is high compared to ones US. The US( 31 per sq.km) population density is one-eighth of the UK ( 248 per sq.km) in 2004 ( world population prospectus). Tesco and Sainsbury have become successful e-grocers in the UK. These grocers target highly populated urban areas for more potential consumers. Urban areas are densely populated, people reside very close. In large cities there are less people who own cars. There are other factors which influence online grocery shopping in urban areas such as busy lifestyle, highly crowded shopping malls, public transport dependence for transportation and higher income. According to Mclaughlin(2005) cities are highly populated with internet users and considerable residents with disposable income. It is difficult expand online shopping to system to all geographic areas instead it could be done from one urban area to another, expanding business like this will make company delivery truck to achieve high number of deliveries at every trip. Psychographic Characteristics:- Fox and kempiak (2006) mentioned five major decision elements for online grocery shopping( price, convenience, product variety, ambiance and service). He also stated several reasons to increase online shopping chances such as changing family structure, busy work schedule with increased working hours, less free time and time consuming traditional shopping methods. This social system transformation result in search of alternative independent grocery shopping methods. Customer with different disability made their interest towards e-shopping rather than traditional one. Woodside, Arch G. and Randolph J. Trappey (1992) mentioned that time and conveniences are the two major factors for people to switch from traditional shopping methods to electronic shopping methods. Technology should provide complete product description to satisfy different types of customer base it may be depends on several criteria such as different food preferences such as organic, religious , ethnic origin etc Technological Characteristics:- Fox and Kempiak(2006)states that, the food marketing institute indicates US consumers are highest internet users with eighty-six percent in that seventy percent will shop online daily. Whereas in the UK, broadband user are in fifth position in world and second position in Europe. E-commerce research 2007 shows 15.9 percent respondents brought groceries once in a week, 2.7 percent shops twice or thrice a month, largest group shops once or twice in a year. Increased internet users likely contribute the growth of online shopping. Online shoppers will make more shopping than in-store shoppers. â€Å"As the economy and society have changed, so retailers have responded and shopping as an activity has altered enormously.† (Dawson and Broadbridge,1988). Online shopping is comparatively recent phenomenon, which provides an opportunity to consumers to carry out at least one part of buying process online. â€Å"Electronic grocery shopping has been defined as shopping when at least part of transaction is started electronically via third party services or the Internet, but paying and logistics are not necessarily performed digitally†. ( Carl Lewis, 2003-pp.207) E-shop business model represents one class of e-commerce where buyers and sellers interact electronically with each other, except for deliveries. Burke suggests many reasons web marketing of food. As an example, everybody has to eat, and in store shopping consumes considerable time to purchase and majority people do not like grocery shopping. Daily household goods are difficult to move physically from one place to another. Continuous growth of e-commerce enlightens many traditional grocery retailers to use internet channel to sell their goods. The development leads to many more conventional retails to enter into e-grocery field (Boedeker.M, 1997 ). E-Crm:- Smith believed that, customers thinking about the shopping are predetermined whether in means of preference to products, price and accessibility. Satisfying such conditions and preferences thorough online process is carried out through designing e-commerce website and online shopping store should focus on creating e-loyalty. Customer relationship management (CRM) programmes are the most effective way to incorporate loyalty. Customer service is one of the major aspects of business which includes customer assistant in sales, maintenance customer policies, providing customised services, after-sales maintenance etc. Due to the different type and nature of products which are purchased at e-grocery shops there should be complete product description. Some websites provide procedures for return of product or reporting problems as a part of after-sales service. Some stores allow unsatisfied customer to return their product, some websites provide vast description about their products such as r ipeness of their tomatoes (smith, 2000). All online shopping websites provide some customer rules and policies. According to Australian legislation, all online websites should maintain privacy policy (Australian Federal Government, 2000). Success And Failure Factors From Previous Studies:- Friends of Earth(2005) believed that e-grocery method is the best way to promote industrys brand image. However , Fox and Kempiak(2006) and Kotler (1996) stated conversely; brand image of company will help to promote online grocery business. They also believed that industrys business experience and its infrastructure will be added advantage for promotion. One more factor is people ability to spend money for long duration household goods. Pachauri, Moneesha 2002 stated that competition in e-grocery retail sector remains the same until company stay in game. If any child companys online business started down falling then parental company may not let it to happen for longer duration because they are inter-related in means of profit sharing. Without the demand, services of online business company will lead to business failure. Retention of existing customer is one of the main aspects of business. To gain customer loyalty, companies should provide reward to regular shopper. Customers can also gain loyalty points for their spending and it will convert into reward coupons or vouchers. Brick and mortar stores utilises their existing business infrastructure to click and mortar stores to save on costs. Delaney-Klinger, Boyer, and Frohlich (2003) mentioned Tescos success and Webvan failure because of its marketing strategy for online business. Webvan marketed its online sales with value-added service and extra delivery charges to cope up with online ordering cost. Tescos pricing strategy is little higher than the Webvan and its most suitable one for lower volume sales. Smith, Howard (2004) stated that online-only business spent heavy money for their highly