The protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character that the audience must be able to sympathise with. This precept of tragedy epitomises the character of Lear. In Aristotle's precept of tragedy the downfall of the protagonist is caused by hamartia or 'fatal flaw'. Lear's fatal flaw is his egotism. Despite giving the 'love test' to his daughters, he says in his interaction with Cordelia, 'I loved thee most', having decided beforehand to give her 'a third more opulent than your sisters'.
They are so invested in the system of rank that it even conquers their own vanity. As Austen quotes; “Anne had never seen her father and sister before in contact with nobility, and she must acknowledge herself disappointed...[she] wish..they had more pride.” This
Lydia is incapable of seeing the shame she brings on the family through running away to be married, as shown in her letter to Harriet; “I can hardly write for laughing.” Her thoughtless attitude to marriage is highlighted here – although she is motivated by love, she hasn’t thought about the consequences of what she’s doing. This again illustrates a difference between herself and Elizabeth, who tells Lydia later that “I do not particularly like your way of getting
The governess’s adoration of the uncle after visiting him at Harley Street and her belief that he needed her reflects the governess’s naivety. Being a poor Parson’s daughter from a Hampshire vicarage, it is likely that she had never been to the city of London before; also she is described as “young, afraid and nervous”. This creates a sense of vulnerability as she lacks exposure hence the slightest of things may tend to amaze her. As prior ladies that were interviewed for the job rejected it on the basis of the condition that they would have no contact with the outside world, the governess accepted the job and already felt rewarded after the uncle held her hand. This “fluttered anxious” Parson’s daughter lacking experience also tends to be vulnerable as she fails to have the necessary prowess to deal with matters.
Some might even say Shelley ardently agreed with the position in which they found themselves and the securely fixed roles during the Victorian era. Caroline Frankenstein, for example, from the beginning is the embodiment of the idealised female. She is initially presented as the perfect daughter, nursing her father lovingly till his death, and progresses on to the perfect wife, though one might argue that she never ‘progresses’ at all . She remains pale, lacking the life and vigour the men in the book so often posses, and as a result the reader pushes her to the side as a minor character. But although at first Frankenstein may give the reader the impression that women have very little impact in the novel, Shelley slyly uses them to deconstruct the power and control that men had been enjoying for years .
Even with complete strangers Miss Schwartz is being taken advantage of. When she goes to buy her wedding dress the story says the salesgirl speaks “sarcastically.” Lena did not stand up for herself, instead she h kept her mouth shut. Besides the salesgirl speaking rudely she also is not helpful when Miss Schwartz needs help finding he perfect dress. This girl is being paid to offer suggestions and give advice to Miss Schwartz, so the employee needs to give Lena the respect she deserves. Miss Schwartz is a people pleaser, and she must learn to treat herself with dignity.
Throughout her childhood, Lucy had to face with children staring at her differently. Although she says “I was vain and proud when it came to wanting to be different from everyone else”(25), she loved being special. It was very hard for her to accept the way she looked after having all those surgeries and also having cancer. While being in the hospital, Lucy discovered that some of the children were better off staying at the hospital then being at home. Grealy states “Some of the other visiting parents…felt sorry for my lack of visitors..(38)”.
Nora was thrust into a position to be the perfect mother and wife, without ever being given the chance to figure out if that is what she wanted. As two English professors from Razi University have said, Nora “subdued right[s] from herself only for the sake of her spouse and children” which only furthers the idea that Nora was damaged by what society expected of her. This quote explains how Nora thought that she had duties to herself, but
Unknit that threatening unkind brow”, it is amazing that she still holds that same authority, preventing the widow and Bianca from interrupting. She uses language such as “unable worms” and “graceless traitor” where as a proper Elizabethean wife would never use such foul language. Furthermore, throughout the duration of her speech, not one person had dared to interrupt. Katherine has spent all her lifetime filling in the character of a shrew that it would be hard to break her out of that habit. Her speech was for show, knowing that she will be at an
Ailin is a very strong representation of a heroine, she saw the need to break Chinese tradition that was carried on for many centuries, she did this for the for the moral and physical good, she supported and understood the revolution because it would bring change and she never gave up when things got tough. When Ailin broke tradition for the moral and physical good by not giving into society’s rules and regulations, she was then unable to preform the functions of an upper class Chinese woman. These women had small, delicate bound feet by having bones broken and fractured they were unable to do work and manual labor, because of this they stayed at home and rarely went out. Since Ailin forbid herself from getting this done she was free, to walk, run and play with the boys. In doing so she became more independent and stronger on her own.