Macbeth as I said wrote before was written in 1606, practically at the start of James I reign. James I was a supporter of Shakespeare’s acting company and the story of Macbeth reflects the relationship the two had. He reflects the good kingship of James and the way he was bust developing England (Grade saver, 2010.http://www.gradesaver.com/macbeth/ [Access on 18 May 2011]). Romeo and Juliet was not invented by Shakespeare but from a poet who wrote a poem called “Romeus and Juliet”. Romeo and Juliet is just an adaptation of other works (Grade saver, 2010.http://www.gradesaver.com/romeoandjuliet/ [Access on 18 May 2011]).).
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
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.
He brings examples from the novel to prove that some of the statements and major themes that Hawthorne puts out are actually ranging towards more feminist than not. Colacurcio, Michael J. “Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter.” The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings: Authoritative Texts, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Leland S. Person.
When English sonnets were introduced by Thomas Wyatt in the early 16th century, his sonnets and those of his contemporary the Earl of Surrey were chiefly translations from the Italian of Petrarch and the French of Ronsard and others. While Wyatt introduced the sonnet into English, it was Surrey who gave it a rhyming meter, and a structural division into quatrains of a kind that now characterizes the typical English sonnet. Having previously circulated in manuscripts only, both poets' sonnets were first published in Richard Tottel's Songes and Sonnetts, better known as Tottel's Miscellany (1557). It was, however, Sir Philip Sidney's sequence Astrophel and Stella (1591) that started the English vogue for sonnet sequences: the next two decades saw sonnet sequences by William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, Fulke Greville, William Drummond of Hawthornden, and many others. This literature is often attributed
Popular fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast” explores different gender roles in its various versions. A gender role is a set of social and behavioral norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship. Maria Tartar, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University argues that this well-known tale has been written primarily to state that it is indeed ‘Beauty’ who reforms the ‘Beast’ while British novelist Marina Warner argues against this claim and states that it is ‘Beast’ who brings out the wild side in ‘Beauty’. Contrary to the conventional claim of the man saving the woman or specifically the damsel in distress, much like Tartar, I too believe that this fairy tale has the stereotype reversed where the woman saves the man by civilizing him. Analyzing the gender roles of ‘Beauty’ and ‘Beast’ in Madame de Beaumont’s fairytale entitled “Beauty and the Beast” illustrates why I view women as the civilizing agent in their relationship with men.
Personally I think Charlotte Bronte does this so that she can have the power to express her views on Victorian stereotypes more fully than a third person narrative or a play could achieve. Charlotte Bronte uses Jane to express her views on Victorian stereotypes on women, meaning that Jane is a proto-feminist to a modern reader. However to a reader of the era, Charlotte uses a character like Jane to shock the reader. It would be quite advanced for a woman of the 19th century to fight for her power and rights. She doesn’t want to conform to the stereotypes of women, consequently wanting to be seen as an equal rather than a male’s
A feminist theory approach might have one interpret “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” as a clarion to the sexual ambiguity in the text. As Marilyn French points out re: the witches, “They are female, but have beards,” in itself pointing to the gender ambiguity in the play. (91). French goes on to suggest deeper issues with regard to gender roles in a male dominated society when she notes of women, “They are aggressive and authoritative, but seem to have power only to create petty mischief.” This all seems to suggest that the witches represent members of a society, (read here: women) characterized as having no true power, and with a penchant for wrongdoing. Lady MacBeth’s wish to shed her sexual identity, as seen through the “unsex me here” line, stamps an even greater importance on the notion that traditional male qualities alone are of any
I agree with Anne Mellor in the fact that she portrays Frankenstein as being sexist and against women. In the analytical essay, “Possessing Nature: The Female in Frankenstein”, written by Anne Mellor, she talks about how Shelley depicts women’s injustice in nineteenth century society through her use of characters, science, political constructs, and offers an alternative portrayal through the DeLaceys. She explains how Victor Frankenstein possesses the patriarchal mindset prevalent during this time through his inability to exhibit balanced emotions, his creation of a being which perpetuates the idea that females are no longer necessary, and his need to keep women in a submissive role. Mellor describes how the women within the novel are confined to the home, while the men are
Explore the Issues of women and feminism in the Handmiaids Tale. The novel the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is considered a feminist dystopia because it is set within an imperfect society of the future, and adresses the mysogyny of patriarchal culture. It conveys a sharp reminder of the continued need to guard and develop more fully women's rights and positions. In the Handmaid's Tale, the state of Gilead had complete control over women's bodies through their political subjugation. Women were deprived of their basic human rights, such as the right to read and write or to make choices in their lives, such as what to wear: “Then i think: I used to dress like that.