Womens portraits through marxist feminist theories in the novel master of the game by sidney sheldon

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING
COUNTRIES

GRADUATION PAPER

WOMEN'S PORTRAITS THROUGH MARXIST
FEMINIST THEORIES IN THE NOVEL MASTER OF
THE GAME BY SIDNEY SHELDON

Supervisor: Dương Lê Đức Minh (M.A)
Student: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng
Course: QH2017.F1.E6

HÀ NỘI – 2021


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA NGƠN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HĨA CÁC NƯỚC NĨI TIẾNG ANH

KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

HÌNH TƯỢNG NGƯỜI PHỤ NỮ QUA CÁC HỌC
THUYẾT NỮ QUYỀN MARXIST TRONG TIỂU
THUYẾT NGƯỜI ĐÀN BÀ QUỶ QUYỆT CỦA
SIDNEY SHELDON

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: ThS. Dương Lê Đức Minh
Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng

Khóa: QH2017.F1.E6

HÀ NỘI – 2021


I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng, QH2017.F1.E6, being a candidate for
the degree of Bachelor of Arts English language teacher education accept the
requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s
Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.
Signature

Date

Signature of Approval:


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Initially, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, M.A.
Duong Le Duc Minh, for your invaluable support during my study. I was really
worried about whether I followed the wrong direction until you reassured me that
“there is no right or wrong path, just choose your own way.” It is wholeheartedly
appreciated that your great advice for my work proved monumental towards the
success of this dissertation. Without your persistent help, I would never have had
the courage to finish my thesis.
I would like to thank the Faculty of Linguistics & Cultures of EnglishSpeaking Countries and all of my lecturers who grant me opportunities and great
advice so that I could maintain my work. Without your support, this study could not

have reached its goal.
I wish to show my appreciation to my coworker, Mrs. Trang, who inspires
me with this paper. Since I did not know where to start, Mrs. Trang suggested
several topics, which evoked in me various ideas to research.
I would like to thank my mentor from my exchange at Srinakharinwirot
university, M.A Nguyen Thi Loan Phuc, for her valuable guidance and suggestions
throughout my studies. She provided stimulating discussions as well as useful
solutions for some of my problems.
I also want to offer my special thanks to my friends who accompany me
during four years of study, especially Tam and Minh Anh, who are of great
motivations to me in this dissertation. Minh Anh has helped me find my true passion
and pursue it until the end. Special regards to Tam, ignoring the length and
complexity of the essay, she is willing to read it from the unfinished one to a
complete thesis so that she could give me some recommendations.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the support and great love of my family who
nurtures my passion for literature. They exposed me to progressive thoughts and
allowed me to freely pursue my happiness. They usually comfort me and encourage
me with kind words when I am stuck. They kept me going on, and this thesis would
not have been possible without their input.
i


ABSTRACT
For centuries, feminism struggling for equality and against oppression has
achieved accomplishes and reinforced women’s position. However, with the
domination of capitalism and the rise of production leading to increasing labor
demand, women are exploited not only by men but also by capitalism, as indicated
by Marxist feminism. In this context, the novel Master of the game by Sheldon
illuminates various perspectives of Marxist feminists; however, the work has not
been analyzed by many scholars. To fill in the research gap, this thesis applies

textual analysis method to demonstrate Sheldon’s depiction of Marxist feminism.
Commencing with the women’s position, the novel asserts the inferior position of
women in capitalism as sex-affective production, which is the main culprit of
women’s sufferings. To challenge the sexual division of labor, favorable conditions
regarding family background, ideology, and men’s assistance are granted to women
so that they could reach the superior position as dominant employers in the novel.
Those beneficial conditions are claimed by Marxist feminism to restore gender
equality, but they are solely the privileges of white bourgeois women. By ignoring
women of color and women of the proletariat, the novel criticizes Marxist feminism
for the lack of race and class as intertwined gender inequalities structures. The novel
also infers a men's conspiracy that men advocate women's emancipation by placing
them in an equal position with men but let them suffer tragic ends to keep women
under control. Finally, the novel affirms the importance of women with the
appropriate awareness of their role in society to fight for self-liberation from men
and capitalism.

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. ii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1. The irreplaceable position of Marxist feminism in the current context ......... 1
2. Addressing Marxist feminism in Master of the game by Sidney Sheldon..... 3
CHAPTER II: THE WOMEN’S ROLE IN SOCIETY AND PRODUCTION ....... 7
1. Inferior position: Sex-affective production .................................................... 7
2. Superior position: capitalist employer ......................................................... 20
CHAPTER III: A CRITIQUE OF MARXIST FEMINISM: TOWARDS AN
EGALITARIAN SOCIETY ................................................................................... 33

1. The privileges of white bourgeois women ................................................... 33
2. The unhappy endings for women ahead of their time .................................. 38
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 42
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 45

iii


CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.

