Ideal womanhood
Ideal womanhood is a subjective evaluation of idealised feminine traits in women.
The concept of the "ideal woman"
The term is applied in the context of various times and cultures, for example:- The "Four Women of Paradise" are considered ideal models of virtue in Islam. They are Khadijah, first wife of Muhammad; Fatima, daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah, and wife of Ali; Mary, mother of Jesus; and Asiya, wife of the Pharaoh and adoptive mother of Moses.
- *Some others often upheld as models of ideal womanhood include the matriarch Hagar, mother of Ishmael; Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba; and Eve.
- *For Sunni Muslims, Aisha is revered as a figure of particular importance. However, Aisha is generally viewed unfavourably by Shia Muslims.
- Sita as the ideal Hindu or Indian woman
- Penelope, wife of Odysseus in the Odyssey, described as the ideal woman of ancient Greek society, "the embodiment of chastity, generosity, cunning, and intelligence"
- The concept of the English rose, which refer to ideals of feminine beauty, manners, and temperament as they relate to concepts of Englishness or Britishness.
- Queen Victoria as the ideal Victorian era woman
- Proverbs 31 woman: "wife of noble character", as described in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, skilled in both household management and trade
- Mary, mother of Jesus as an ideal of both virgin and mother - a concept with some pervasiveness in Latin America.
- the "ideal woman" stereotype of the 1950s, described by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique as defined by "sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love"
- The concept of the Yamato nadeshiko in pre-modern Japan.
Examples
Examples of "ideal women" are portrayed in literature, for example:
- Sophie, a character in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile: or, On Education who is raised to be the perfect wife.
- Lucretia as depicted by Benjamin Britten in The Rape of Lucretia.
- Sylvia, in William Shakespeare's poem Who is Sylvia?