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.
Margaret Atwood’s speech “Spotty Handed Villainesses” explores Patriarchy, feminism and “bad” women in literature. She uses wit and humour to disarm the audience and often uses anti-climatic statements to grab the audience’s attention. Margaret Atwood’s speech resonates through time with her critical study of feminism in a social context and the impact that feminism has had on literature. In the speech Atwood explores the moral dichotomy that exists in Women at the time. She shows how women can only be categorised as either an angel or a whore.
The play aimed to convey Sybil Birling as stubborn, unsympathetic and dislikeable character, and I believe that Margot Leicester's portrayal of Mrs Birling was quite successful. In the opening scene, Leicester entered in a floor length, expensive looking grey gown, clearly meant to show off her wealth and power. She entered with a practiced, purposeful gait and straight posture. She held her dress off the floor with her hands, and kept her nose turned up slightly. This immediately gave the impression that she saw herself as superior, and we immediately disliked her.
She states in the first paragraph “… I haven’t noticed any women like me on television…” yet her next paragraph is centered on a television show about a woman with MS. Mairs tries to redeem herself by describing how this woman’s emotional weakness, for running back to her doctor/love interest, is inaccurate, but that is mostly a sexist representation of women and less a misrepresentation of the disabled. Mairs continues the rest of the essay in her mostly hostile fashion. She tosses in many rhetorical devices to the reader which, admittedly, makes her feel somewhat relatable and real. Her informal style of writing makes it seem like she knows her reader on an intimate level, therefor you are more inclined to accept her statements without evidence, succumbing to her requests for disability to be viewed as normal. She wraps up her essay
His sisters, First Corinthians and Lena, whom author Toni Morrison keeps in the background of the novel’s main events, are suddenly transformed into deep, complex characters. The two sisters, who have spent their lives in Dr. Foster’s parlor making fake roses, refuse to be aristocratic sweatshop workers any longer. The fact Corinthians works as a maid even though she has acquired a college degree does not make her feel inferior but rather it liberates her socially. Furthermore, the fact that she finds true love outside of her upper class social status shows that Morrison is making an attack on class consciousness. Lena’s revolt comes out during her confrontation with Milkman.
As Antonia Fraser revealed in her biography Maria Antoinette: The Journey, Marie-Antoinette's reputation for sweetness and kindness became even more entrenched in 1774, when as the new Queen she asked the people to be relieved of a tax called "The Queen's belt," a tradition at the beginning of each reign. "Belts are no longer worn," she quipped. It was the onslaught of a propaganda that later ruined her reputation. Unhappy Marriage “Maria Antoinette was not satisfied by her marriage.”7 In fact, as Maria’s lady in waiting Campan wrote in her diary The Memoirs of Maria Antoinette, Louis was insensible and egocentric. Although Louis became a devoted husband and he admired Marie's character, in her early years in France his apathy made Maria Antoinette feel isolated.
Emma Baird Dr. Meredith McCarroll English 232 25 September 2010 The Death of Edna Pontellier: A Rebellious Defeat Even from its first publication, Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening has caused controversy. While today The Awakening is praised for its feminist undertones, the piece was first criticized for its lack of representation of American values. Instead of depicting a main character that embodied the Victorian ideal of a woman fulfilling the role as an “Angel in the House” which was the norm for American women during this particular historical period, Edna was a rebellious wife and an adulteress, whose desires and yearning for independence lead her to make many radical decisions throughout the course of the novel¾ from inwardly
Merely Teasing Charlotte Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” both demonstrate how society, at the turn of the century, seemed to make women feel enclosed or trapped. The narrator in “Yellow Wallpaper” and the main character in Chopin’s story, Louise Mallard share many of the same desires and characteristics. Their desire to get out and be independent eventually gets them punished. In both stories, it is clear that the narrator or character is a female. From the way the narrator talks in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” describing her husband and house and the decorations, it is obvious she is a female.
After exploring the dark home, the girl discovers and old woman. The next rule is broken when the old lady is kind to the beautiful girl and tries to help her. She is neither jealous nor mean, as popular fairy tales would lead us to believe.
Donna Woolfolk Cross explains in her article, "Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled" that propaganda shapes our attitudes on thousands of subjects by tactics such as name-calling which "consists of labeling people or ideas with words of bad connotation" (Cross 210). Aunt Lydia uses name-calling by stating that these women were lazy sluts and explains how important and how much better childbirth is in Gilead in comparison to the old days. Her manipulative speech is what blocks the handmaids from thinking, only to react unquestioningly. Cross's article explains that glittering generalities "try to get us to accept and agree without examining the evidence" (Cross 211). Aunt Lydia's use of glittering generalities and convincing tone of voice makes these women accept whatever she defines them as, giving no reason to think otherwise.