The irreplaceable position of Marxist feminism in the current context
When it comes to the gender equality movement, feminism is considered the

principal focus of public debate. Currently, there are numerous expressions of
feminism. Lewis (2019) states that “Feminism is a complex set of ideologies and
theories that at its core seeks to achieve equal social, political, and economic rights
for women and men”. To put it differently, feminism includes beliefs, ideas, and
movements that endorse the women's revolution against oppression and inequality.
This definition encompasses the dominance of men over women as a cause of
women's sufferings. In the book The Second Sex (1956), Beauvoir defines a woman
not in herself but relative to a man. Accordingly, while men are superior, women
are subordinate, and they suffer from a wide range of inequality. Besides the
definitions explaining feminism relating to society, “there are many statements
within the constellation of feminist ideals, groups, and movements related to
workplace unfairness, discrimination, and oppression that result from the real
disadvantages women experience” (Lewis, 2019).
Concerning the origin of the word “feminism”, the term which covers the
modern sense of women’s freedom or emancipation first appeared during the 1870s
in France (Lewis, 2019). Along with progressive stages of human socio-economic

formations, feminism has gone through many phases of development which are
crucial to consider when constituting the definitions of feminism. At particular
stages, the nature and manifestation of feminism will be various due to the different
culprits of oppression.
Any literary works, under the distinct theoretical frameworks of feminist
studies such as Liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, or Radical Feminism, will shed
light on various complex issues that expose different aspects of women’s movement
not only in historical tension between women and men but also in capitalist
1


structure. However, analysis encompassing all feminism frameworks is futile, so the
concern should be based on a specific period of human development.
Nowadays, it is a fact that although women are included in the production
process, their positions remain so inferior that manifests in the limited jobs and
subordinating places. Never before have women played various roles as nowadays
in the sense that they are supposed not to be dutiful and willing wives or beloved
and helpful mothers, but also responsible and obedient employees. Bhattacharjee
and Tripathi (2012) claim that women are struggling with a wide range of stress
from social status and role changing that deprives them of happiness. The women’s
exploitation and oppression become more obvious and serious that requires a proper
feminism analysis framework to better the situation. Based on the current context
and meticulous research into feminism, the thesis will discuss only Marxist
feminism.
Marxist feminism is defined by Sheivari (2014) as “a set of theoretical
frameworks that have emerged out of the intersection of Marxism and Feminism”.
While “Marxism deals with a form of inequality that arises from the class dynamics
of capitalism”, “Feminism deals with another form of inequality which is the
inequality between the sexes”. (Sheivari, 2014). Marxist feminism aims to liberate
women from their oppression and exploitation within capitalism. In analyzing

feminism, there are three stages of Marxist’s attempt to deal with women's
questions.
Initially, early Marxists argue that capital and private property are the causes
of women's particular oppression and they “saw capitalism drawing all women into
the wage labor force, and saw this process destroying the sexual division of labor”
(Sargent, 1981, p. 4). As expressing in Origins of the Family, Private Property, and
the State (1884), Engels assumes that women’s emancipation could be gained
through their participation in the labor force and become economically independent

2


of men. It is clear from the first Marxist approach that women’s liberation requires
women to enter wage works and struggle against capitalism (Sargent, 1981).
The second approach lies in the differential experiences of men and women
under capitalism. Such temporary Marxists have incorporated women into an
analysis of everyday life in capitalism (Sargent, 1981). In this stage, scholars assert
that women's increased oppression is caused by their exclusion from wage work
(Sargent, 1981). Capitalism forces men to do wage work and create value, but limits
women to work at home to reproduce wage workers for the capitalist system without
any income. Women are deprived of the rights to be independent of men; as a result,
they become subordinate to men (Sargent, 1981).
The last approach has focused on housework and its relation to capital.
According to Sargent (1981), in this stage, housework is emphasized to such an
extent that they challenge women’s role in the labor market. Marxist feminists
recognize that women’s oppression originates not only from capitalists but also from
men because of the fact that women doing the housework might produce surplus
and bring benefits for capitalists and men directly. For this reason, men will resist
the liberation of women, and women must struggle with both men and capitalists to
be emancipated (Sargent, 1981).

