The Life and Times of E.B.B. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) During the early nineteenth century, feminists were first coming out into the political forefront. Among them, Elizabeth Barrett Browning emerged as one the greatest woman writers of all time. She wrote of "social reform, for the rights of lower classes and women, and for the cause of Italian freedom (Lewis)." While many aspects and circumstances of life affected her work, she was also able to effect society in many ways.
For example, in the paragraph about strong characters, Miss Ariadne Oliver is listed last. Interestingly, Miss Ariadne Oliver is considered to be Agatha Christie’s alter ego. Miss Oliver is a prime example of how Agatha Christie expresses her own views on social issues through the actions of her characters. The author claims that “setting” is what makes her novels interesting. However, when the author claims that “nostalgia for past times” is what makes her novels enduring, I felt that it was an irony.
The knight’s tale, an alliterative romance and one of the better-known Arthurian stories, and the wife’s tale, the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, give insight into the specific roles of women in the late Middle Ages. The two tales want the reader to determine and recognize that the women are mostly portrayed as manipulative seductresses. Many times a woman is blamed for a man’s fall from goodness to evil. Other times, the plots include women who meet the expectations of what some during the times believed women should be—more reflective to the bible, loyal to their husbands, pure, sweet, and helpless. In the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Lady Bertilak, the main female character and the most important characters in this medieval poem, is prompted by her husband to discover if Sir Gawain is pure or not.
A Woman’s Liberty The seventeenth century is a time where there is the struggle in gender equality; the beginning of feminism. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” is a major example of a woman fighting for freedom and struggling in society of hypocrites, beginning her battle as a genuine feminist. The figure of Hester as a new female image with her female perception encourages women who struggle to find equality in society. Hawthorne illustrates the society as it actually was in the 17th century Puritan society and according to Michael Shea, “it could be possible that Hawthorne gained the idea of feminism due to the time he lived in- the Puritan era” (Shea). Hawthorne felt the need to create a new, strong, and righteous character to for the battle of equal status between men and women.
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).
The young woman, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, took the prize, having composed a creepy story. It is the very Frankenstein or Modern Prometheus which became a bestseller in her time and a Gothic classic that still resonates with readers almost two centuries. Background of Frankenstein Mary Shelley was born in 1797 as the daughter of two England’s leading intellectual literary celebrity. Her father, William Godwin, was an influential political philosopher and novelist. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft was a pioneer in promoting women’s rights and education.
Topic: Compare the portrayal of females in Othello and Frankenstein. To what degree are female characters in each work dominated or oppressed by a patriarchal society? How prominent roles have they in each work? A Comparison of the portrayal of females in Othello and Frankenstein The female characters play dominant roles in both Othello and Frankenstein. Though, when actually examined, the females portrayed in both literary works do show signs of bravery and rebellious spirit, which represents the actual mind of authors, they are still oppressed by the patriarchal society to a large extent.
The earliest experiences I had with reading began a collection of books from Scholastics, I think I enjoyed them because I saw most of the characters and the picture were so vivid that I thought I was there. From a very early age, my parents established the important of reading and writing in my life because without it I will not be able to enjoy a collection of books from pre-school age children. My very first book was “The Three Little Pigs” and
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF “THE AWAKENING” BY KATE CHOPIN JENNIFER JENKINS SOUTH UNIVERSITY ON-LINE A HISTORCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF “THE AWAKEINING” BY KATE CHOPIN “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin was revered to be one of the most debated novels of its time. Using a psychoanalytical perspective, reading “The Awakening” one can see the reasoning behind those debates, the main symbol and character behind the novel, Edna Pontellier. Reading “The Awakening” in a Feminist Perspective, on gender and the inequality of the two, the reader can grasp the historical significance of Chopin’s overall theme. Why are women are pressured into becoming a wife and mother in-order to be a complete and accepted member of a Victorian Society? Looking deeper into the novel with an historical perspective, it becomes clear that Chopin uses the identity crisis Edna Pontellier was having as a wife, mother, and woman to symbolize the expressed views of millions of women during the Women’s Right Movement of the 1800’s.
Susan Glaspell: Influential Female Writer of the 20th Century. Susan Glaspell, ground breaking feminist writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, became a very influential writer in the 20th century. Glaspell continued on the legacy of authors such as Kate Chopin as prominent literary figures. Glaspell’s work influenced many females’ authors even today; Glaspell joins the ranks of “Literary Figure Greats.” The creation of Provincetown Players served as a venue for Glaspell’s work, including her one-act play “Trifles.” Susan Keating Glaspell, was born to Elmer Glaspell and Alice Keating on July 1, 1876, in Davenport, Iowa. (Evans) The details of Glaspell’s childhood are slim leading to the assumption by many, that she lead a relatively quiet,