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.
Consequently, the young heroine finds herself involved in many embarrassing situations throughout the novel. However, as the story goes on, Catherine eventually learns to distinguish between fantasy and reality and between her own wild imaginings and her intuition. Northanger Abbey has long been considered an ironic parody of the Gothic novel, which was very popular in Austen’s time. The purpose of this essay is to explore the elements of the Gothic novel present in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and to analyze the way in which they have been satirized by the author. Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey: a Gothic Parody The Gothic fiction is a literary genre that combines elements of both horror and romance.
The explanatory models of science, like the plots of literary works, depend on linguistic structures which are shaped by metaphor and metonymy. The feminist reader is perhaps most sensitized to those symbolic structures which employ gender as a major variable or value. When Francis Bacon announced, "I am come in very truth leading to you Nature with all her children to bind her to your service and make her your slave,"1 he identified the pursuit of modern science with a form of sexual politics: the aggressive, virile male scientist legitimately captures and enslaves a passive, fertile female nature. Mary Shelley was one of the first to comprehend and illustrate the dangers inherent in the use of sexist metaphors in the seventeenth-century scientific revolution
Charles John Huffin Dickens is an English novelist. He is considered one of the greatest novelists of Victorian period.Dickens’ work has been highly appreciated for its realism , mastery of prose and concern for social reform by writers such as Leo Tolstoy , George Gissing and G. novelists of Victorian rton. Moreover, one of the greatest characteristics of Dickens’ work is the deconstruction of women stereotypes. Although , he is accused of portraying stereotyped characters of women , yet his many works negate this idea. His novel , A Tale of Two Cities, can be refered in this regard.
Explore the opening few pages of The Bloody Chamber in relation to the Gothic genre In the opening few pages of ‘The Bloody Chamber’ Carter explores the feminist notion of a female identity existing independently of, and not limited, by male identity. The opening line of the novel, ‘I remember how’ lays the foundations of a text that puts focus on the influence of the past, shadowing Gothic expectations. Furthermore, by letting the heroine tell her own story empowers the figure of woman by placing her in the traditional male dominated role of storyteller instead of confining her to the stereotypical ‘damsel in distress’. Carter bases ‘The Bloody Chamber’ on the fairytale legend of ‘Bluebeard’, however unlike a traditional fairytale, generally in third person, Carter challenges this stereotype by giving the heroine a voice further exploring the effects of empowering women. However, Carter uses the narrator to alternate between strength and passivity, although constantly lines the text with repeated images of female assertiveness.
This setting is significant as it conveys the idea that Catherine could be a heroine but would be an unlikely one. It is widely believed that Austen satirizes the form and conventions of gothic novels that were popular during the time when Austen wrote Northanger Abbey. In particular, Austen is said to have targeted Anne Radcliffe, who wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), a gothic novel that Catherine loves to read during her stay in the spa town Bath. The differences between the heroines already become clear when comparing the appearances of Austen’s Catherine to Radcliffe’s Emily. Catherine is described in the following way: “She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without color, dark lank hair, and strong features – so much for her person; and not less unpropitious for heroism seemed her
Sexual Violence and the Victorian Era: Oppressive Social Forces in Robert Browning’s Printable Version By Christine Utz Robert Browning’s poem “Porphyria’s Lover” is a social representation of the Victorian era, which supported the creation of dominant and sexually abusive men. During the nineteenth century, Victorian ideals determined the guidelines for social etiquette. A traditional regime of patriarchy flourished under the strict gender stratifications of the time period. However, tensions grew between the sexes in both the political and domestic realms and gender violence surfaced in response to the heightened conflicts. Robert Browning was born into this conservative time period, but was able to employ expressive freedom through literature.
To what extent does Angela Carter draw on the Gothic tradition in her representation of female characters in The Bloody Chamber and what is the significance of these representations? Angela Carter uses gothic tradition and conventions in her depiction of female characters in The Bloody Chamber in order to break down stereotypes and patriarchal expectations; she recreates traditional gothic tales into ones which are both eerie and shocking for her modern readers, in the same way that old gothic tales were to Victorian readers. Carter’s female victims come to be empowered by embracing their passions and work to go against patriarchal rule, acknowledging their own sexual desires. Female characters can be presented as victims of male tyranny in The Bloody Chamber. Within The Bloody Chamber, the protagonist brings about the attention of female sexuality to the reader through the loss of her innocence “I remember how…country of marriage” she is experiencing a journey from her innocence and individuality to being the possession of a man.
This reflects the patriarchal society at the time. Therefore, Browning uses literary techniques to reflect and challenge the accepted gender roles in society during the Victorian Era. Similarly, this concept is also explored in “The Professor”. The narrator, William Crimsworth’s condescending tone when describing women, “their dresses were pleasing enough to the eye but their conversation was meaningless”, portrays how he believed they were only physically attractive. He considered them inferior in terms of their intellectual capacities.
Abstract: This article intends to analyze the critical realism writing style in J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy by focusing on the narration of Chapter One and the first part of Chapter Two. Combining with a brief review of the theory of critical realism in fictions, which debuted in the 19th century English literature, the passage finally gives a personal understanding of the writing style. Key Words: Critical Realism, Characteristics, features, society 1. Preface As J.K. Rowling's first novel for grown-ups, The Casual Vacancy is an impressive work with adult features. The novel can be regarded as a major turning point of Rowling’s writing career, for she took a giant step to move beyond the magic, after the big success of the Harry Potter series.