Here Lysistrata explains her reasons for the sex revolt, pointing out that it would resolve the war. Through this, Lysistrata shows her cleverness and intelligence, as she is able to come up with an effective way to stop the war; an idea which is eventually successful at the end of the play. This further emphasized by the meaning of her name Lysistrata, as it means ‘giver of freedom” Secondly the uniqueness of Lysistrata is another reason in my opinion why the success of the play depends on her characterization. Lysistrata is presented as a contradiction from the stereotypical way in which the women are perceived in the time this play was written. This is because she comes across as more than just the regular child bearing machine and also because she does not possess the regular feminine and domestic characteristic women are expected to have.
The Second Sex: Mythologies and Contradictions, “What is a Woman”? Racel Robles Phiolosophy 327 Professor Conway Woman, Wife, Mother, Lover, Slut, Bitch…is this what a women is, what she is defined to? In andocentric society, women have been place in many lights, from the “good mother” to the “treacherous whore”. In The Second Sex, Beauvoir breaks down the construction of myths created by men in society to establish patriarchal “supremacy” over women. Such myths, Beauvoir explains, are derived trough literature and Social beliefs.
Both women are contrasting representations of Hedda. From the opening of the play her [Hedda’s] relationship with Aunt Julie is a strained one. Hedda views Aunt Julie as a symbol of what she herself loathes and could at the same time could quite easily become. Aunt Julie epitomises the idea of the domestic, dutiful woman with no true purpose of her own. She instead finds her purpose through the lives of the male characters and the arguably mediocre success that Tessman has had.
Luce Irigaray takes an essentialist approach to feminism, and uses this essay to discuss ways to address feminist concerns and advance feminist ideals in a male-centered, male-driven society . This essay was challenging to understand (perhaps because, like some of the things we read from Lacan, it has been translated from the French). Its goal is to help women understand how to initiate discourse about gender appropriately and effectively, for only then can society’s construct of a “feminine” ideal be revealed as the inferior, artificial product it is. In discussing how women can begin to establish a voice for themselves, to break through the barriers of a hostile, masculine-oriented construct, she says: “There is, in an initial phase, perhaps only one “path,” the one historically assigned to the feminine: that of mimicry. One must assume the feminine role deliberately.
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.
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.
One of the main points that Wollstonecraft touches upon in A Vindication of the Rights of Women is the issue regarding women and education. I believe this to be one of Wollstonecraft’s strongest points in the book. According to Wollstonecraft, individual education is extremely important and women should be allowed to pursue an education equal to that of men. This statement is extremely important because during the 18th century, many people believed that women were incapable of rational thought. Wollstonecraft states that education for women "will slowly sharpen the senses, form the temper, regulate the passions as they begin to ferment, and set the understanding to work before the body arrives at maturity; so that the man may only have to proceed, not to begin, the important task of learning to think and reason."
Introduction – Representation of Woman in Othello William Shakespeare presents the three main female characters in the play Othello in many different ways. The social context is a key element and I will see how it is reflected in the other characters descriptions of the three females, reflected in their actions and finally in the language used by them. Shakespeare portrayal of the subversive nature of the three female characters in the play Othello is also another important factor. The three female characters I am referring to are, Desdemona – the young, innocent and protected daughter of Brabantio who is kept away from life’s realities but ends up marrying a black man, Othello, which was so serious at the time it was on par with such things as cannibalism. Then there is Emilia – Desdemona’s loyal best friend who becomes a victim of her husband, Iago’s lies.
The importance of women in Othello If you would be asked who the most important characters in Othello are, you would probably say Othello and Iago, or at least two male characters in the play. But are the male characters really the most important ones? Or do the females play roles just as, or even more important than the roles of the males? Despite the lack of freedom and the position women were in at the time, did the women in Othello play significant roles? In order to find out how important the roles of characters in Othello are, we can look at the who the female characters in Othello are.
The character of the river god is displayed, as often in dramatic monologues, far more prominently than the persona perhaps realizes. Initially the river god is portrayed as an isolated, lonely figure that inhabits his own world with its own “rules”. These rules seem to have no resemblance to those of the human world – he punishes at will those who “bathe close to the weir”, for instance. We are unsettled by his complete lack of remorse. He appears to need to display his power and ownership of his domain as well as a rather seedy, disreputable attitude toward women.