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.
Lauren Knight Comparative Essay - Reading Popular Fiction Female Characterisation in Popular Fiction. Female characterisation in popular fiction has been greatly scrutinised in recent years by audiences and critics alike, with some arguing that women adhere to the pre-conceived, over simplified stereotypes of the domestic subordinate; yet others insisting this typical characterisation no longer exists and that the females of this century are liberated and hold equality to men in terms of literature. ‘Essentialism’ is a feminist theory that is “…the view that there is some natural, given essence of the feminine which is universal and unchangeable” (‘Beginning Theory; An Introduction to Literacy and Cultural Theory’ by Peter Barry). This means that ultimately no matter of the age, era or culture, femininity will always have the same characteristics regardless of a female’s social status or personality. The dictionary defines femininity as “having qualities traditionally regarded as suitable for a woman,” and typical examples of these are gentle, motherly, domesticated, tender etc.
The women's part: Shakespeare's feminist leanings I'm going to start with some disclaimers about my thesis. My basic argument is that because of the influence of his female audience, patrons, and personal relationships with women, Shakespeare wrote female characters that were independent, intelligent, and strong. I will even go so far as to suggest he was a proto-feminist, since he recognized the worth of the female mind. I know there are some objections to this idea, which I will address here. As brought up by Chris Welcker in a comment to one of my previous posts, Shakespeare wasn't always respectful to women.
The stereotypical images they talk of ranges from the women been represented in literature as a shrew, a cute-like angel, a nagging wife, a mother and other representations which continually aids the subordination of women in all spheres of life. This problem of representation or otherwise misrepresentation of women has not been the sole preserve of white feminists but women all over the continent are using literature as a tool to reconstruct the image of women in literature. They believe literature reflects and informs life
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s literature is based on women’s issues. She wrote fiction mainly depicting her social ideas. In her works, she portrays women struggling to achieve personal autonomy, adapting to independence, and challenging accepted images of women. In her novel Women and Economics, Gilman argues that women need to change their identities in society in order to be equal to men and become part of the world’s evolution. In addition, her novel Herland depicts women at their true, full potential in roles equal to men.
Jill Tweedy 1932- 1993 was also an influential feminist writer. Wollstonecraft’s polemic, ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ and Tweedy’s ‘In the Name of Love’. Both these extracts show how these female writers can write from both genders; female and male. They can bring across different views and thoughts throughout their extracts. A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ is an early example of a feminist outlook; Wollstonecraft aims to define, establish and defend equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.
Case Study of Dating Integrity in Single Females Critical Thinking Research A topic I think many women don’t like to touch is Dating Integrity. The reason why I think this is because the lack of articles written in terms for just women. You can find Dating Integrity articles all day for men, but I had only found one to be creditable enough to use in my report. In this one article that I was able to find mentions that the third date is the icebreaker for important information such as STDs, personal hygiene habits, secret significant others, family backgrounds and real age. (Hannah, Selingson, 2010).
She is the author of many famous books about relationship and communication, yet her “You Just Don’t Understand” book demonstrates most significant aspects about this issue. Especially of the chapter 5: “Lecturing vs. Listening”, Tannen indicates how men and women have certain different patterns to approach and serve a conversation. Women, tired of being lecturing by men, are now striking against men to blame them as the primary cause to women’s pressure, confusion, and anxiety. On the other hand, men claim to validate their right to conduct a conversation the way they want because they think women are likely the one who talks more, are repetitive, and offer less important topics. In the end, all argues are made by both sides turn out to be true in different aspects; neither side is absolute right or wrong.
Magazines, advertisements and television create and promote stereotypical images of females. Females are represented as sex objects with nurturing, motherly instincts, only focused on beauty, house hold chores, politically and professionally inferior. Males are depicted as the bread winners, career orientated, professional, political and important. This is in stark contrast to the truths of reality, where women in both Australia and America are professionals, and do infact hold numerous powerful positions in the workforce. This shows the immense influence the media has over western cultures, and how this can influence popular understandings of females.
She uses the room as a symbol for many larger issues, such as privacy, leisure time, and financial independence, each of which is an essential component of the countless inequalities between men and women. Woolf predicts that until these inequalities are rectified, women will remain second-class citizens and their literary achievements will also be branded as such. In A Room of One's Own, a canonical text in feminism, Woolf asserts that intelligent women have been denied the expression of their talents, forced to spend their lives at menial domestic tasks. She used fictional narrators whom she called Mary Beton, Mary Seton, Mary Carmichael and Judith Shakespear as she relate how her thoughts on the lecture mingled with her daily