Kyle Sheehan

FYS 100 – Section 50 Social Utopias

Dr. Watts

November 20, 2015

Question: As Flora describes the women of Lima and the camp followers in their different environments, what makes the two groups of women superior to their male counterparts?

Despite their drastically different lifestyles, the women of Lima and the camp followers share one prominent characteristic. Both, Flora would argue, are superior to the men in their respective societies.  However, it is what makes them superior to the men of their society that even more so differentiates them. The camp followers are described as help or servants that directly adhere to the needs and wants of the camp soldiers. Despite their role as servants, Flora still contends that the followers are still superior to the men (Flora p16). This is due to their tremendous courage in facing adversity in their lives. The woman of Lima on the other hand, live a life of leisure and freedom. They retreat into their sayas and are given full and total liberation from the outside world. The women use the powers to over power and control the men through means of seduction (Flora p30). This ability to control and rule over the men gives them unquestionable superiority and can be solely attributed to the saya.

Flora mainly attributes the superiority of the camp followers over the male soldiers to the noteworthy courage of the followers. One could argue that their rank and serving role in society would greatly inhibit their ability to be called superior to the men they serve. However, Flora argues that the “Indian women embrace this life voluntarily and bear its hardships, confronting its dangers with a courage that is lacking in the men of their race” (Flora p16). They endure a life of danger and hardships, similar to if not more difficult than that of the soldiers they follow. They however, do this by their own choice and do so with courage and fortitude. Due to their ability to endure and weather this suffering, Flora states “I do not believe that one can cite a more striking proof of the superiority of women” (Flora p16).

The women of Lima live a life similar to very few. Almost any and all actions throughout the day of a Lima woman can remain hidden. This can be attributed to their unique style of dress known as a saya (Flora p27). This “costume”, as Flora calls it, covers the woman’s body almost entirely and even muffles her voice. The saya provides complete and total anonymity for the women of Lima. The woman are quick to use this to seduce and rule over their male counterparts (Flora p30). Flora argues that the women “seek only to seduce him, to rule over his sense” (Flora p30). With it the saya, the women are able to gain whatever they want from the men. Flora recounts a Lima woman seducing her own husband in the street. The woman “leads him on with the eye, flirts with him, provokes remarks, enters into a long conversation, is offered ices, fruits, cakes” (Flora p31). The woman, without disclosing her identity, is able to get multiple gifts from a male. The anonymity and liberty provided by the saya makes the Lima woman undoubtedly superior to the Lima men.

Works Cited

Tristan, Flora, and Doris H. Beik. Utopian Feminist: Her Travel Diaries and Personal Crusade. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1993.