Women, Beauty Standards, and Patriarchy Theme Analysis

While “‘And Women Must Weep’” concentrates on an episode from one young girl’s life, the story is also concerned with women’s position in society on a larger scale. Through Dolly’s experience of her first ball, the narrative highlights gendered double standards in a patriarchal society that impose strict, reductive, and detrimental social limitations on women but not on men. In the story, women’s value depends on whether or not their physical appearance measures up to society’s narrow ideals of beauty. Dolly’s preoccupation with being pretty shows how strong the social pressure is for girls and women to live up to society’s beauty standards. Auntie Cha and Miss Biddons reinforce these standards by constantly focusing on Dolly’s outward appearance. For instance, Auntie Cha chides Dolly for being clumsy when she tears her dress, and she scolds her for looking too serious. Dolly must look pleasant and agreeable for the entirety of the ball, or else no one will want her. But men are not judged as harshly as women by their appearances, nor do men face the same negative social repercussions for failing to attract partners with their looks.

The story also shows clear power imbalances between men and women. At the ball, men have the agency to select their dance partners. Dolly learns that men are free from the burden of perfection and intense social scrutiny, as they can dance poorly without apology and be impolite without consequence. Meanwhile, women, including Dolly, must passively wait for men to choose them to dance; whether or not they are chosen determines their worth. Women also face blame and social stigma for failing to conform to demanding social expectations, as Dolly realizes when she hears Auntie Cha declare that she “‘didn’t take’” at the ball—in other words, she was a failure. This unequal relationship between women and men within a patriarchal system disproportionately hurts women on a societal level. Although Dolly feels alone in this harmful system, the story’s title, “‘And Women Must Weep,’” suggests that she isn’t the only one to experience such unfairness. According to these words, all women “must weep”—just as Dolly does—because they face the same suffering in a society that mistreats and undervalues them.