Lanyer takes a bold step with her work as she turns societal notions about women upside down by using them in her argument about the role of women. Using irony and sarcasm in her poem, she addresses the issue of women inequality by using imagery to express women as equal to men, and sometimes even better. She asserts that Pilate ought to have listened to his wife who requested that she spared the life of Jesus. Lanyer notes that Pilate never took the advice of his wife and opted to have nothing to do with it, which was more cowardly than what the wife would have done. In today’s society, women are quick to blame men for failing to take actions in the event that things do not work out as planned.
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'Women in Literature: Lanyer Vs. Modern Stereotypes'
In her defense of women, she notes that it was the fault of man in the story of Adam and Eve, for the fall of humankind. Her defense for women insinuates that it is the nature of women to succumb to temptation, and it is the role of men to play strong and guide women. Her defense for women in the second stanza of the poem compares to today’s stereotypes of women as the society accept women to be a weaker sex who need guidance from men. The men in contemporary society are either their marriage partners or world leaders who show the way forward on sensitive issues.
Ironically, Lanyer does not accept that women are weaker and men are stronger. She fails to see why women would put up with the guilt of being responsible for the fall of humankind. Lanyer asserts that men are easily persuaded by women, which is also witnessed in the world today. It is believed that men are lured into doing certain things through women.
