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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Really? How often ...
do we read about a woman deciding she's been wronged by a spouse or SO and then proceeding to grab a gun and wipe out the perceived offender and everyone else in range?
Common sense, the ability to read a newspaper, and access to the internet would seem to indicate that a man scorned is more often to likely unleash Hell's fury.
Just my opinion.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)regardless of demographic details.
you can see it in interpersonal dealings (people handle social rejection really poorly) and global dealings.
however, this particularly saying comes from this belief of women as some sort of petty vengeful creature with no higher goals/aspirations.
cali
(114,904 posts)conservaphobe
(1,284 posts)There's a lot of vindictive people out there and they come in all shapes, genders, colors and sizes.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)Warpy
(111,249 posts)everybody in the vicinity, including their own kids. Especially their own kids, how best to destroy their mother?
The couplet also included "no rage like love to hatred turn'd." While his poem was about a jilted bride, it could have applied equally to any man whose female partner had just dumped him, only such things didn't happen much in Congreve's time. Women didn't initiate divorce proceedings, disease and childbirth killed them off before they got the chance.
Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)But then I give the word "scorned" a very broad definition - like what the Republican men are doing to women and our rights. Then you are damned right - Hell hath no fury.. in other words, don't mess with us cause we will fight back - like Hell. JMHO.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)It may have made sense in the context of the times in which it was written but now, no. It's just reinforcing the uncontrolled, emotional bitch stereotype.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)Last edited Wed Jul 16, 2014, 06:56 PM - Edit history (1)
It is used to "prove" that women will lie in divorce and custody proceedings in order to take revenge against their exes.
I spent the last couple of hours reading posts and articles using the phrase and the vast majority use it to back up the authors' claims that women are liars and more irrational and vindictive than men.
CTyankee
(63,903 posts)redqueen
(115,103 posts)rocktivity
(44,576 posts)Last edited Sat Aug 29, 2020, 01:14 PM - Edit history (14)
is a line from a play by William Congreve (not William Shakespeare). First, Congreve draws a parallel between the inherent righteousness of heaven's outrage and the inherent inappropriateness of hell's. Then he goes a step further by assigning hell's fury exclusively to women!
There are, of course, women who have expressed their being scorned with guns and other forms of violence, but their numbers are dwarfed by the number of men who do the same. That's mainly because such behavior is not seen as "ladylike," as opposed to using poison, throwing acid, or revealing their partner's illegalities to the authorities. However, violence can work when the man's strength advantage is neutralized by his being asleep.
So it all comes down to gender-based stereotyping and social acceptability -- scorned men avenge ("'Vengeance is mine!', sayest the Lord"); scorned women sin. While a man's fury is wrong but "only human," a woman's is just a byproduct of her being a female canine.
rocktivity
redqueen
(115,103 posts)I don't know how anyone finds this or such sayings/terms either empowering or complimentary.
leftstreet
(36,106 posts)Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)really?