automated warehouses. The operating costs for these warehouses are high and order volumes for those companies are not more than half of their capacity. High initial start up cost for online division, although pricing strategy can able to reduce cost for internal order picking and delivery methods. However, Delaney-Klinger et al (2003) believed that the expenditure for short run will increase business cost for warehouse methods and decrease for existing store picking methods comparably. High initial start-up cost will results at higher risk for any organisation. Another aspect for failure will be lack of online business management knowledge and experience. Blythman, Joanna (2005) stated that, companies are not concentrating much on customer relation management for stabilising business consistently. Traditional grocers have more advantage over online grocers in this area. Conclusion:- Online shopping and home delivery service is one of the critical aspects of e-grocery business. E-grocery business should have to understand the variable cost affecting structures and service concepts in order to turn online grocery business into profitable one. The different strategies were discussed. Analysing and adopting best strategy for e-grocery business is mast important. This literature provided insight of e-groceries. In a service context, as with product marketing, getting and keeping customers is of utmost importance. With service, in particular, someone within the organization will interact with customers; hence they should be viewed as customer relationships not just customers. Customer relationships have to be built and a useful way of viewing these developments as a life cycle. The marketing objective will change as the customer proceeds through the cycle. Understanding service marketing is becoming increasingly important for all organizations as more firms seek to di fferentiate their product or services through their service offering. Interaction and customer relationship concepts, two key areas of service marketing are set to be of even greater importance to all firms in the future. Research Methodology Research topic: Strategic and Economic analysis of E-grocery system in Tesco and Sainsbury (Online shopping and home delivery methods). Background Of Home Delivery System And Its Characteristics- Home delivery is generally defined as delivering of all types of goods to customers homes (or any different location opted by customer – example workplace) regardless online or any other order forms such as traditional mailing, telephone-based ordering (phone order), internet, fax or order made in person by consumer in store premises. The study is carried out in business to customer order delivery system rather than business to business. Home delivery system refers to all household goods delivered to consumers house (the destination may change such as work place on customers selection). Hence in online shopping and home delivery method the purchased physical household goods is carried out to customers destination by specialised home delivery unit or companies instead of customers themselves. There are some reasons for home deliveries like (i) may be the retail outlet itself provide an additional service to their customers or ( ii) may be customer do not like to carry the shopped goods at that instance or the required product may be out-of-stock at that moment or (iii) due to goods weight or size ( if it became difficulty to customer to transport by themselves) or (iv) because the seller itself does not have any physical store and may be its complete operation depends on the virtual online store. Thus customer may face impossible situation to collect the goods in store by themselves. (Farahmand and Young, 1998; Nielse n, 2000) Problem Statement:- On one hand, many customers are interested to do online shopping for their household goods, but yet they are not interest to abandon shopping in-store in traditional way. Most of the people still believed that, online shopping is too expensive. On the other hand, many more industries also made their effort to build online stores by providing this extra service to the customers. Organisations are continuously striving hard to build different strategic approaches for fulfilment of orders in profitable way. However, online unit business will add extra expenditure to grocers with or without some nominal charges. The profit margin is comparably very low in e-grocery to traditional one. Many grocers have undertaken to provide online shopping experience for their customers with different strategies. Profit margin is very low and sustainability in this industry is difficult. In the history of grocery sector many more companies introduced online shopping and home delivery units and failed. Purpose Of The Study:- The online shopping and home delivery is still in emergent phase. E-grocery business is very challenging field and it provides an extraordinary opportunities for business. E-groceries made many more efforts to implement various strategies and service concepts, there is no much research carried out in this area. This research study is provides insight of e-grocery methods in retail sector, identifies operating strategies and strategic and economic analysis of home delivery methods in Sainsbury and Tesco. Main Research Questions:- This research study is carried out to understand the factors of e-grocery success by trying to find answer to following research questions. How Tescos and Sainsburys online units are functioning strategies to its success? What are the business models they are following? How are they processing their order? Should they use warehouse system or in-store picking system? Whether home delivery system is profitable or not? How should online unit function to achieve operational efficiency and how they are managing customer relationship? Hypothesis: Home delivery is neither a profitable nor a strategic contributor to Tesco and Sainsbury. Research Objectives:- The objective of this study is to find out the above was mentioned research explained empirically by using various research methods. Our approach is comparative in nature. The steps adopted in our study are as follows: (1) Identification of the industries under study; (2) Study of background of the industries; (3) Interpretation of appropriateness of strategies and methods of individual firm; (4) Analysis of home delivery methods impact on organisational performance from individual firm. Research Approach And Methodology:- Research data collection is carried out both quantitatively and qualitatively. It will become difficult to distinguish between these two methods. Generally quantitative research method means collecting numerical data or coded information for objective analysis, data will be later