By illuminating the effects and defects of Marxist feminism in analyzing and
solving women’s oppression, this dissertation will examine the 1982 bestselling
novel Master of the game by Sidney Sheldon through a theoretical lens of Marxist
feminism studies.
2.

Addressing Marxist feminism in Master of the game by Sidney Sheldon
In 1982, the world’s master storyteller with over 300 million books in print,

Sidney Sheldon published his sixth novel in a series about women called Master of
the game. The story debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list
and stayed there for 11 weeks. It not only received the recognition of the public but
3


also is credited as the best thriller novel and the first Sidney Sheldon title to be
picked up by Goodreads.
Sidney Sheldon chooses the setting history of the book from the end of the
19th century to the 20th century embracing a huge number of events in the world.
Those significant occasions include two world wars that redistributed the wealth
and power among countries, as well as influential feminist waves against oppression
and injustice in Western society.
The novel is a utopian story about the power and glorious victory of women
in a critical era of feminism in crisis. Before developing any in-depth claim on the
novel, this study will briefly include an overview of the novel through the plots and
main characters that are relevant to the theoretical analysis of the novel.
The story begins with the flashback of 90-year-old Kate Blackwell, an
immensely powerful woman who is a matriarch of the Blackwell family and head
of multinational conglomerates. Kate was born in an affluent family whose parents
are successful entrepreneurs. After the death of her father and her older brother, she

is raised by her mother and always dreams of possessing ultimate power. Kate grows
up with different perspectives and actions from other ordinary girls and she ends up
being a master who dominates both men and capitalism. Kate represents a strongwilled female coming from a privileged class and race, who struggles and thrives in
a capitalist society.
The first woman appearing vividly in Kate’s memory is Margaret, Kate’s
mother. Margaret used to be a submissive daughter of a deceitful merchant who
deceives every poor diamond digger for treasure including Margaret’s future
husband, Jamie. Because of the man’s evil, Margaret becomes the most pitiful
victim in the story under the oppressions of both men and capitalism. After various
struggles, Margaret develops into an independent woman and protects her child in

4


the best condition. Margaret is a convincing demonstration of the women’s
sufferings in a capitalist society.
The next character in Kate’s story is Marianne, the wife of her son. Kate
considers Marianne a commercial tool to expand her conglomerate as well as a
child-bearing sex-machine so that she could control both her son and the thrive of
her company. Marianne coming into sight seems to fulfill the sole task of
maintaining the lineage of the bourgeoisie, so she dies shortly after the birth of the
twins. She is also a pitiful victim in bourgeois families.
The more prominent girl in the twins is Eve, who is extremely ambitious and
jealous. This cunning woman has always harmed her younger sister since childhood
because she does not want to share anything with other people, even if they are her
family members. Eve desires to hold power to dominate both men and capitalism
like her grandmother, so she dares to do everything. Finally, she is severely
punished and imprisoned by a man. Together with her grandmother, Eve is an
illustration of other perspectives regarding the role of women in capitalist society.
At the end of the story, the 90-year-old Kate exerts herself to manage the

company with "no intention of letting outsiders take over it”. The familiar ghosts in
the castle remind her of all her life from struggling between life and death to winning
the first place. Those deceased loved ones in the family also invite her to rest in
peace and put down all burdens. However, Kate denies all those invitations to devote
herself to the conglomerate representing capitalism. The ending of the novel evokes
readers’ commiseration to this woman’s stubbornness.
As Marxist feminism supposes that the sexual division of labor in capitalism
is the main culprit of women’s adversities, some feminists might assume that
women could be emancipated from the oppressions of men and capitalism if they
were granted favorable conditions that assisted them to attain superior positions like
men. The assumption includes the main concerns of Marxist feminists in clarifying
5


women's positions in production (Marx & Engels, 1848) and women's selfawareness in feminist movements (Hartmann, 1981). To tackle the argument,
Sheldon depicts a holistic picture of the positions of women in capitalism, in which
females play both realistic inferior roles and imaginary superior roles.
Having briefly summarized its plot, this study will examine the novel Master
of the game by Sidney Sheldon within a theoretical framework of Marxist feminism.
Chapter two will mainly indicate women’s positions in society and production in
both real lives as described by Marx and Engels (1848) and imagination followed
Young’s path (1981). As for the third chapter, the focus will be on the lack of race
and class as intertwined inequity structures illustrated by Colley (2015) and Bannerji
(1995), as well as another aspect of women’s revolution towards an egalitarian
society in literature.
This dissertation serves as an interpretation of the novel for other readers and
researchers to further analyze Marxist feminism. In addition, it provides a critical
assessment of the inadequacy of Marxist feminism relating to racism and class
discrimination. Finally, this work validates the constructive role of literature in
shedding light on the issues that women might face approached from a variety of

perspectives.

