In this novel, Julia Alvarez manages to capture and express the true feelings of women which deconstructs the stereotypes through Yo. Feminism is defined as “a political movement that works to achieve equal rights for women and men” (Hirsch 113). For the past ages, women were seen in the society as inferior to men and were greatly excluded from education and the right to property ownership. A British feminist named Mary Wollstonecraft argues, “educational restrictions keep women in a state of ignorance and slavish dependence” (Blake 117). 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.
The use of a possessive apostrophe emphasises the point even further that she belongs to him and he controls her, although she can try to push the boundaries of society's rules and expectations, he will always be there to stop her as she is dominated by him. Much like many women in 1930's America who had a lack of importance as they were male dominated. Women held little respect during this era, they had no choice, no voice and no right to vote, they were categorised along with the insane and children. In the
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).
Functionalist Murdock suggested as children we are socialised into societies shared norms and values and he believed that males provide the economic roles and females provided the expressive role. Therefore it is natural for women to play the expressive role in the household looking after the family’s emotional needs. However, radical feminist Ann Oakley argues that the role of the housewife is a social construction and isn’t linked to the female role. The housewife role makes sure that women stay inferior to men making it difficult for them have careers. Women carry out the triple burden in the household; the domestic labour, emotional labour, and paid labour.
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. The short stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) and Angela Carter (1940–1992) both sideway the same idea; the confinement of women in particular roles and positions in both personal and professional lives, posed on them by patriarchal figures. Toril Moi quotes in her examination of feministic criticism, Sexual/Textual Politics (2002), Elaine Showalter’s idea that “women writers should not be studied as a distinct group on the assumption that they write alike, or even display stylistic resemblances distinctively feminine” (Moi, 2002: 49), which comes across when reading the two stories which are stylistically already very different. It might be so that a feminist reader of both times (there’s some 80 years difference between the two stories) did not only want to see her own experiences mirrored in fiction, but strived to identify with strong, impressive female characters (Moi, 2002: 46), and looked for role-models that would instil positive sense of feminine identity by portraying women as self-actualising strong identities who were not dependent on men (Moi, 2002, 46). The two stories bring out two female characters, very different by position and character; the other a new mother, scared and confused of her own role, and the other a young newly-wed girl, still a child, being fouled by a much older man, mainly as a mark of his authority over women in general.
They hold the belief that power lies with men instead of the economy and the structure of society is so men are able to maintain their power. Along with having these beliefs, feminists also believe women are being suppressed in society. One area feminists hold strong views over is the family. They believe that society is patriarchal. Linda N. (undated) provides a definition as men holding the position of power and the head of the family unit.
During the 20th century, society believed there to be a defined difference in character among men and women. Women were viewed simply as passive wives and mothers, while men were viewed as individuals with many different roles and opportunities. For women, education was not expected past a certain point, and those who pushed the limits were looked down on for their ambition. Marriage was an absolute necessity, and a career that surpassed any duties as housewifes was practically unheard of. Clelia Mosher, a female author of the time, lived and wrote within this particular period.
The creation of ‘Oxbridge’ university does not only represent the beliefs and tradition of society, but the limitations and the disenfranchisement of women. The power lies with the male academics, thus preventing the narrator, Woolf, from entering the university. The narrator’s exclusion from where ‘the treasure is kept’ in the library, becomes a metaphor for all women disenfranchised as a result of patriarchal attitudes. The contrast between the men’s ‘many partridges’ and women’s ‘plain gravy soup’ at the university emphasises women’s inferior status, as food is a metaphor for nurturing. Woolf proposes a reason as to why women have produced less impressive works of literature than men: ‘a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.’ The
The Awakening During the time in which “The Awakening” was written, the expectations of women and the limitations of law allowed them little or no independence. Women were expected to perform the social role of a doting wife and mother. As one of these women, Edna has little or no opportunity to express herself in the ways that she wanted to. It’s as though she is trapped in world where she doesn’t belong and can’t find any escape. She feels obligated to her husband and children.
Edited by CURRER BELL’, for this presentation is highly significant for a contextual appreciation of Charlotte Brontë’s first published novel. There has already been some work on the names of characters within the novel, looking at possible symbolism (e.g. ‘Eyre’, ‘rivers’, ‘reed’), literary allusions (‘Edward Fairfax’ and ‘Rochester’), biblical allusions (‘St John’) and the ordinariness of the name ‘Jane’.2 A focus on the framing provided by the title page with respect to name will offer further insights into the importance ‘names and naming’ have for the author, and insights into how ‘names and naming’ are being carefully handled in this mid-nineteenth-century context. Following on from this, we can see how such an