interpreted. Qualitative research method is data collection by observations by peoples activity generally and they are noted in coded description. However, this codified information can be used for later analysis. The important form of this method is often reporting and interpretations by researcher by timely observation. A semi structured interview will be carried out during research which consists of analysis of six Sainsbury and six Tesco stores for data collection about home delivery. Interviews will be carried out with key persons like grocery manager, online delivery driver, and duty manager etc in each store to collect the quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data will be calculated and qualitative data will be gathered for analysis. And results will be drawn from the following methods. This study uses semi-structured quantitative primary analysis (interview for data collection) and majorly uses qualitative method (secondary source) to identify UK grocery sector and to focus to answer research questions stated. Interviews will provide large amount of information which is main source of information and key pathway for time-constrained studies such as this (Esterberg, 2002). Case Study And Historical Analysis Method:- According to Yin (1989), there are mainly five major investigating methods in social science research namely surveys, archival analysis, case studies, experiments and historical analysis. He also distinguish them on the basis of three criteria; those are i) what kind of research question will be asked, ii) what will the degree of control over present behavioural consequences and iii) present emphasis compared to past events. Case studies and historical analysis are desirable approaches to evaluate strategies of organisations. These methods are useful to describe and answer the â€Å"how† and/or â€Å"why† scenario when events happen beyond researcher control and also while researching present phenomenon in real-life time. Inductive and deductive approaches will be used for analysis of research data. Inductive way means drawing the general conclusions from researcher based on empirical grounds. Deductive approach means drawing the conclusions from researchers logical reasoning (Ghauri,et.Al,. 1995). This study focus on collecting information regarding operational strategies of Tesco and Sainsbury and to understand, why they are providing online shopping facility to customers while many of the supermarket failed to stay in game. During the process of study, the companies actions or strategic implementations from them are beyond the control of researcher, case study and historical analysis methods will be best, for a part of research. Meta-Analysis:- On this part, research study is carried out through qualitative meta-analysis for selected e-grocery organisations. Answers to main research questions will be collected qualitatively for each individual case (Lyons, 2003). The collected data will be analysed and possible relationships between business models and various out comes will be fetched out. This method is used to compare operations characteristics and strategies of Tesco and Sainsbury from the gathered data. This is the systematic approach for cross comparison of business models. There are few draw backs in meta-analysis such as, since data collected from various sources hence results quality is directly depends on the quality of source. Another, may companies may use similar strategic approach to achieve their goals which may be rarely identical. There is no unique approach to analyse data for meta-analysis. This effort is made to reveal answers from confirmed information from various sources (Graney and Engle, 1990). Significance And Limitations:- The study is carried out on case studies and available literature for the analysis of success in online grocery business, hope this study helps to find the major research questions. Study carried out to compare business models of only two named companies. This study is limited to only e-grocery business of Tesco and Sainsburys home delivery methods. Dissertation will be carried out only in the grocery section and applicability of results to other departments is not recommended. Dissertation will be carried out for sample quantity which will restrict the chances of generalisation. References:- AC Nielsen (2000) the Retail Pocket Book, 2000. Burke, R. R. 1997. Real Shopping in a Virtual Store. Peterson R. A. (editor). Electronic Marketing and the Consumer. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 81-88. Boedeker, M. 1997. Recreational Shopping, The role of the basic emotional dimensions of personality. Turku: Publications of the Turk u School of Economics and Business Administration. Series A-9:1997 Blythman, Joanna (2005) Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets, Second Edition, 2005, Harper Perennial, Hammersmith. Ramus, K. and Nielsen, N.A. (2005). Online Grocery Retailing: What Do Consumers Think? Internet Research, 15 (3), 335-352. Porter, M.E. (2001). Strategy and the Internet. Harvard Business Review, 79 (3), 62-78. Hong, S. and Kim J. (2004). Architectural Criteria for Website Evaluation Conceptual Framework And Empirical Validation. Behaviour and Information Technology, 23 (5), 337-357. Teo, T.S.H., (2002). Attitudes toward Online Shopping and the Internet. Behaviour and Information Technology, 21 (4), 259-271. Hong, S. and Kim J. (2004). Architectural Criteria for Website Evaluation Conceptual Framework And Empirical Validation. Behaviour and Information Technology, 23 (5), 337-357. Anderson Consulting (2000), E-Europe: connecting the dots, Anderson consulting. Australian Federal Government 2000, Privacy Act, Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000( Cth), Canberra, Australia. Smith, E. 2000, E-Loyalty: How to Keep Customers Coming Back To Your Website, Harper Business, New York. Ghauri, P.N., Gronhaug, K., Kristianslund, I. (1995), †Research Methods in Business Studies – A Practical Guide†, Prentice Hall 1995 Esterberg, K G (2002) Qualitative Methods in Social Research, 2002, McGraw-Hill, Boston. Delaney-Klinger, K., Boyer, K. K., Frohlich, M. (2003). The return of online grocery shopping: a comparative analysis of Webvan and Tescos operational methods. The TQM Magazine, 15(3), 187-196. Graney, M. J. Engle, V. F. (1990, September). Meta-analysis techniques. