Charlotte's acceptance of Mr. Collins’ proposal is a prime example; “marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want” (p105)1. Austen makes use of Charlotte's character to illustrate the social norms for women of the time. Charlotte's reaction to Collins' proposal is cleverly juxtaposed with Elizabeth's own values and more romantic views on marriage, as she is offered his proposal first; “You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world that could make you so”(p92)2. Elizabeth's concerns are predominately her overall happiness and mental wellbeing, as opposed to her anxieties about her future financial security. These oppositions of values offer the reader a chance to balance their own views on the sanctity of marriage.
Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a work that criticizes the limitations, status, and ability of 19th century women as effective second-class citizens through the narration of a woman’s psychological deterioration. Through the literal and metaphorical narration carried through the work, Gilman cries for a change in gender ideologies prevalent in the late 1800s and greater female empowerment beyond the domestic sphere of society. The narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” suffers irreparable mental damage arguably because of her gender and established gender roles and ideologies in the late 19th century. It is important to note that the narrator is not a woman who is struggling to make ends meet. Rather, she is depicted as a troubled middle class woman who is in an established, acceptable marriage with a respectable physician.
The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, takes place in The Republic of Gilead where reproduction rates are declining. To counteract this, the remaining women with viable ovaries, called Handmaids, are assigned to high class households with hopes of conceiving a child. Feminism, a topic that is central to the novel, is the ideology of equality for women. However, the society in the novel is depicted as the exact opposite of feminism. By utilizing the Handmaids as a representation of the females in the Gileadean society, the author exposes the flaws of an anti-feminist society through objectification and the absence of agency.
PREPARED BY: zaty In the novel “Pride and Prejudice”by Jane Austen, she illustrates the empowerment of women in terms of being independent individuals. Besides, she highlights that women are not simply an accessory to attract men as loveless marriage is not the only key to ‘happiness’ or economic security for them. Conversely, in the movie “The Pastor’s Wife” directed by Norma Baileyexhibits the breakdown of women’s empowerment through the cruel mistreatment towards women in marriage. First, Austen portrays the feminine world through the prominent character of Elizabeth Bennet in the novel “Pride and Prejudice” who chooses to make her own life decisions. She is the second daughter of a country gentleman who risks poverty if she does not find a husband who can provide for her as her father cannot pass on his estate or the house to her.
The rationale for the study is conditioned by the fact that major linguistic researches pay great attention to the notion of discourse and the related notions. The aim of the research is to define the major functions of allusion in Lewis Caroll’s eccentric tale “Alice’s
In this essay I will be discussing the representations of Sycorax and Miranda as embodiments of alternative versions of femininity in The Tempest. I will discuss how Sycorax is a representation of a strong, independent and feared woman, whose power and ugliness makes her an outcast to Elizabethan society and how it portrays its women, in that woman were seen as objects to possess and control, and I will also discuss how in contrast, Miranda is seen as an ideal woman of her time, through her beauty, obedience to her father, thus submissive to mans rule and through her naivety. Using the passage in The Tempest where Prospero reminds Ariel about Sycorax, we get an impression about Sycorax, who she is and how she looks to Prospero and Ariel. Prospero Describes Sycorax as a non-white, “Algiers” (1.2.261), who is an old and ugly woman whose outwards appearance seems to mirror her inner malevolence. He describes her by referring to her as a “Blue-eyed Hag”(1.2.269) which is seen supposedly as a mark of imperfection on a woman as at that time the eyes of beauty were most frequently seen as grey or brown, thus symbolically describing Sycorax herself as being an imperfection to society.
The evil that I felt was portrayed in Charlotte Temple is not the independence Charlotte wants, but the realization that she can’t get her independence happily without the financial and emotional assistance that others can give her. She even admits her confinement to being reliant on others after the letter from her parents. She says, “I will not wound the hearts of those dear parents who make my happiness the whole study of their lives…"(Rowson 46). This evil element of trying to discover her own independence taunts Charlotte throughout the text. Charlotte Temple, by Susannah Rowson was popular in the 19th Century simply because it was just that; simple.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Compare and contrast the way that Bronte characterises Jane and Helen. Consider: Language Their opinion of life and death How they respond to punishment Their relationships with adults Jane and Helen are very different in the way they act, their own meaning of life and how they feel generally. Helen believes that life is only a gate way to heaven and while alive the soul is trapped. Whereas Jane thinks that life should be lived and wants to live it to the full. Jane wishes not to be the best or the most good, only to get by without being beaten and humiliated.
women's lives are individually trivial, and their only strength and/or success can come from banding together" (1). Such assertion construes women through male social law and endorses the masculine value system. But, as illustrated in the ironically-named Trifles, where male calumny proved misfortune as the women used domestic intuition and invisibility to supersede the law in the name of justice, Susan Glaspell shows that during this time period, women held a kind of power. This “power” is delicate and one of the key themes in Trifles. Although critics disagree on how the vastly different gender perceptions within the play are used to portray the theme of women’s power within law and justice, all of their arguments tie back to the fact that the women in the story act as a surrogate for the female society of that time, showing them that they have more power than they realize.
Life Without Love or Independence? In Jane Eyre and Hard Times, women are portrayed in a negative light throughout their respected novels; females are represented as being second class citizens to their male counterparts, and are unable to have a thought of their own. The traditional views of Victorian era gender roles are both enforced through the outside portrayal of the women that do not fit the mold of the ideal Victorian women yet is also subverted by the feelings the women feel when they left their bonds, or the consequences of living in the suffering of the gender misogamy they endure over their lifestyle. By expressing the men through traditional Victorian masculine characteristics such as being powerful and dominant to their meek and loyal female counterparts, the novels establish early on the barrier that the protagonists struggle with merely being female. In the novels, women are treated like second class citizens when compared to men and are expected to be content with this Victorian idea of patriarchal domination.