The pilgrimage of women in Laurence's The Diviners

1957 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction to feminist literary criticism

Feminism as defined in the feminist Dictionary (1985) is a "movement seeking the recognition of the world upon a basis of sex equality and all human relations," a movement which would reject every differentiation between individuals upon the ground of sex, would abolish all sex privileges and sex burdens and would strive up to the recognition of the common humanity as the foundation of law and custom. Feminist literature is a canonical text, which portrays the sufferings of women, insists on the need for protecting their rights and suggests means on their emancipation. Feminism may be considered as a social movement. It considers women as the oppressed group, upholds their right by presenting them as individuals and human beings. It affirms their capacities to be autonomous, intelligent, strong and successful. Feminist literatures, on the other hand, embody in their works of imagination some of these views. These literary texts question the current social assumption, which they depict as being subjective, prejudiced and one-sided. They capture the depressing conditions of women, implicate suggesting ways and means for resolving their problems. They plead for a kind of literature which would be free from the biased portraits of individuals because of their race, class and sex. In spite of slavery and suppression, the women have contributed their intellectual and imaginative might to the growth and development of the society and themselves. Toni Morrison, Barbara Smith, and Lorraine Hansberry , Margaret Laurence, Margaret Clarke, Margaret Atwood and Ethel Wilson are some of them, ?Pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place As an act of religious devotion--- it Also mean... ... middle of paper ... ...e want to see more of. But too many other people, especially those in Morag's present life are ciphers. Her daughter and daughters' companions are stereotypical hippies of the time. Her professor husband, her own friends and neighbours and assorted landladies all seem to perform their narrative functions and then shuffle offstage. It is clear that Laurence writes withan awareness of her ancestral past and therefore writes with an immigrant consciousness. It is again this immigrant consciousness working in her which accounts for the pervasive presence of journey motif , for immigration has always been in close association with journey, with movement across time and space. In the case of Canadian immigrants, journeys were to bigin with, motivated by exploration and quest and later on led to processes of self-realisation, identity and personality development.

Show More
Related

  • The Power of the Written Word: Literary Greats Paving the Way for Social Equality

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Francesca Caccini

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Feminism”, as defined today, is “1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,” and “2: organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”2 Many critics claim that feminism has been active longer than the word itself has existed.3 The word, “feminist” was not in true use until the late 1800s and early 1900s, but activism for women’s rights was alive and well a...

    Read More

  • Life of a Sensuous Woman and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

    1844 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ihara Saikaku’s Life of a Sensuous Woman written in the 17th century and Mary Woolstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman written in the 18th century are powerful literary works that advocated feminism during the time when women were oppressed members of our societies. These two works have a century old age difference and the authors of both works have made a distinctive attempt to shed a light towards the issues that nobody considered significant during that time. Despite these differences between the two texts, they both skillfully manage to present revolutionary ways women can liberate themselves from oppression laden upon them by the society since the beginning of humanity.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Gilman And Everyday Use By Alice Walker

    2277 Words  | 5 Pages

    What is Feminism? How does feminism affect the world we live in today? Was feminism always present in history, and if so why was it such a struggle for women to gain the respect they rightly deserve? Many authors are able to express their feelings and passions about this subject within their writing. When reading literary works, one can sense the different feminist stages depending on the timeframe that the writing takes place. Two such works are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by, Charlotte Gilman and ‘Everyday Use’ by, Alice Walker; the feminist views within each story are very apparent by the era each author lives in. It is evident that a matter of fifty years can change the stance of an author’s writing; in one story the main character is a confident and strong willed young woman looking to voice her feminist views on the world, while the other story’s main character is a woman trying to hold on to her voice in a man’s world which is driving her insane.

    Read More

  • The Female Role in A Rose for Emily, Miss Brill, and The Storm

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.

    Read More

  • Feminist Feminism

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    For hundreds of years, women are fighting a war of inequality in the male dominated society. Heather Savigny addressed a very important question in her article, what is Feminism? By definition, “Feminism” is a moment started by women to end inequality in all fields of society. Women in the society started this protest to gain rights that were deprived by the males in the society. A feminist can be a normal person who fights against the discrimination on based on sex, age and gender. The feminist movement is very important in our society, to protect women for sexual harassment and violence. To fight this problem, and to find a possible way to end it, many great writers wrote very influential poems and stories. A very few writers who chose to

    Read More

  • Rap Music Anti Feminist

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism, in its simplest definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. (Webster) Feminists fight for equality for women to men socially, politically, and economically. At the peak of feminist discourse is equality for men and women in education and in employment. However, feminism also focuses on more than issues regarding the rights of women in relation to men. Issues of gender equality and women’s right to control their sexuality are also at the core of feminist theory. A key argument made by many feminists is how women have very little control over their sexuality, mainly being defined and controlled by men. T...

    Read More

  • Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sex And The Single Girl

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nothing has more of an effect to the controversial conversation of women’s liberation than literature. The subtle cues from Cosmopolitan emphasizing femininity: beauty, sensuality, appreciating the female body… Self-help guidebooks persisting the woman to let go and just be free for once. It is liberating for the woman to see such medias to act upon what they were thinking and to even go beyond that. Talks of

    Read More

  • Feminism In Antigone And Wicked

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women and men fear the thought of an empowered woman and the thought of feminism. Women fear that will be punished by men if they stand against them and fear that being a feminist will make them cruel and lonely. Men fear that women will one day rise and surpass them. But it is with these women that great change can come. Being a feminist does not require a person to hate men nor does it isolate a person from the rest of the world. In both texts we witnessed that there are people who reinforce conventional views of gender roles and those who challenge them. The life is a feminist is challenging but much more rewarding at the same time.

    Read More

  • Feminism: Crystal Eastman

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feminism is the public support for or recommendation of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In a more simple way of stating it, women rights equivalent to those of men. Before suffrage begun, women were strictly to act as women should, or what they were expected to act like. They were expected to take care of the children, cook, and clean. Not only were they supposed to do house work, but they also couldn’t vote or own any property. On August 26th, 1920, after 72 long-lasting years of fighting, and prolonged anticipation, women finally won their rights to be treated equally. There have been, and still are, many feminists in this world. One very prominent feminist is Crystal Eastman.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Written At The Close Of Spring By Charlotte Smith

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a

    Read More

  • The Harmful Effect of Feminism

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea.

    Read More

  • Feminist Literature Essay

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history literary works have forced political ideologies to evolve and expand, sometimes even breaking boundaries that would not have been broken otherwise. The works of women in literature have produced new ways of thought and introspective outlooks on life that have introduced many people in the world to the ideas of feminism. The writings of Gilman and Woolf allow readers to take a look into the lives of hard working women who have to deal with the everyday oppression of being a woman in times of inequality and political injustice.

    Read More

  • Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

    1932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Being a Feminist and having a Feminist point of view in observing every cultural, social and historical issue had been translated as having a feminine centered and anti-masculine perception. Unlike the general and common knowledge about feminism, it is not only an anti-masculine perception towards social and individual issues. Feminism according to Oxford dictionary is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes that more commonly known as the pursuit of equality for women’s rights. On the other hand, in studying literary books as it will be in this paper, the mentioned definition is not applicable. Therefore, in this paper Feminist criticism will be used in order to study some characters’ lives in “Like water for chocolate” and “Season of Migration to the north” novels. Feminist criticism according to Oxford dictionary is a type of literary theory that points out different genders, races, classes, religions that are depictured in literature and will be used in this paper.

    Read More

More about The pilgrimage of women in Laurence's The Diviners

Open Document