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Fox, M. A., Kempiak, M. (2006). Online grocery shopping: Consumer motives, concerns, and business models. Friends of the Earth (2005), Briefing: The Tesco Takeover, June 2005, Friends of the Earth, London. Kotler, Philip (1996) Marketing Management – Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, Eighth Edition, 1996, Prentice Hall. Europe. Pachauri, Moneesha (2002) Consumer Behaviour; a Literature Review, The Marketing Review, 2002, 2, pp. 319–355. Smith, Howard (2004) Supermarket Choice and Supermarket Competition in Market Equilibrium, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 71, 2004, pp235-263. McLaughlin, K. (2005). Pricelines ex-CEO puts eggs in basket of an online grocer. Wall Street Journal, p. B7 Russell Aylott and Vincent- Wayne Mitchell, 1998- â€Å"An exploratory study of grocery shopping stressors†- International Journal of retailing and distribution management, volume 26, number 9, 1998, Pp.363 Spufford, M (1994) the pedlar, The Historian and the Folklorist: Seventeenth Century Communications, Folklore, Vol. 105, pp. 13-24. Farahmand, R and Young, M. (1998) Home shopping and its future. Paper presented at the 10th annual TRICS conference, 22-23rd September. Webb, G. (2000) â€Å"The multi-channel route – and need to keep a cool head†, in E-logistics Magazine, September. Tesco (2000), Tesco press release –i-village and Tesco.com, 19th July. Verdict (2006a), How Britain Shops 2006: Food and Grocery, Verdict Research Limited, May 2006, London. Woodside, Arch G. and Randolph J. Trappey (1992) Finding out why customers shop your store and buy your brand: Automatic cognitive processing models of primary choice, Journal of Advertising Research, November/December 1992, pp.52-78. Yin, R.K. (1989), â€Å"Case Study Research: Design and Methods†, Sage Publications 1989 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/ ,accessed on 22/09/09

French Essays French Society

French Essays French Society ‘Les liaisons dangereuses’ and the position of women in eighteenth-century french society.   Abstract This research analyses in depth Les Liaison Dangereuses by Pierre Ambrose Choderlos de Laclos, paying a particular attention to the emancipatory subtext of the novel in regard to the position of women in eighteenth-century French society. The received results reveal that Laclos rises against the subordinate position of women and considers that it is crucial to provide women with freedom. However, the writer demonstrates that freedom without appropriate education and true morality can result in many negative consequences. Applying to different characters and different liaisons, Laclos reflects the conflicts between two opposite sexes that occur because of the wish of both males and females to occupy superior positions in French society. In this regard, some findings of this research are consistent with the results received in earlier studies and critical analyses on Laclos’ novel, while other findings oppose to them.   Ã‚   1 Statement of the problem Eighteenth-century France experienced rather complex gender tensions, as, on the one hand, the period of Enlightenment and the French Revolution gave rise to the ideas of liberty and equality between men and women, but, on the other hand, women were still associated with the position of a mother and a wife, restricting their participation in other spheres of social and political life. However, despite such stereotypic vision on females, some philosophers and writers of that era opposed to this perception of women, applying to a certain emancipatory subtext in their literary works. Pierre Ambrose Choderlos de Laclos belongs to such French writers; in his well-known novel Les Liaison Dangereuses he criticises education of women in eighteenth-century France and uncovers the inferior position of women in those times. Laclos is one of the first authors who manage to express his views on the failed social system that inspires the conflicts between two opposite sexes. 2 Introduction Pierre Ambrose Choderlos de Laclos (1741 – 1803), a general of Napoleon and the secretary of the Duc d’Orleans, was born in a rather noble family and devoted his life to a military career. However, at the age of forty, Laclos became a revolutionary and feminist writer, having written only two literary works that were both admired and criticised in his times. He met his future wife Marie-Soulange Duperrà © in 1783 and soon married her. Laclos became the member of the Club of the Jacobins in 1790 and was even imprisoned for his political activity. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos was greatly influenced by the works of Jean-Jacque Rousseau, especially by his epistolary novel Nouvelle Hà ©loise; and this influence is obvious in both of Laclos’ works L’Education des Femmes and Les Liaison Dangereuses. But it was the novel Les Liaison Dangereuses that brought popularity to Laclos, as well as social rejection, because this literary work appeared to be â€Å"a portra it of an age whose tragedy lies in the waste of its great gifts†1. The eighteenth century was the period of Libertinage in France, when some people rejected all social norms and struggled for free will. These libertines eliminated emotions and pointed at the necessity of intelligence. Libertinage was supported by the regent Philippe of Orleans who substituted religion and virtues for freedom and vice. However, this was also a period of female subordination, that’s why libertines were mainly males, because women, due to their poor education, were considered as unfit for any display of free will. They were regarded as inferior to men, because their intellectual abilities were reduced only to the domestic sphere. As a result, women were psychologically destroyed creatures that were controlled and manipulated by males in French patriarchal world. These females were deprived of any possibility to take part in political, military or cultural life of society. But Laclos destroys these stereotypes in his epistolary novel Les Liaison Dangereuses, demo nstrating that not only males, but females as well may be libertines. The writer is not satisfied with the treatment of women in his times; thus his motives in writing L’Education des Femmes and Les Liaison Dangereuses can be explained by Laclos’ wish to protect women from men by means of female independence. However, Laclos considers that female freedom is both good and dangerous, because society, in which a woman lives, is too false and preoccupied with wrong stereotypes. Although the writer points at the necessity of education for a woman, he believes that good education will help her in her private life rather than inspire a female to utilise her freedom for any other activity. