In 1950s America, women were trapped in suffocating gender roles. It was a retroactive decade in feminist history to the power women had in the workforce in the 1940s and the subsequent progression in the 1960s. Homebound and pressured by high standards of beauty, women found themselves cornered, bored and desperate. Because the public did not appreciate the female voice, women needed a powerful male member of society to speak for them. John Steinbeck did not accept this challenge. With his influence and popularity, he could have done women a great service by championing them by using his incredibly popular novels as a medium. Instead, in East of Eden, Steinbeck shies away from the idea of ​​revolution and only succeeds in creating female characters who are underdeveloped, unsympathetic and weak. Liza Hamilton is the most prominent example of such a character. Without being examined, she may appear to be a strong and powerful woman. Liza runs a strict household; she expects respect from her husband and children, believes the Bible literally and does not tolerate drinking. However, as the novel progresses, each of her expectations, which are really just Steinbeck's feeble attempt to define character traits, are unfulfilled, thus making her a weak character. Through Liza's characterization, it is clear that East of Eden is not a feminist text. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay At the beginning of the novel, Samuel shows disrespect for his wife. When she returns home late from dinner at Adam Trask's ranch the following morning, Liza is clearly upset. He moves “like a caged leopard” (Steinbeck 177) as he prepares breakfast. Despite knowing he made a mistake, Sam enters the kitchen announcing only, "I'm late, Mom" ​​(178). He offers no excuses. Furthermore, he kisses Liza and asks for her blessing. His actions show a refusal to take responsibility and a blatant disregard for his wife's feelings. A man who truly respected his wife's feelings would have apologized or at least given her space, knowing that she would most likely not be in the mood to serve him breakfast. Then, surprisingly, he not only obeys, but does so “automatically” (178). His obedience to Samuel, if already an act of submission, is made even weaker by the fact that he does it without thinking. This portrays Liza as a flat and weak woman, powerless against her husband and lacking in cognitive abilities. As if the previous example wasn't enough evidence of inequality in Sam and Liza's marriage, Sam once again demonstrates how little he respects his wife in a conversation with Adam about Cathy: “What does Eve say about that? He has a say, remember that. And Eves delight in apples." "Not this one." Adam's eyes shone. "You don't know this Eve. She will celebrate my choice. I don't think anyone can know her goodness." "You are a rarity. At this moment I cannot remember a greater gift." (167) At first, readers might be led to think that Samuel values ​​women and their opinions, or more specifically Liza and his, when he states that “She has a say” (167). Yet, as the conversation continues, he immediately contradicts himself. When Sam says that Adam has a rarity and a gift, it means that he is lucky to have a wife who has no opinions, who does not contradict her husband, who remains submissive and subordinate. Through Samuel's lack of respect for his wife's free will, Steinbeck paints a weak and unflattering picture of Liza, thus furthering the non-feminist theme of East of Eden.Liza praises her favorite and youngest son, Joe, and wishes him only the best. She even sent him, and only him among her nine children, to college, a rare and prized opportunity at the time. Therefore, one could logically deduce that Joe would like to do everything he can to please his mother in return. However, due to Liza's weak character, she is manipulated and disrespected by her children, just as she is by her husband. When Samuel asks if he can take Joe with him to help him work on Adam's farm, Liza immediately and vehemently disagrees. Instead of respecting his wife's wishes, Sam and his sons Joe and Tom devise a way to manipulate Liza. Sam pretends to be against Joe coming with him by saying “I'm sure you would if you could come. But I'm against it. And when you talk to your mother about it, I'll thank you if you let it slip that I'm against it. You might also add that I rejected you” (181). Here Samuel indicates that if Joe lies to his mother and tells her that his father is against his coming, she will change her mind. At this, “Joe smiled and Tom laughed out loud” (181). Her children's joviality in lying to their mother shows their lack of respect towards her. Naturally, Sam's plot works and Joe is able to help his father on the Trask farm. The manipulation of Liza and her husband and children's carefree nature into doing so shows the lack of respect Sam and the children have for Liza, thus once again highlighting her weak nature. The lack of respect that Liza's children have for her continues throughout the rest of the novel. As Sam and Liza grow up, their children decide it's time for their parents to visit the country and visit their homes before they die. This creates a lot of tension in the family as the Hamilton children learn of their parents' attachment to the ranch. Yet in 4 pages of discussion, there is only a brief mention of Liza when Will says "It's time for Daddy and Mommy to see something of the world" (284). Only the fact that the one time their mother grew up with their father almost completely discredits the mention of her. The children say that he “could have a happy life” and that a trip would “refresh him” (284), but none of them talk about Liza's desires. It is never discussed whether Liza would be content to stay on the ranch for the rest of her life or would eagerly travel to visit her children. Because Liza is a woman, her opinions, even regarding her own future, are seen as irrelevant. His own children do not respect his wishes or bother to take them into consideration. Or, even worse, because Liza is a woman, the Hamilton children simply assume that she will be submissive and obediently follow her husband wherever he decides to go, regardless of his desires. In any case, Liza's blatant ignorance of her wishes for her future furthers Steinbeck's weak and non-feminist development of her. One of the first traits we learn about Liza is her dedication to the Bible. Devoutly religious, Liza believes the Bible word for word and ignores all contradictions. Unlike most people who study the Bible regularly, Liza doesn't like to find meaning in it, “she just reads it” (42). In fact, he doesn't read anything else. «In that one book he had his history and his poetry, his knowledge of peoples and things, his ethics, his morals and his salvation» (42). Intellectually, her husband couldn't be more against it. Samuel is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful man. He has a “knowledge of things that cannot be eaten, worn, or lived with” unlike the common people of the Salinas Valley, an “interest in poetry,” and a “respect for good writing” (42). In short: "If Samuel had been a.