The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism. In the words of Catherine Besley, she mentioned that the cultural construction of subjectivity is one of the central issues for feminism (qtd. in Con Davis and Schleifer, 355). All women are feminists. However, it cannot be denied that women still experience the effects
Throughout The Odyssey, written by Homer, the treatment of women plays a key role in the overall outcome of the story and is a central issue presented in this poem. In many scenarios it is evident that men are treated with superiority to women. During the era that this story was written, men played the dominant role. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Questia states, “Despite their vital role in Ancient Greek and Roman society, women were not considered full citizens and in most instances required a guardian – their fathers, and later husbands – to represent them” (“Women in Ancient Greece and Rome”).
1. “Both ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ deal with the perennial feminist theme of the confinement of women in particular rooms, chambers, houses and roles”. Discuss. This is essay attempt to discuss the role of the women in literature, both about the protagonists and the authors of the stories. As an example two influential short stories will be discussed in depth in order to shed light into the lives of the two authors and their stories.
Atwood discusses the several genres of fiction that are available in this time and explains how this is not only a time of gender crossover but of genre crossover. By using the comparison she shows how literature has evolved as well as gender relations. In conclusion Margaret Atwood’s speech “spotty handed villainess” is a speech that explores the flaws in extreme feminism, challenges the patriarchal order and examines the intentions of literature and fiction. The speech still has relevance today as it examines gender roles and expectations in modern day
Cleopatra’s contemporaries Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro; October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC) and Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC) demonstrate this view of Cleopatra in their epic poems. Historians like Josephus, Plutarch, Appian and Dio Cassius, from the first and second century AD, portrayed Cleopatra as a strong political women/figure. Shakespeare’s influence on the story of Cleopatra was of a much more passionate and heartbreaking depiction than views of other historians. Today, Cleopatra is depicted by many films and stories as a manipulating woman, known for her beauty and love affairs and ability to seduce every great leader she encountered. However, depictions of Cleopatra are always susceptible to change, as the production by Mankiewicz in 1963 suggest.
A Woman or a Stereotype? : William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Is it possible women have taken their long fought battle for equality in positional roles in society for granted? Women have always struggled to defy men’s irrational concept of women as a figure of beauty and family. William Faulkner expertly highlights the gender roles of women in the society of “the old south”. The narrator’s identity in “A Rose for Emily” plays an active role in revealing William Faulkner’s treatment of gender roles as a display of the societal roles of women and the conventional standard of beauty.
These different opinions are present in the personalities of the women characters’ personalities and their actions. This theme is present in both pieces of literature. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Arthur Miller creates the character of Abigail Williams. His creation of Abigail Williams “reinforces stereotypes of femme fatales” (Schissel). By doing this
The feminist analysis of Roman Fever This paper takes the short story "Roman fever" as an example for the text analysis, discussing the two protagonist from a feminist point of view. Through subtle descriptions by Wharton, the story shaped the irrational female image due to jealousy in women relationships and revealed women's love life under the influence of patriarchal ideology in the western society. Moreover, this paper criticizes the hypocrisy of the upper class and calls for women's self-awakening. Key words: Edith Wharton, roman fever, feminist criticism, patriarchal consciousness, self-awakening. 1.
Despite being written during patriarchal Jacobean society, the protagonist is a female, which is was highly unusual in those days. Of course this protagonist is Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, through Lady Macbeth's actions we are forced to believe that she is evil. In contrast, the novel John Steinbeck tells a story of dreams, hopes and loneliness. We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, named Curley’s wife.
Three decades later, The Awakening became a classic of the American literature and the important context of feminist criticism because of its opinion in the ways that women are treated, the traditionally feminist concerns, the aspiration for love, artistry, etc. In The Awakening, Chopin adopts the point of view of the narrator about the thinking, actions, emotion and feeling of the main character and some minor characters. The reader can see the internal conflict of Edna between being the mother-woman and being an artist, between her family responsibility and her passion with Robert. “Chopin interjects her own voice into the narrative to tell the reader that Edna discovering her “relations as an individual to the world within and about her”” (Green). She shows what happening inside Edna’s thinking,