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the extent of the emancipatory subtext concerning the position of women in eighteenth-century French society in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ novel Les Liaison Dangereuses. The research paper is divided into several sections. Chapter 1 reveals a statement of the problem that points at the problematic of the conducted analysis. Chapter 2 demonstrates a general overview of the issue, evaluating the social and political contexts and Laclos’ motivations for the utilisation of emancipatory elements in his literary works. Chapter 3 observes the opinions of various critics on Les Liaison Dangereuses. Chapter 4 points at the theoretical research methods that are applied for the research. Chapter 5 provides a profound investigation of the emancipatory subtext in Laclos’ novel, paying a particular attention to women and their roles in French society. Briefly observing Laclos’ essays L’Education des Femmes, this chapter further analyses female characters of Les Liaison Dangereuses and their relations with male characters, uncovering gender tensions of the eighteenth century and the negative results of social inequality. Chapter 6 conducts the summarisation of the received findings, and Chapter 7 reveals the limitations of the research and provides some suggestions for further analysis of Laclos’ novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚   3 Review of the literature Les Liaison Dangereuses has raised hot debates among various critics since the time of its publication. Earlier criticism regards this novel as one of the first feminist literary works, but as Suellen Diaconoff claims, â€Å"in the past ten or fifteen years the assessment of Choderlos de Laclos’ treatment of women has undergone significant revision†2. Some contemporary critics point at a misogynist context of the novel in addition to the emancipatory subtext, while other researchers consider that Les Liaison Dangereuses uncovers female weakness and male dominance. Such contradictory viewpoints reflect the ambiguous vision of women’s roles in Laclos’ narration, as the writer provides his female characters with the power to resist and the power to withdraw. According to Martin Turnell, Les Liaison Dangereuses â€Å"has been called the most impersonal novel in the French language and certainly the author is not to be found in it†3. The major criticism of the work in the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries regards its moral side; many critics considered Les Liaison Dangereuses to be a threat to readers, as the novel provided a new vision on the issue of virtue and was â€Å"morally dangerous or historically fanciful†4. Although Baudelaire praised Laclos’ epistolary novel, the spread of Romanticism depreciated this praising, regarding the work as a literary piece, where â€Å"reason and cold analysis triumph†5. However, by the middle of the nineteenth century the researchers began to take a particular interest in Les Liaison Dangereuses, analysing the writer’s realism and the characters’ psychology. In particular, Byrne points at a profound morality of the novel, claiming that the book provides â€Å"a ‘correct’ moral viewpoint which only a churl would find fault with†6. Other critics reveal pessimistic aspects in the described sentimentality of the eighteenth-century fiction, in particular, John Mullan considers that French novelists â€Å"were able to concede that habits of sociability were limited or exceptional, only just surviving in a world in which fellow-feeling was rare and malevolence prevailed†7. This is especially true in regard to Laclos who demonstrates these pessimistic aspects throughout the narration. Peter Conroy analyses a close connection between two males in Les Liaison Dangereuses, revealing that such bonding results in female d estruction, for instance, when Valmont provides Danceny with the letters to destroy Mme de Merteuil8. The researcher considers that male bonding reflects one of the crucial aspects of female oppression in French society. Thus, despite the novel’s criticism and rejection in the eighteenth century, Les Liaison Dangereuses is considered to be one of the most popular epistolary works. 4 Research methodology This dissertation applies to three theoretical research methods – a social constructionist approach, a discourse analytical approach and a feminist approach. With the help of these methods the paper investigates the discussed issue from various perspectives and provides valid explanation to the emancipatory subtext of Laclos’ novel Les Liaison Dangereuses. As an appropriate tool for investigation, the social constructionist approach regards people as the products of society that defines particular roles for them. In this regard, this approach is especially important for analysing the position of women in eighteenth-century French society and the reflection of this vision in a particular epistolary work. The discourse analytical approach provides an opportunity to discuss the emancipatory subtext of the novel in its close connection with social and political conditions of France. It allows to evaluate the consequences of the dominant position of males over females and to uncover the inequality of both genders before the French Revolution. The feminist approach reveals the impact of certain social stereotypes on the portrayal of females in French literature, exposing the negative consequences of these ideologies on women of the eighteenth century. This approach evaluates the roles and positions of women through the principal female characters of a literary work, simultaneously pointing at the differentiation between men and women.  Ã‚      5 Discussion 5.1. ‘L’Education des Femmes’ Before the publication of his epistolary novel Les Liaison Dangereuses, Laclos wrote three essays on female education that were compiled together under the name L’Education des Femmes. In the era of Enlightenment this issue became especially crucial in France and was of particular interest to Laclos. As Turnell puts it, Laclos â€Å"only discusses those feelings which interest other people as well as himself†9. In his essays Laclos depicts his own vision on the position of women in French society and the ways to improve their conditions. The ideas presented in L’Education des Femmes are implicitly reflected in Laclos’ novel, that’s why it is crucial to observe these essays for better understanding of the emancipatory subtext of Les Liaison Dangereuses. In the first essay the writer points at the fact that an advanced education won’t make the lives of women better, instead he claims that it is necessary to introduce social changes that will im prove a female position10. Laclos considers that women do not have enough freedom and are usually treated as slaves by males; they prefer to adhere to social standards rather than to oppose them. Although Laclos proclaims the necessity of freedom for women, he slightly transforms this viewpoint in the second and the third essays. In particular, he claims that a woman should be protected, but not liberated. Despite such ambiguous vision, L’Education des Femmes reveals the truth about the position of females in Laclos’ times