6


CHAPTER II: THE WOMEN’S ROLE IN SOCIETY AND PRODUCTION
1.

Inferior position: Sex-affective production
For centuries, women's inequality has become a source of controversy, which

leads numerous scholars to seek solutions to end women’s oppression. Along with
the efforts to eliminate women’s sufferings, feminists are supposed to clarify the
origin of women’s oppression. Putting ideas of women’s liberation in a central part
of revolutionary socialist theory, Marx and Engels (1848) traced women’s
inferiority back to the beginning of human society. It is indicated that although
women have been regarded as the equals of men in primitive society, the social
position of women has fallen due to the rise of class society. In The Origin of the
Family, Private Property, and the State (1884), Engels argues that the rise of class
society makes men become wealthier and more powerful than women; therefore, it
leads to the increasing inequality between men and women. Females in such a
society are imprisoned within their small families as reproducers and they are
excluded from production (Engels, 1884). Women’s oppression reaches its peak in
the late 19th century and early 20th century when the increasing demand for
production requires women to participate in the production process but still fulfill
the domestic duties.
In this time, the world had undergone a huge range of major changes: two
world wars redistributed the power within the existing order, the world economy
switched from free-market capitalism to monopoly capitalism or imperialism
(Rosenberg, 2019). This regime marks an extension in the workers’ exploitation of

capitalists so that they could generate the maximum sources of profit. That workingclass people suffered from various hard works and long working days but
uncompensated labor and poor standard of living drove them to struggle against
capitalism as explained by Marx’s theory (Marx, 1867). Among the oppressed
laborers, women were inevitably the most vulnerable as they were exploited by not
7


only capitalism but also patriarchy. Thus, a large number of women’s movements
commenced.
There is a consensus that feminist revolutions vary in period. According to
Slade (2008), the feminist theory could be classified into different types according
to the root of women’s oppression. She lists three main perspectives which are
liberal feminists, radical feminists, and Marxist feminists. While liberal feminists
concern economic and political systems, radical feminists analyze patriarchy and
the control of women by men as the key oppressive system, and Marxist feminists
believe that capitalism was the main culprit of women’s oppression. As for the
importance of illuminating the women’s situation, Marxist feminism will analyze
manifestations of women’s oppression in capitalism.
The manifestations of women’s sufferings are vividly represented in
Manifesto of the Communist Party written by Marx and Engels (1848). According
to Marx and Engels, women under capitalism are treated as mere instruments of
productions. And because instruments of productions are to be exploited, women
should share the same features and accept their inferior position in society (Marx &
Engels, 1848). Based on the claim of Marx and Engels about the women’s role in
capitalism, many other feminists expand the concept of oppression and define
women’s role as sex-affective productions which are bearing and rearing infants,
providing affection, nurturance, and sexual satisfaction (Sargent, 1981).
In agreement with Marxist feminism, Sheldon portrays women’s role in the
most intense period of capitalism. Those years marked the transformation of the
world when the poor had to leave their countries to pursue the dream of being rich

in faraway and dangerous South Africa. Through the brief description of Sidney
Sheldon about Jamie’s family, readers can imagine two women in his family who
are his mother and older sister. These women are supposed to complete all the daily
household chores as well as work hard to maintain the family’s lives.
8


Jamie adored his sister. She was older than him. Twenty-four, and she looked
forty. She had never owned a beautiful thing in her life. I'll change that, Jamie
promised himself. His mother silently picked up the platter that held the
remains of the steaming haggis and walked over to the iron sink (p. 4).
Jamie's mother and sister are austere women, who spend all their time working to
sustain their harsh lives. The hardship of life deprives the older sister of her
happiness and makes her appearance look twice older than her real age. In addition,
not only do they endure material hardship but they also have no right to speak up in
their family. Those women seem to be invisible people, silently completing their
day-to-day tasks without any complaint.
In that society, male and female workers are divided based on the differences
in biology, history, and society (Junankar, 2008). The division of roles between men
and women originated from primitive societies in which females belonged to
households, child-rearing, and other domestic duties. In some ancient cultures,
women were considered as property which was similar to “object” or “the sex” in
the 20th century. Beauvoir demonstrates in her book The Second Sex (1949) that
women are oppressed and attached to female’s works such as doing household
chores, satisfying their husbands, and bearing children. Beauvoir (1949) also states
that “man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him” and “She is defined
and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her” (p. xvi).
It seems that women’s power and the rights to be recognized as human beings also
belonged to men. Beauvoir reaffirms the analysis of Marx and Engels (1848) about
women’s position as the instruments of productions. To put it in perspective, women

are considered objects owned by men, so men possess the ultimate power to make
the determination of women’s lives and identifications.
That men are “subjects” and women are “objects” is also reflected in the
ownership of the father with his daughter. Sidney Sheldon is sensible to initiate a
single-dad family of the Van der Merwe so that the possession is clearly shown.

