For example, in the case of rape women were once too embarrassed to report the crime to a male dominated police force that was awash with sexist beliefs about women and their position in society.

She was an orphan adopted by Mordecai; she was a minority, a Jew living in a Persian country; and she was a single woman. A single woman in a male-dominated society had zero rights.

Emma Bovary and Pan Jinlian share many similarities. Both represent the life of women who went beyond the rules of their time. They also both reflect the male-dominated society of the period.