Biography
Callie Russell Porter, the fourth of five children, was born on May 15, 1890 in Indian Creek, Texas. After her mother, Mary Alice (Jones) Porter, died of tuberculosis or bronchitis when Porter was two years old, her father, Harrison Boone, took her and her siblings to their grandmother's home in Kyle, Texas. Porter was enrolled in public and private schools until the age of 15. One of the schools she attended was called Thomas School, a private Methodist school located in San Antonio, Texas, for one year in 1904 where she had her only formal education after grammar school. Porter's grandmother, Catherine Porter, was a great storyteller who provided her with an early appreciation of fiction.
When Porter was 16, she married a man named John Henry Koontz, the son of a wealthy Texas ranching company, in 1906. He was physically abusive and even threw her down the stairs while he was drunk, leaving Porter with a broken ankle. They later divorced in 1915 and legally changed her name to Katherine Anne Porter, influenced by her grandmother, as part of her divorce decree from Koontz. Porter remarried several times. In 1926, she married Ernest Stock and briefly lived in Connecticut before divorcing Stock in 1927. Then in 1933, Porter married Eugene Dove Pressly and divorced him in 1938. That same year, she married again to a man named Albert Erskine Jr. and divorced him in 1942.
Later in 1915, Porter contracted tuberculosis and was put in the Carlsbad Sanitarium for two years in San Antonio, Texas. There, she decided to become a professional writer and journalist instead of an actress. In order to achieve her goals, Porter "practiced writing in every possible way" (Peacock 188) that she could. She then began working as a journal...
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...olence,” and dies (The Martyr 37). The theme for “The Martyr,” is the appearance of death. Rubén turns to food to cope with his depression instead of continuing with his artwork or finding something else less destructive to distract him from Isabel. Because he consumes an unhealthy amount of food to cope with his depression, he ends up dying.
Some of the literary elements that can be found in Porter’s stories, such as “Theft” and “The Martyr,” are characterization, conflict, and theme. The women in Porter’s stories reflected how life realistically was in the nineteenth century. It was hard for women to be independent because men would always do things for them and not listen to what they had to say. Almost all women wanted their own independence, but their fate was most likely made up by men’s controlling actions by trying to create women into whatever they wanted.
Jane was born Jane Wilkinson on July 23, 1798, in Charles County, Maryland.She was the tenth child of Captain William Mackall and Anne Herbert Wilkinson. When Jane was less than a year old her father died. In 1811 her mother moved them to Mississippi Territory. The following year her mother died and she became an orphan at the age of 14. She moved in with her older sister,Barbara,and her husband,Alexander, on their plantation near Natchez. She met her soon to be husband James Long while she was there. They ended up married to each other on May 14, 1815.For the next four years they lived in vicinity and soon became a merchant in Natchez, In 1816, when Jane was 18, she gave birth to her first child Ann on November 26. Later she had another daughter, Rebecca, on June 16, 1819. Twelve days after Rebecca was born Jane wanted to join her husband in Nacogdoches, so she left with her two children and slave, Kian.She left them at the Calvit’s. Jane became ill, but she kept on with the trip and didn’t reach Nacogdoches till August.After a short amount of time she was staying there she had to move with other families to the Sabine to run away from the Spanish troops from San Antonio. She later returned to the Calvit’s to find out that her youngest daughter,Rebecca, had died. James and her
In 1915 divorce was barely even a recognizable word, and to claim a form of irreconcilable differences and physical abuse was even more frowned upon. Porter's divorce signified not only a major alteration in her own personal life, but also the beginning of the "modernist" period. (Gilbert 1205) However when Porter changes her name to her grandmother's name, this could be taken as a new identity for herself. One could assume that Porter was not happy with her own choices and wanted a clean slate. On the other hand her name change may symbolize that she admired her grandmother's strong-will and wanted to become more like her. Without a mother Catherine Porter was indeed Katherine Porter's role model. Porter seemed to show her admiration by immortalizing her ...
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Only recently with the push of the Equal Rights Amendment have women had a strong hold on the workplace alongside men. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. Two interesting short stories, “The Yellow Wall-paper and “The Story of an Hour, “ focus on a woman’s plight near the turn of the 19th century. This era is especially interesting because it is a time in modern society when women were still treated as second class citizens. The two main characters in these stories show similarities, but they are also remarkably different in the ways they deal with their problems and life in general. These two characters will be examined to note the commonalities and differences. Although the two characters are similar in some ways, it will be shown that the woman in the “The Story of an Hour” is a stronger character based on the two important criteria of rationality and freedom.