9


"What about his daughter?" She had to be involved in this.
"Miss Margaret? She's frightened to death of her father. If she even looked
at a man, Van der Merwe would kill them both." (p. 30)
The Van der Merwe has two people: the father Van der Merwe and the daughter
Margaret. They come from Holland and live in Cape Town (South Africa) now. Mr.
Van der Merwe is a patriarchal man who strictly controls his daughter. Margaret’s
responsibility is just staying at home obediently, doing household chores, and saving
her father’s face. Although Van der Merwe has sex with many prostitutes and he
also rapes his slavers to satisfy sexual desire, he prohibits his daughter from
interacting with men and seeking love. Along with other men in the village, Mr.
Van der Merwe assumes that it is crucial for a woman to keep her virginity and take
it as a sign of loyalty to God. The mindset of men these days are depicted by Sargent
(1981):
Early attempts to confront sexism were met with derisive sexual namecalling: "bitch, lesbian, castrator." Early attempts to speak about sexism at
meetings or demonstrations were turned into circuses by men catcalling,
whistling, and shouting for women to get off the stage and "have a good
fuck." Early attempts to write about sexist behavior were written
anonymously by women and ignored by men (pp. 12, 13).
The submissive Margaret is not only his treasure and pride but also his fatal
weakness, of which his enemy will take advantage to defeat this man later. As Van
der Merwe only considers his daughter an object to satisfy his honor and adoration,

he brutally slaps her, insults her with the worst words, and drives her away when he
knows that his daughter lost virginity with a man before marriage and has a baby.
Salomon van der Merwe turned on his daughter, in the throes of terrible rage.
"You whore!" he screamed. "Whore! Get out! Get out of here!" Margaret
stood stock-still, unable to grasp the meaning of the awful thing that was
happening. Ian blamed her for something her father had done. Ian thought
she was part of something bad. Who was Jamie McGregor? Who—? "Go!"
Van der Merwe hit her hard across the face. "I never want to see you again
as long as I live." (p. 58)
10


In Margaret's most tragic situation because of her lover's treachery, she is not only
suffered from social condemnation and ridicule but also abandoned by her father.
Apparently, Margaret receives harsh punishment due to her father's cruelty;
however, instead of repenting and protecting his daughter, he only feels humiliated.
He uses the harshest and most insulting words to vent his anger on his daughter with
a bitter tone like he was the victim. Anger and humiliation blur his eyes, he does not
concern about the reasons or the culprit of his daughter's suffering, the only thing
he notices is that his daughter has broken the rules and norms attached to women
for a long time; as a result, she deserves to be called "a whore" with all the contempt
of human beings. Mr. Van der Merwe cut ties with his daughter as if he just threw
an expired and worthless object. Then, the humiliation and shame exhaust him to
death.
Margaret is probably the most pitiful victim in the story under the oppression
of capitalism. Not only is she treated as an object for men to satisfy their ambition,
but she is also despised and denied when applying for a job. In the end, she decides
to work as a maid for prostitutes in a brothel to feed herself and her child when her
father and her lover turn their back on her. This is quite similar to what is mentioned
about the bottom position of women in a capitalist society by Marxist feminists.

Marx and Engels (1848) assert that women in this society are treated as mere
instruments of productions, so they not only have to accept inferior jobs but also
suffer from the exploitation of capitalists. To earn her living, Margaret accepts to
work as an inferior maid; however, the only place to tolerate Margaret is a brothel
in which prostitutes are living. These prostitutes may be treated similarly to
Margaret, so they sympathize and approve of her. Anyway, they acknowledge that
pregnant Margaret and they are not the same because although she has a baby before
marriage, she truly loves a man and dares to sacrifice for love, which makes those
prostitutes respect her. Additionally, the obvious manifestation of sex-affective
production is best reflected through the time she gives birth to a son of Jamie.
11


