Whether woman are perceived as weak and feeble victims, or sinister seductresses (or not included at all), writers of this genre present this gender to the audience as either of these options which makes us question how innocent are women? Or are women significantly absent and therefore not an influence at all? Popular texts which introduce these aspects in this genre include; Mary Shelley’s classic, Frankenstein; Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. It’s been argued these writers portray woman in different ways which outset onto society they’re role as a whole: Gothic literature can have an inclination towards female writers but also accumulate a patriarchal nightmare in which violence is constantly sanctioned on the female body. Mary Shelley is significant herself; being the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists; who lived in an era of women’s writing that openly condemned patriarchy.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Top Girls By Caryl Churchill both feature motherhood and marriage as one of their main themes even though the texts were set at different points in time. The Bell Jar was published in 1963 around the time of the publication of Betty Freidan’s Feminine Mystique. The Feminine Mystique stated that the ideal housewives of the 1960’s were a myth as each one of them were secretly unhappy but never spoke out about their unhappiness due to fear of not abiding by the social normality of the time. This feeling of displacement in the social norm is what Plath bases the experiences of protagonist Esther upon and what eventually drives Esther into mental instability. Motherhood and marriage is seen to be a key factor in the society of which The Bell Jar is set ,and is portrayed as one of the things that supresses female identity when Esther is asked to be “Mrs Buddy Willard” as if she is owned by Buddy and not her own person.
Throughout Bronte’s “Jane Eyre,” the superstitious presence surrounding Jane represents her transformation from an insecure young girl to a strong, independent woman. Bronte showed us her development in each stage of her life through her use of superstition displayed in the locations where she lived. Although Jane lives most of her life in the adventurous, unknown world, she is given the choice to do what is expected and live a life of honor and plainness; however, she eventually realized that she could not live a life so plain because she couldn’t live without the adventure. At the beginning of the novel, the superstitious presence in the red room shows Jane’s insecurity about herself; the room itself gives a description of her personality through the room’s appearance. As she looks around the room, she recalls that “it was in this chamber he,” her uncle, “breathed his last” (19).
A common worldwide value that Harwood rejects as the normality in life with her poems. Harwood battles against the traditions that she believes support this downgrading by continually returning to the issue. In “Home of Mercy” there is a line in the poem. Here I believe she is talking about the Magdalene Asylums. It was a place of slave labor laundries from the 18th to the late-20th centuries to house "fallen women", a term used to imply female sexual promiscuity.
Grandma Lynn is one of the more vibrant, vain and misunderstood characters within the novel, like her Daughter she portrays an air of selfishness (Relating back to her daughter leaving the family in a time of crisis) however she takes the role of the level-headed peacekeeper throughout her appearances in the Novel, from her arrival before Susie’s funeral to her departure. We also notice how she is a hardened person, unlike the rest of the family. Sebold represents her as a vain and self-conscious character, an alcoholic and above all she has a straight forward attitude. Sebold initially represents Grandma Lynn in the play as one of the more hardened characters, upon her arrival we already get an idea of the character as someone who is unaffected by personal crisis’s such as Susie’s death, even before her arrival the call between Abigail and Grandma Lynn helps to portray her hardened character, the way that she is blankly states that “She has to come because it’s Susies funeral” she doesn’t seem to show much emotion on her arrival and the way that she brings a more vibrant atmosphere into the solemn and sad house. Even on her arrival instead of confronting the issue of Susies death she orders for a “Stiff Drink”.
Feminism in Paradise of the Blind Thomas 1 The novel, Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong, depicts the life of a young Vietnamese girl seeking to find her own identity. The young girl, Hang, experiences conflict within and out of her family due to the feminism in Vietnam. The novel creates an understanding of feminism in Vietnam through the various experiences Hang had to endure throughout her lifetime. Women in the novel are seen as weak and inferior. Earlier in the life of Aunt Tam, “some man jumped” (186) on her and nearly took away her purity.
Emma Baird Dr. Meredith McCarroll English 232 25 September 2010 The Death of Edna Pontellier: A Rebellious Defeat Even from its first publication, Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening has caused controversy. While today The Awakening is praised for its feminist undertones, the piece was first criticized for its lack of representation of American values. Instead of depicting a main character that embodied the Victorian ideal of a woman fulfilling the role as an “Angel in the House” which was the norm for American women during this particular historical period, Edna was a rebellious wife and an adulteress, whose desires and yearning for independence lead her to make many radical decisions throughout the course of the novel¾ from inwardly
Topic: How race, power, and class negatively affect women’s opinions of each other. Introduction: In the story “Recitatif” we see a dynamic depiction of the struggle of two female friends who face identity crisis. The story takes the reader from childhood to adulthood from the perspective of a black girl. In the adolescent stage of the reading, we can conclude that the innocence of a child’s mind is not deterred by the adult themes of race, power, and class. As the reading progresses and innocence fades, we conclude that these themes influence the two friends to behave poorly towards each other.
In a male-dominated society, this was unheard of. Through these books, she expressed her ideas, which women came to listen to. Mary Wollstonecraft is remembered chiefly for her book “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” (1792), a polemic treatise that deemed marriage “legal prostitution” (“Mary” par 2). Mary’s book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, was a type of guide for women who were thought lowly of by their husbands or were abused. Mary was also a contributing editor and founder of the Analytical Review, a radical London newspaper (“Mary” par 2).
“The Yellow Wallpaper” “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a story that explores the advancing depression and psychosis of a woman during a time in which women had few rights and were given little respect. The overall theme of this piece is to explore the gender roles of women during the nineteenth century. The Victorian era was one of extreme restrictions on the economic status as well as the individuality and sexuality of women. Perhaps the most important aspect of this story is the author’s use of symbolism to allow the reader to draw their own conclusions about the dynamic of the main character’s relationship with her husband, as well as her mental state. One aspect of the story that is striking relates to the fact that the entire piece is