Evelyn Cunningham once said, "Women are the only oppressed group in our society who live in intimate association with their oppressors." For thousands of years women have been oppressed, not in the bondage of slavery, but in the slavery that comes from lack of education and dependence on men for their livelihood. Women were subjected to scrutiny and ostracism, derogatory and belittling comments, and were sometimes even feared by men. Women themselves have even believed that they need a man in their life to take care of them and have a fulfilling life, although some women and even some men have seen that the difference between the sexes is purely physical. This oppression, as well as the enlightenment of some, is well noted in many literary works. Literature has often been an arena for the examination of the “women's question”, as it was defined in the Victorian era. Four works that examine the role or view of women in society are The Submission of Women by John Stuart Mill, "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, and "Medusa" by Carol Ann Duffy. While each work examines an aspect of the women's issue in its own way with a variety of perspectives on the issue, all works examine the fear that women incite in men, the idea that women are dependent on men, and the idea that women are separate from men in some way and each piece serves to demonstrate that there is actually an interdependence between men and women that often goes unexpressed. Women have often been seen as separate from men based on physical differences between the sexes. Early in the women's movement in England, Mill wrote her book The Submission of Women in which she discusses the separation... between paper... and actual service. Men don't just want women's obedience, they want their feelings,” (Mill, 1063) as Mill said. The interdependent relationship that men and women have is not often conveyed, but these four works all work to demonstrate that this ignored duality exists. Works Cited Duffy, Carol A. "Medusa." The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. vol. F. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2006. 2875-876. Print.Eliot, TS "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. vol. F. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2006. 2289-293. Print.Mill, John S. “The Subjugation of Women.” The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. vol. E. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2006. 1061-070. Print.Woolfe, Virginia. A room of one's own. The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. vol. F. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2006. 2092-155. Press.