Sargent (1981) states that “Sex-affective production, they argue, cannot be
considered less important than other forms of labor” (p. 26); therefore, although
women have a less important role in the production, they are still a crucial workforce
thanks to sex-affective production.
Engels in the book The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State
(1884) claims the inferior position of women in production, but he asserts the
necessity of them in prolonging private property. Women in bourgeois families are
supposed to satisfy their husbands or their masters and procreate heirs who would
maintain and increase the family’s property (Engels, 1884). In the story, Margaret
has no role in production; however, she plays an undeniable important position
which is giving birth to the McGregor.
It can be inferred that the culprit of women’s suffering is not only men but also
women themselves. In the case of Margaret, she is willing to love and sacrifice
everything for Jamie despite the objection and devotion to her father. Because of
her true love for that man, she is convinced that he loves her, too. The moment she
gives birth, her expectation becomes increasingly strengthened as if the baby is a
reward for her efforts.

As stated by Brown (1981), if it had been in the early 19th century, men would
have had ''paramount” and ''natural'' rights to custody of their children; mothers were
entitled to reverence but no rights. With the development of society, child custody
has become a burden and men are no longer willing to take these rights. It is said
that divorce became easier as children changed from a valuable family asset to a
costly family liability, and legal custody of children shifted from father-right to
mother-obligation (Brown, 1981).
Public patriarchy benefits individual men in enabling them to shift the
financial and labor burden of their children onto the mothers, while retaining
access to women's services through the formal organizations, both
governmental and industrial, of capitalist patriarchy. This explanation also
12


accounts for the increase in illegitimacy, caused by men not marrying the
women who bear their babies (Brown, 1981, p. 259).
This is the reason why Jamie is easy to escape from the child custody responsibility
and to put all the burdens on Margaret. As a result, this woman not only has the sole
care of the child but also the sole financial burden. With hostility and satisfaction in
beating the enemy, Jamie is completely delighted and forgets his cruelty to an
innocent woman. He might have forgotten Margaret, let alone his son until Margaret
lets him interact with the baby and arouses his paternal love as well as a great desire
for someone to share the enormous wealth he is holding with. It is natural that “the
desire for having a son to carry the family's name is one of patriarchy's ways of
giving immortality to the great .... great grandfather whose name was immortalized
through the generations of his male descendants.” (Al-Hibri, 1981, p. 169).
Paradoxically, Jamie needs a son, but not a wife:
"I want you to talk to Miss van der Merwe. Tell her I'm offering her twenty
thousand pounds. She'll know what I want in exchange." Jamie wrote out a
check. He had long ago learned the lure of money in hand. "Give this to her."

"Right, sir." And David Blackwell was gone. He returned fifteen minutes
later and handed the check back to his employer. It had been torn in half.
Jamie could feel his face getting red. 'Thank you, David. That will be all" So
Margaret was holding out for more money. Very well. He would give it to
her. But this time he would handle it himself. (p. 75)
It is an insult to Margaret that Jamie wants to buy their son; therefore, she detests
him and decides to leave Cape Town for America. The decision of Margaret reflects
her recognition of four key areas to emancipate herself which are demands for
publicly supported childcare and reproductive rights; demands for sexual freedom;
feminist controlled cultural and ideological production; and the establishment of
mutual aid: economic support systems for women as demonstrated in Marxist
analysis about material reality (Ferguson & Folbre, 1981). Accordingly, women
should not be completely dependent on men in any aspect because a strong
13


relationship is built only on the foundation of equality and mutual respect. Thus, the
women who are financially autonomous and independent from men will be the
master of their lives and own a solid foundation for their relationship.
If Margaret was a completely dependent daughter as before, she might not
be brave to face changes and malevolent views about single mothers of other people.
Nonetheless, Margaret has changed dramatically. She is self-aware that she is a
sexual subject, not an object, so she has gained her sexual freedom. She has financial
autonomy and she is willing to support her child alone. To sum up, she has enough
conditions to resist and live independently which is the basic foundation of a strong
feminist movement. Her leave is the first sign of her struggle and resistance.
Wherever she went, she would be an unmarried woman with a child, an
offense to society. But she would find a way to make sure her son had his
chance at a decent life. She heard the conductor call, "All aboard!" She
looked up, and Jamie was standing there. "Collect your things," he ordered.

