Brandon Lever Words: 630

Professor Haas

Hum 102/ Paper 2

Analysis of Sexism in Seneca’s Stoic Philosophy

In the letter exchanges between Lucilius, Seneca describes a life philosophy called

Stoicism, which is meant to provide a perspective on embracing hardship and allowing one’s self

to experience certain pains to grow as a person. However, because of its hyper gendered

language and associations, this way of life enables a set standard for masculinity. Seneca also

repeatedly links men to the divine, “Man is god’s disciple and true progeny, whom the glorious

parent, who insists upon virtue, educated very strictly, like a stern father,” (Seneca, 29) which

shows that not only is god a male figure but also that He interacts with the masculine more

scrupulously than the implied “other” gender of women, and also this quote dictates that the best

way for a man to be raised and educated is strictly and with a stern educator. Today, the

pervasiveness of masculinity as prescribed by Seneca affects western culture and perceptions on

both men and masculinity, which enables the toxic masculinity that many argue is the leading

cause for the more aggressive, mentally unstable nature of males in western society.

One of the principle ideologies of Stoicism is that through painful and emotionally

exhausting experiences, people are hardened and, in Seneca’s eyes, matured. On pages 30-31,

this mindset is not only described but also the gendered language can be seen once again,

“Prosperity unbruised cannot endure a single blow, but a man who has been at constant feud with

misfortune acquires a skin calloused by suffering; he yields to no evil and even if he stumbles

carries the fight on his knees.” Here, two things are achieved: 1) Men must explicitly suffer so

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that they can still fight honorably, and 2) Women are implicitly not expected to fight, ergo there

is no reason for women to experience suffering and, in turn, will not grow, mature, or be

expected to fight “honorably.”

The initial image most people would associate with the term “hero” is a stoic, muscular

man who sets forth on some quest, typically in vocation by the Gods, who experiences pain and

suffering which leads to personal development. This can be attributed to most people’s

experience of a hero influenced by the numerous renditions of ancient Greek epics that have

influenced most heroic literature in circulation today. Here, the influence of Stoicism is clearly

seen, with the main character being a man who is in contact/ being influenced by the Gods.

Feminine forces are typically the ones that invoke the dangers and hardship these men must

endure, and Seneca uses the example of “We Must offer ourselves to Fortune so that we may be

inured against her peers…” (Seneca, 39) where it is seen that he only uses female pronouns with

these cruel forces.

Men being not only expected but encouraged to experience pain while also having their

main support system, whether it be parents or teachers or God, treat them sternly leads to the

repression of emotions and experiences thought to be “feminine.” A “feminine” experience is

one that doesn’t not involve the hardening of the mind, and because of this anything that doesn’t

involve pain or suffering or perhaps anger is thus rejected and not sought out. This mindset of

women being excluded indirectly, if not openly, tends to not be a conscious one; and because of

this makes women both the “other” in respect to men and excludes women from being directly

invited to subscribing to the stoic philosophy. This rejection of the feminine requires a lack of

emotional development in empathy and self-esteem, which also means that masculinity must be

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proved repeatedly. This is how Seneca and Stoicism enable toxic masculinity, a masculinity that

can never truly be accomplished.