Читать книгу Artemis - Jean Shinoda Bolen - Страница 29

In marked contrast to the rejection and rage of Arcadia's king at Atalanta's birth, Meleager's birth is greeted with jubilation and celebration by all. In fact, Meleager's first accomplishment is to be born a boy. But the expectations placed upon Meleager from the moment of his birth also have consequences. As a first-born son with good lineage, position, and wealth, he enters a world of privilege and is expected to carry on the family tradition.

Assumptions about who a newborn will grow up to be are made by parents, extended family, religions, social classes, and cultures. These assumptions can be changed or challenged if there is social mobility, universal education, and democracy in the historical time and place in which the child is born. Most people in the world today do not have the opportunity to make their own choices based on their innate predispositions or talents, or for love of what they do, or love for a particular person. And while this is especially true for daughters raised in places and families where patriarchal and fundamentalist religious attitudes limit them, it also has an effect on sons that often is not appreciated. Boys may be greatly valued over daughters, they may be more likely to be educated and have more social freedom, yet they too must conform to societal norms. Physical punishment or shame enforces acceptable behavior in boys as well as girls.