"You're getting off the train." He still thinks he can buy me, Margaret
thought. "How much are you offering this time?" Jamie looked down at his
son, peacefully asleep in Margaret's arms. "I'm offering you marriage." (p.
76).
Margaret’s protest by leaving with her son challenges Jamie greatly. His effort to
compensate her with money seems to offend her, which leads to her decision to
move. It is imprudent to use the materials to manipulate women when they
acknowledge their independent power. Margaret’s issue reasserts the essential
position of women as sex-affective production mentioned by Sargent (1981). While
this woman is oppressed and exploited in production, her position stays unchanged
regarding bearing and rearing heirs to the bourgeois family. To keep his son, Jamie
finally offers Margaret a marriage as a recognition of her fundamental role in raising
his child instead of merely being an instrument of vengeance.
They were married three days later in a brief, private ceremony. The only
witness was David Blackwell. During the wedding ceremony, Jamie
McGregor was filled with mixed emotions. He was a man who had grown
14


used to controlling and manipulating others, and this time it was he who had
been manipulated. He glanced at Margaret. Standing next to him, she looked
almost beautiful. He remembered her passion and abandon, but it was only a
memory, nothing more, without heat or emotion. He had used Margaret as
an instrument of vengeance, and she had produced his heir. (p. 76)
However, even though Jamie decides to grant Margaret a status, he takes advantage
of her to have the son without considering her a lover. The woman becomes a tool
of reproduction under his control. This dominance is legalized by a modest wedding,
in which the groom has no feelings for the bride except for mixed emotions of his
compromise.
Another figure presenting sex-affective production is Marianne who is the

wife of Kate’s son. Through this character, Sidney Sheldon has pointed out that a
woman’s suffering might also be rooted in another woman. Kate is the master of the
game who can conquer every situation in life. Under Kate’s domination, people all
become her puppets to maintain the family’s property, even if it is her son. It seems
that Al-Hibri's claim (1981) “Women have been characteristically less obsessed
with immortality than men.” is not a match with Kate. From the moment she was
aware of the value of money and power, she exerts herself to become the most
powerful woman (p. 169).
“She was powerless to protect her mother or herself, and it was a lesson she
was never to forget. Power. If you had power, you had food. You had
medicine. You had freedom. She saw those around her fall ill and die, and
she equated power with life. One day, Kate thought, I'll have power. No one
will be able to do this to me again.” (p. 90)
From an early age, when Kate witnessed injustice, poverty, death of people around,
she craved power so that she could own her life and avoid being oppressed. It is the
initiation of women's self-awareness about their roles in contributing to their happy
lives. When she grows up, she recognizes that the family's business could be a great
help to her ambition. Kate devotes her life to contribute to the company; as a
consequence, she considers the company part of her life. As long as the company is
15


in existence and there are descendants to inherit it, Kate will be completely
immortal. As Kate needs an heir, she has unrealistic expectations of her son, Tony,
and arranges everything in his life so that he could take over the company
effortlessly.
Nevertheless, under the protection of the admirable mother, who seems to be
the master of all the world, Tony is so stressed and even suffers from stuttering
because he always tries his best to live up to his mother's expectations.
"Tony's a sensitive boy. Stuttering is very often a physical manifestation of

frustration, an inability to cope."
[…]
"I see." He studied her. "What do you do when Tony stammers, Kate?"
"I correct him, of course."
"I would suggest that you don't. That will only make him more tense."
Kate was stung to anger. "If Tony has any psychological problems, as you
seem to think, I can assure you it's not because of his mother. I adore him.
And he's aware that I think he's the most fantastic child on earth."
And that was the core of the problem. No child could live up to that. (p. 126)
To prepare Tony to inherit the company, Kate has set strict perfect requirements for
her son, not accepting any defect from the boy. Thus, inheritance pressure makes
Tony unhappy and meaningless. Because of the notable contribution of his mother,
he feels as if he were a lucky idiot and soon recognizes a talent for painting that he
wants to pursue. Predictably, a woman who is obsessed with power like Kate will
not let her heir engage in drawing freely. She pretends to accept her son, then
secretly arranges to put an end to his artistic path.
Moreover, when Tony finds out the truth and he wants to give up all his
career, Kate plans to find a wife for her son so that she will have other heirs. Kate
is so experienced and sensible to know that Tony will be against her, she sets a
16


flawless arrangement with two target girls and lets Tony be trapped himself. Both
two girls come from wealthy and powerful families whose companies are beneficial
to Kate’s company, Kruger Brent, and she aims to merge one of them into her big
corporation. According to the secret report on the two companies, she knows that
they are not interested in selling, “which meant that if the companies were to be
acquired, it would take more than a straightforward business transaction to
accomplish it.” (p. 152), and her “kill two birds with one stone” strategy is a
commercial marriage.