The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century brought about revolution, fueled by the energy and freedom of a new horizon…but it was still just around the bend. In this era, during which both short stories were published, members of the weaker sex were blatantly disregarded as individuals, who had minds that could think, and reason, and form valid opinions.
Some critics have argued that Richard Wright’s women are “flat, one dimensional stereotypes, portrayed primarily in terms of their relationship to the male character”. (Quote, p540) However, in Uncle Tom’s Children, Wright resents three very distinct types of female characters who did not fit this description. Wright portrays women as an Avenger, a Sufferer and a Mother figure whose actions propel the stories to their final conclusion. In the story “Bright and Morning Star” Wright places the protagonist, Aunt Sue, in a domestic environment. “Her hands followed a lifelong ritual of toil” (pg222) as she cleans and cooks. Interestingly, Aunt Sue is the only heroine in the stories, who shows a different type of bravery than perhaps shown by the male figures in other stories. She is brave in the face of the loss of her two sons; she is brave as she does not show weakness to the white men who attempt to control her and make her do their bidding. She does not allow herself to be bound by the conventions of society. She speaks her mind to the white men who invade her home and states “Ah don’t care who Ahm talking t!” (pg238). Aunt Sue is portrayed as a cunning woman, who hides behind men’s perception of her as weak and uses it to her advantage. Her final act of bravery in the story is to giver herself up to death, before the white men can take her life from her. Wright also portrays women as sufferers in his work. Sarah, in “Long Black Song” suffers from isolation and is stuck in a loveless marriage. The gap between men and women is very much evident in this story. Sarah is very much dependent on Silas for company, security and items of comfort. Silas is allowed to exceed from the isolation imposed on his wife. Even when Sarah flees from ...
On June 1, 1926, a baby girl was born to Gladys Mortensen in Los Angeles, California. Her biological father is unknown because her mother was having sexual relations with multiple men at the time of conception. The newborn baby girl was named Norma Jeane Baker. Norma’s mother placed her into an orphanage shortly after her birth. Norma remained in the orphanage until the age of nine.
helped support the struggling couple. They divorced in 1942. She lived in Carmel Valley, CA after and died February 8, 1983.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of the Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is viewed from a woman’s perspective of the nineteenth century. They showed the issues on how they were confined to the house. That they were to be stay at home wives and let the husband earn the household income. These stories are both written by American women and how their marriage was brought about. Their husbands were very controlling and treated them more like children instead of their wives. In the nineteenth century their behavior was considered normal at the time. In “The Story of the Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” both women explore their issues on wanting to be free of the control of their husband.
Callie Russell Porter was born in Indian Creek, Texas on May 15 ,1890. She is a writer and he work was pretty well received. Much of her stories were pretty dark. She had used a lot of dark themes in the stories she wrote. Looking back on her childhood it is clear to see where she got the inspiration for her work. Her mother died when she was two ,and then her family went to live with her grandmother. Eventually her grandmother died too. After the death of her grndmother her family moved around a bit till she married her first husband. He was a jerk and abused her. she ran away soon after her threw her down the stairs breaking her ankle. She then went
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so.
Historically, women have been treated as second class citizens. The Napoleonic Code stated that women were controlled by their husbands and cannot freely do their own will without the authority of their husband. This paper shows how this is evident in the "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and " A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. In both stories, the use of literary elements such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and significant meaning of the titles are essential in bringing the reader to an unexpected and ironic conclusion.
Women rights has flourished this past decade. They have came a long way to get to where they are today. For instance, our nation is on the verge to having our very first female president. The amount of feminist accomplishments that has occurred further highlights the transition our women’s rights today compared to back then. “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, an American writer best known for her feminist stories about the lives of daring women, portrays women’s lack of freedom in the 1800s by addressing the concerns of feminism. Those including the escape from the husband’s identity to express the woman’s own unique identity and the right of women to be their own person by experiencing her own interest. In spite of the fact that there is a controversial aspect to the story, the reaction Mrs. Mallard experiences after learning her husband’s death, the reader can still empathize and