and simultaneously uncovers the contradictions that emerged in France in that period. These contradictions were a direct result of the emerged liberty and the preservation of the older social stereotypes. On the one hand, Laclos rises against the limitation of female freedom, but, on the other hand, he doesn’t really reveal the ways to free a woman. Laclos reveals that in the struggle for dominance, men and women destroy each other: males treat females as their slaves, while women utilise their sexuality to prove their own superiority. As females are deprived of equality with men in social and political spheres, they start to manipulate males with the help of sex. According to Laclos, this constant sex war greatly depends on the ability of a woman to diversify sexual re lations. However, as Laclos demonstrates further, there is a danger that such manipulation will turn against women. Laclos implicitly shows that enslavement of women by men is inspired by this particular manipulation. As a woman starts to depend on her sexuality, she reduces herself to a position of a slave. Thus, though the writer criticises the dominance of French males over women in the eighteenth century, he doesn’t provide an actual proposal for changes that will improve female positions. The same approach is maintained by Laclos in his novel Les Liaison Dangereuses. 5.2. The emancipatory subtext of ‘Les Liaison Dangereuses’ In Les Liaison Dangereuses Pierre Choderlos de Laclos creates the characters that belong to the French aristocracy and that apply to cruelty and deceit to disgrace other people. Although this novel received unusual population after its publication in 1782, the writer was immediately criticised and rejected by the members of the upper class society. According to Turnell, â€Å"The Liaisons was read by everyone and discussed in all the salons, but the people who read him with most passion shut their doors in his face†11. Such attitude can be explained by the fact that Laclos reveals the truth about French aristocracy, the truth that people could no longer avoid. On the example of such characters as Cà ©cile de Volanges and Mme de Volanges the writer demonstrates the negative consequences of poor female education and the superior position of men over women. On the other hand, introducing such female characters as the Marquise de Merteuil and the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel, Laclos simultaneously implements the emancipatory subtext into his narration. Throughout the novel Mme de Merteuil tries to achieve a dominant position over other people, including the Vicomte de Valmont, her former lover. Discussing the relations between Mme de Merteuil and Valmont, Turnell claims that â€Å"they are both so determined to dominate, so impatient of any restraint, that Mme de Merteuil cannot make up her mind to return permanently to Valmont†12. It is this female character that involves Valmont into her intrigues and further induces his death. Mme de Merteuil’s wit and determination make her superior to men. Since the very beginning Mme de Merteu il makes constant attempts to manipulate Valmont. As a result, Laclos’ epistolary work dispels a prolonged illusion created by the majority of French novels that were primarily â€Å"a smoke-screen that concealed the exploits of the aristocracy from the rest of the world†13. Characterising his characters through their letters, the writer uncovers the inner degradation of aristocracy before the French Revolution. As Emile Dard puts it, â€Å"people recognised their portraits in them and the likeness was so good that they could not turn their horrified gaze from this new image of themselves†14. According to the discourse analytical approach, it is possible to evaluate people through their expressed ideas15, thus Laclos applies to the characters’ letters to uncover people’s essence and reveal his own vision on both males and females. According to Laclos, a French woman is greatly controlled by a social machine that allows men to take possession over women. As Turnell states, â€Å"The role of the female is to be ‘defeated’ by the predatory male†¦ Yet the defeated woman is not so much victim as an accomplice†16. In other words, as a woman marries a man and is defeated by him, she becomes a part of him, because â €Å"the engagement does not end in ‘victory’ for one party and ‘defeat’ for the other. It is a combination of the two, victory-and-defeat†17. However, in the case of Mme de Merteuil, the situation is quite different, because this female character is not â€Å"restrained by any inhibition, by any feeling of guilt or shame†18. Letter 81 reveals Mme de Merteuil’s personal explanation of her behaviour and actions. In particular, Mme de Merteuil points out that she greatly differs from other females of her social class, as she possesses strong principles that are not based on some established rules, but instead are created by her in the process of deep reflection. Even the first sexual intercourse of this character with her husband is regarded by her as the possibility to experience both pain and pleasure, to explore something new and utilise new experience for her own benefits. In this letter Mme de Merteuil puts herself in a superior position over others, even over politicians, and reveals that she is able to get pleasure from various things, not only from love. On the contrary, she eliminates love, because it p revents her from intrigues. As the feminist approach reveals, such behaviour of a woman is understandable, because under constant social oppression from the side of men, some females begin to act similar to men, acquiring male features and rejecting excessive emotionality19. In this regard, Laclos’ novel differs from the novels of the seventeenth century, as Turnell puts it, â€Å"there is no interior conflict in the minds of Laclos’ two principal characters because the elements of conflict – love as well as duty – have been removed†20. Instead, the writer introduces an exterior conflict between Mme de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, that is, the conflict between a male and female that uncovers the emancipatory subtext of the narration. Demonstrating the relations between two opposite sexes, Laclos reveals not the tensions between individuals, but the conflicts that emerge when old stereotypes collide with the attempts to oppose to this social system. Laclos divides his characters into two parties: on the one side, there are Mme de Volanges and Cà ©cile de Volanges with their traditional moral values, but, on the other side, there are Valmont and Mme de Merteuil who oppose to any conventions and involve other peop le into their intrigues. On the basis of this division Laclos reflects three kinds of relations. Mme de Merteuil and Valmont