Kate shows everyone that she is targeting Lucy and Wyatt Oil & Tool. She
arranges various close meetings and shows her affection to the Wyatts obviously;
meanwhile, she neglects the other family and the girl Marianne Hoffman. Kate
intentionally creates opportunities for Tony and Lucy as well as urges Tony to
connect to the girl. It is not out of expectation that Tony makes a relationship with
Marianne as a way against his mother. Finally, they come to marriage without
knowing that Marianne is Kate’s choice.
Brad took one look at Kate's face and said, "Jesus! Don't tell me you did it!"
"Tony did it," Kate smiled. "We've got the Hoffman empire in our lap."
Brad Rogers sank into a chair. "I can't believe it! I know how stubborn Tony
can be. How did you ever get him to marry Marianne Hoffman?"
"It was really very simple," Kate sighed. "I pushed him in the wrong
direction."
But she knew it was really the right direction. Marianne would be a
wonderful wife for Tony. She would dispel the darkness in him. Lucy had
had a hysterectomy. Marianne would give him a son. (p. 163)
By prudent strategy, Kate has successfully manipulated her son's life to further the
company. Her priority purpose seems to be the continuous development of the
conglomerate, so she is willing to take advantage of her son's happiness to achieve
her desire. As expected, this commercial marriage has brought Kate and Kruger17


Brent a huge number of benefits. Only six months after the wedding, the
International Technology company is absorbed into Kruger-Brent, and there is a
positive change in Tony as “Marianne filled a long-felt need in Tony”, moreover,
she is able to give him a baby.
Tragically, Kate only considers Marianne a tool to connect two conglomerates
and a child-bearing sex-machine to produce heirs. Poor Marianne has an aneurysm
which will lead to a high possibility of stroke if she is pregnant; therefore, she is
advised to adopt children from the doctor. Kate is informed about Marianne’s

condition, but she shows her sympathy to comfort her daughter-in-law that the
doctor just exaggerates and successfully persuades Marianne to have a baby without
telling Tony about his wife’s illness. As a result, Marianne gives birth to the
Blackwell with two nieces then passes away.
Marianne’s short appearance in the story seems to fulfill a sole task: bearing
children in sex-affective production. After Marianne completes the mission and
brings benefits to Kate, who is representing the ruling class in a bourgeois family,
her role is also over. Through putting the women back to sex-affective production
and neglecting their sufferings, Kate achieves her ambition to expand her influence
and wealth as well as having heirs to prolong their prosperity.
After confronting the death of his wife and learning about the truth that his
mother has always controlled him, Tony is truly broken, insane and he tries to kill
his mother.
Mr. Blackwell was standing over her, saying, 'It can't hurt you anymore,
Mother. I killed it.' And he went into the closet and started cutting her
dresses."
Dr. Harley turned to Tony. "What are you doing, Tony?"
A savage slash. "I'm helping Mother. I'm destroying the company. It killed
Marianne, you know." He continued slashing at the dresses in Kate's closet.
18


Kate was rushed to the emergency ward of a midtown private hospital owned
by Kruger-Brent, Ltd. She was given four blood transfusions during the
operation to remove the bullets. It took three male nurses to force Tony into
an ambulance, and it was only after Dr. Harley gave him an injection that
Tony was quiet. (p. 169)
Kate's exploitation not only leads to Marianne's death but also drives Tony crazy.
He shoots his mother and tries to cut all her clothes which he considers the symbol
of the company. He struggles with the company representing capitalism, which is

the cause of all tragedies in his family. After the accident, Tony is placed in the
hospital, and Kate is saved. Kate wakes up in despair and pain. After all, she thinks
that she is right and it is her son who is too weak and stupid.
Long after Dr. Harley had left, Kate lay there, refusing to accept those words.
She had loved Marianne because she made Tony happy. Everything I have
done has been for you, my son. All my dreams were for you. How could you
not know that? And he hated her so much he had tried to kill her. She was
filled with such a deep agony that she wanted to die. But she would not let
herself die. She had done what was right. They were wrong. (p. 170)
After all misfortune, Kate still insists that she is right, and she does everything for
her son. Even with poor Marianne, Kate treats her properly because she brings
benefits to Kate's family. Kate's excuses are the same as capitalist logic, which
defines persons driven solely by self-interest rather than social beings. And on the
way to fulfill capitalists' ambitions, the inferior people will be oppressed and
exploited (Edsforth, 2012). Kate's assertion illustrates that even though her son
struggles various times to request the self-management of his life, Margaret always
has strategies to control him. Thus, like Marianne, the oppression and exploitation
of her son only end when he is no longer valid.
Through these characters, Sheldon has clearly represented the women’s roles
as sex-affective production in capitalism.

19