Hamilton goes on to explain why her dislike of the jingo woman is so strong; “you make all women seem church duffers!” she implies the Jingo woman is seen as unintelligent, criticising why her opinions are wrong and that this view of her is being applied to all women. She disagrees with the way women like the jingo woman portray other women. She portrays the Jingo woman and her role in the war, in a negative light. In ‘women at munitions making’ by Mary Gabrielle, Gabrielle criticises women’s munitions work as unnatural. The word ‘coarsened’ implies that the women’s relationship with birth and life is tainted by munitions work and its association with death.
So, the monstrous mother has been created as an allegory which acquired theological and literary significance. Parallel readings of monstrous maternity have reinforce this idea so much that in some texts, when is necessary to blame someone for something that has failed because some dark desire, a woman is used as a vehicle of men’s failure. Francus gives as example Errour in Spenser’s The Faerie Queen, Sin in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Criticism in Swift’s Battle of the Books, and Dulness in Pope’s Dunciad, where female reproductive power gives them authority over male. Francus’ point of view is that this causes a patriarchal fear of the female power and the response for this is the demonization of the female reproduction. The problem about female reproduction is that since the mother has the power to choose what kind of product she is going to deliver to the world, as she produces more
Michael Mclaughlin LIT 3383-001 September 13th, 2012 Topic #1 - Concerns in the representation of Women A Few Concerns About the Historical Representation of Women Several concerns could be discussed when one considers the representation of Women throughout history. I will be touching on three specifically I found interesting through our current reading. In Muriel Rukeyser's "Along History" I see women represented as frivolous creatures, lacking substance. In Muriel Rukeyser's "Myth" we see the power of gendered language and perspective, and how history has been written by man. Finally, in Stevie Smith's "How cruel is the story of eve" we see the biblical blaming of women for the downfall of man and the curse of pain associated with child birth.
Whether woman are perceived as weak and feeble victims, or sinister seductresses (or not included at all), writers of this genre present this gender to the audience as either of these options which makes us question how innocent are women? Or are women significantly absent and therefore not an influence at all? Popular texts which introduce these aspects in this genre include; Mary Shelley’s classic, Frankenstein; Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. It’s been argued these writers portray woman in different ways which outset onto society they’re role as a whole: Gothic literature can have an inclination towards female writers but also accumulate a patriarchal nightmare in which violence is constantly sanctioned on the female body. Mary Shelley is significant herself; being the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists; who lived in an era of women’s writing that openly condemned patriarchy.
Fitzgerald openly shows his opinion that women generally have low moral qualities, and demonstrates this by the actions and speech illustrated by the three main female characters in the novel; Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson. His portrayal of them appears to expose a disturbing, misogynistic view of women in the 1920’s. Others would say this is not the case and his approach to how he presents the women has a much deeper meaning therefore implying that Fitzgerald could in fact be a feminist. In my essay I will discuss how I feel that Fitzgerald’s experiences with women are mirrored throughout the novel and undoubtedly display his general ‘underlying hatred’ for the female kind in the Jazz Age through his constant implications of the negative characteristics women possess. Like the central character of The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald had an intensely romantic imagination; he once called it "a heightened sensitivity to the promises of life."
Women were seen as mortal, yet at the same time they were seducers and manipulators. The novels main idea is about the conflicts that women, who were influenced by the Victorian Age, suffered. Grace’s identity is confusing, as it is made complex by her either trying to protect her innocence or by hiding her guilt. Atwood does an excellent job getting the reader to question this, but her main issue focuses on survival, and how the search for Grace’s true identity is symbolically the search that all women living in a suppressed environment are involved in. This theme is very true to Atwood’s feminist pursuit, which is seen in her other novels as well.
This sets up the binary opposition of male and female, which helps mold the main tenant of Jane’s interpretation of the wallpaper: there is a woman being held back by complexities. It fits into the binary opposition insofar as the woman is held back by her desires and complexities because the man forces her to repress them. Beauvoir explains that women are confronted with binary oppositions as far as what a woman is. (1266) She says that, “if woman is depicted as the Praying Mantis, the Mandrake, the Demon, then it is most confusing to
As a critic, Atwood cautions to raise self – awareness therefore blocks the path which leads to totalitarian regime. The novel can certainly be interpreted as a caution about the consequences of continuous oppression of women and extreme gender inequity. The propagandist “Offred” is in the role of a handmaid under the new established regime. Her name is a patronymic which comprises the possessive preposition “of” and is followed by the name of her Commander. This shows she is an object labelled after and owned by her commander.
However, Desdemona is also depicted as aggressive and opposing to Shakespeare’s context through Othello’s story. Othello explains that Desdemona has “with a greedy ear, devour[ed] up [his] discourse.” This metaphorical characteristic of Desdemona challenges cultural assumptions about women in Shakespeare’s context. When Desdemona speaks for herself, in a very assertive and intellectual manner she states, “I did love the Moor to live with him”. This statement expands on Desdemona’s sexual nature. Shakespeare has challenged his own context in this scene, providing an opportunity for Orson Wells to also develop a controversial Desdemona – appropriate to his own context.
For women and children to speak and defend themselves in Victorian society was not natural. They would be looked down upon and instantly labeled ‘mad’. As readers, we witness this in Jane Eyre when Jane’s character is ‘thrust upon’ a stool and compared to a ‘mad cat’ after speaking out and defending herself. This suggests that it was definitely shocking and strange for females to be assertive and have their voices heard. Despite this, Brontë creates Jane as a rebellious and passionate character who refuses to be labeled ‘mad’ stands up for herself.