are engaged in the relations that are characteristic for the eighteenth century, that is, they eliminate any emotions, proving that sexual pleasure doesn’t depend on desires and feelings. The relations between the Chevalier de Dancery and Cà ©cile de Volanges are of different nature, they are based on sentimental emotions. The relations between Mme de Merteuil and Dancery, Valmont and Cà ©cile, Valmont and the Prà ©sidente reflect the wish of Valmont and Mme de Merteuil to take revenge on their enemies, but, on the other hand, they reflect their desire â€Å"to get at conventional morality†21. They involve such young and naà ¯ve girl as Cà ©cile into their intrigues, fully ignoring the feelings of this female. Cà ©cile who is regarded as a child by everyone around her feels uncertainty and fear, when she starts to interact with other members of society. She is a beautiful female, but she lacks both intellect and free will, and her princ iples reflect the social norms that existed in France in the eighteenth century. Thus, Cà ©cile de Volanges is a stereotypic female, a product of French society that regards her as a toy; such characters may be easily involved in any intrigues and be destroyed. As Cà ©cile claims to her friend, â€Å"What made me most uneasy was that I did not know what they thought about me. I think I heard two or three times the word ‘pretty’, but I very distinctly heard ‘awkward’22. According to the feminist approach, such behaviour of a woman is a direct result of female subjugation that develops weakness and excessive emotionality in her23. As a result of this constant subordination, Cà ©cile greatly depends on social opinion, but Mme de Merteuil doesn’t want to understand the weakness of Cà ©cile, instead she utilises this naivety for her own benefits. The same regards Mme de Volanges, a mother of Cecile; pretending to be her close friend, Mme de Merteuil assigns a certain role for Mme de Volanges. But, adhering to traditional morality, Mme de Volanges decides to tell the truth about Valmont to the Prà ©sidente, thus â€Å"play[ing] the Male game in leading the anti-Merteuil party†24. But Laclos reveals that new morality of Mme de Merteuil is based on evil and thus, results in many negative consequences. Substituting one morality for another, Mme de Merteuil wants to prove her freedom and her superiority over other people. However, in this sex battle Mme de Merteuil destroys herself. Although this female character manages to convey her emancipatory behaviour, Laclos shows that wrong upbringing and poor education of Mme de Merteuil deprive her of the possibility to utilise her intelligence for better things than revenge. On the other hand, the writer introduces such female characters as Mme de Rosamonde and the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel who embody true virtue in contrast to both traditional virtue and the virtue of Mme de Merteuil. As a result, Mme de Merteuil realises that these female characters, especially the Prà ©sidente, are dangerous for her. The Prà ©sidente is not only a sincere woman, but she also has a great impact on Valmont, making him â€Å"forget his famous principles†25. Mme de Merteuil understands that the Prà ©sidente is a threat to her relations with Valmont and her intrigues, thus she makes Valmont eliminate this female, simultaneously eliminating true virtue. Mme de Merteui l exceeds Valmont and other characters of the narration, because she possesses powerful intelligence and inexorability. She stresses on the fact that by the time she was fifteen, she had more talents than any politician; such viewpoint is â€Å"the measure of her powers and of her tragedy†26. Contrary to Mme de Merteuil, Valmont embodies a weakness, because he possesses sentimentality that brings him to destruction. The eighteenth-century was preoccupied with the principles of rationalism that rejected any display of sentimentality. Mme de Merteuil manages to get rid of this sentimental shortcoming, while Valmont preserves it, although he doesn’t want to admit this truth. As a result, Mme de Merteuil constantly criticises Valmont, considering that the opposite sex has no virtues and abilities. Mme de Merteuil is superior to Valmont, because she has an unusual gift for understanding inner worlds of other people, while Valmont’s ‘principles’ do not allow him to develop a deep insight of the world and people around him. Mme de Merteuil and Valmont are engaged in the struggle against each other, reflecting their desires to achieve dominance. In this struggle love and hatred coexist together, revealing the essence of relations between men and women i n eighteenth century France. When Mme de Merteuil involves Valmont into her intrigues and makes him establish relations with other women, she still wants to possess Valmont; she doesn’t want to admit that another female may substitute her. As Fellows and Razack puts it, â€Å"Women challenged about their domination by calling attention to their own subordination†¦ If a woman is subordinate herself, she cannot then be implicated in the subordination of others†27. However, this is not the case with Mme de Merteuil who rejects subordination of men over her, but is involved in subordination of both males and females. Comparing herself with Dalila, Mme de Merteuil reveals that as â€Å"for the man each conquest is a victory for his sex; for the woman it is equally a victory for hers, because in allowing herself to be seduced, she dominates the male and deprives him of his strength†28. Mme de Merteuil considers that in the process of seduction both sexes achieve victory, but males fail to rea lise that women change them into slaves. Such female viewpoint reflects the core of the emancipatory subtext of the novel, but simultaneously it uncovers the conflict between sexes. According to Jean Giraudoux, â€Å"the battle begins the moment that each sex regards the other as its accomplice†29. As Valmont starts to compare Mme de Merteuil with other females, with the whole female sex, she starts to experience hatred and anger towards her former lover, aggravating the tensions between them. Valmont’s death is the end of this sex battle, and, by killing Valmont, the representative of the male sex, Laclos reveals females’ superiority, proving that a woman may be more intelligent than a man. On the other hand, the writer reduces Mme de Merteuil’s victory by depriving this female character of all things that are valuable to her, especially appearance and reputation. Such failure can be explained by the fact that, despite her intelligence and power, Mme de Merteuil remains a weak woman because of her jealousy and wish to dominate over other members of society. This character doesn’t want to accept the victory of the opposite sex, because in this case she will be forced to admit her own weakness. But in her pursuit to prove her superior position, Mme de Merteuil destroys not only her lover, but she also ruins her own life. According to Turnell, â€Å"Laclos’ theme is the tragedy of the Rational Man, the man who was carefully conditioned through the removal of all moral scruples and the sense of guilt†30. This is true in regard to Mme de Merteuil who maintains the principles of rational thinking and eliminates any display of sentimentality from her relations with people in order to prove her own superiority over others. However, she masterfully utilises her own sexuality to manipulate men and make them act as she wishes. According to the social constructionist approach, such sexual behaviour of a woman is developed by society, in which she lives; it is not an inherent feature, but rather a direct consequence of social pressure31. Laclos doesn’t state that a female is unable to experience pleasure; on the contrary, the writer reveals female ability for sexual desires. He presents a woman as an active partner in sexual relations, but he also considers that sexuality may destroy a woma n, if she allows sexuality to take control over her life and interfere with love, as is just the case with Mme de Tourvel. As for Mme de Merteuil, her sexuality also destroys her, because she hopes to prove her superiority with the help of sex, but finally she appears to be trapped in self-delusion. Mme de Merteuil’s attempt to achieve an equal position with males is rather courageous and feminist, but she chooses a wrong approach for attaining her goal. This female character rises against individual people, failing to realise that it is the existing social system that should be transformed. Destroying some persons, Mme de Merteuil doesn’t eliminate the system that puts women into inferior positions. On the other hand, Laclos reveals that Mme de Merteuil is a true libertine. She fails to succeed at the end of the narration, but her way of life demonstrates the greatness of this female. She lives in patriarchal world, where women are prohibited any freedom, but she manages to overcome these stereotypes and act in accordance with her desires. Mme de Merteuil ignores morality of French society , creating her own morality and trying to eliminate all powerful emotions. She experiences pleasure when she demonstrates her superiority over others and she easily manipulates men with the help of her sexuality and intelligence. Such behaviour is unusual for a woman of the eighteenth century, but, creating such female character as Mme de Merteuil, Laclos wants to prove that in reality there is no difference between a man and a woman. In fact, Mme de Merteuil is similar to Valmont, and even superior to him, as the writer reveals in the denouement. Valmont might achieve success in politics or in any other field, but instead he is involved in intrigues. In his relations with women Valmont plays a role of a noble man, deceiving both Cà ©cile de Volanges, when he claims that â€Å"I detest everything that savours of deception: that, in brief, is my character†32, and the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel, when he asks her â€Å"who was ever more respectful and more submissive than I?†33 In his relations with the Prà ©sidente he seeks to subjugate her and destroy her true virtues. Valmont feels admiration for this female and he considers her as â€Å"the enemy worthy of me†34. But, similar to Mme de M erteuil, the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel appears superior to Valmont. His seduction of the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel gradually is transformed into love, because he is strongly affected by her kind heart. As Valmont claims, â€Å"I left her arms only to fall at her feet and swear eternal love; and to tell the whole truth, I meant what I said†35. Valmont falls in love for the first time, but Mme de Merteuil makes him destroy the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel. When Valmont makes an attempt to return her, Mme de Merteuil forbids him to do so, stating that â€Å"It would suit you very well to take the credit for breaking with her without loosing the pleasure of enjoying her†36. These words reveal the negative aspect of Libertinage; although Valmont rises against social morality, society continues to influence him and shape his behaviour. Maintaining the principles of Libertinage, he is not able to act against these principles, thus Valmont’s freedom appears to be a delusion, because he simply changes one rules for other norms. The same regards the principal female character of the novel Mme de Merteuil who is also trapped in her principles and new morality that finally bring her to destruction. Despite their close relations with each other, Mme de Merteuil prefers to destroy Valmont and his love to the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel, and Valmont destroys Mme de Merteuil as a revenge. In this regard, Laclos creates two powerful female characters in his novel Mme de Merteuil and the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel, through which he uncovers his emancipatory subtext; however, the writer, drawing a parallel between these women, reveals their differences. Mme de Merteuil is a woman who uses her sexuality and intelligence to transform men into â€Å"the toy of my caprices, or my fantasies†37, as she claims in Letter 81. Mme de Merteuil directs her principles and education towards the only purpose to â€Å"avenge my sex and to dominate yours†38. Love can’t bring happiness to this woman, as she deprives herself of any emotions. Mme de Merteuil mocks at those females â€Å"who cannot see their future enemy in their present lover†39, reducing the relations between a male and woman to a simple sex battle. As Mme de Merteuil considers herself superior to others, she doesn’t admit any equality between two opposite sexes, that’s why she clai ms that â€Å"no one should be further from my confidence than my husband†40. She doesn’t want to love a man, instead she wants to control him. Mme de Merteuil deprives herself of any passion and she believes that such ability to suppress powerful feelings makes her better than other women. But Laclos reveals that such viewpoint is wrong by contrasting Mme de Merteuil with the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel who possesses those virtues that Mme de Merteuil lacks. From the beginning of Valmont’s relations with the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel, she realises that this woman has something that allows her to attract men, and thus Mme de Merteuil tries to depreciate the virtues of the Prà ©sidente de Tourvel. Mme de Merteuil calls her â€Å"a poor creature†41 that is obsessed with her religion. However, Mme