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position of women in societal literature
treatment of women in literature
treatment of women in literature
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The Wreath The book The Wreath by Kristin Laransdatter is about a loving and religious family who lives in a rural area in Norway. The book revolves around the character Kristin who has a fairly close relationship with her father Lavrans who is a respected master. Ragnfrid is the wife of Lavrans who is going through depression after losing three sons and her youngest daughter being crippled because of an accident. A attempted rape tragedy that ruined her reputation makes Kristin be sent to a convent which turns her life around. Her parents had already betrothed her to a landowner’s son since childhood whose name is Simon Darre. She ends up disobeying her parents, friend and brother, breaking church rules and being untruthful. When she goes to the convent she ends up falling for Erlend Nikulausson and begin a hidden romance because to the church and the state is a sin. Lavrans does not approve the relationship at first because Erlend is seen as impulsive and immature but he realizes that he cannot stop the relationship so he allows them get married. When Erland and Kristen are finall...
The Ghent Altarpiece (began by Jan’s older brother Hubert Van Eyck; although the majority of artwork was done by Jan himself) functioned as a polyptych with 24 separate panels. The subject of the Ghent Altarpiece is the commemoration of the fall to the redemption; or rather, the rise of Christianity, the fall of Christianity (sin), and then redemption (Christ's sacrifice that saves mankind).
As probably the best courtroom dramas of the twentieth century, Inherit the Wind is based on the famous, Scopes Monkey Trial. The play was printed virtually thirty years afterward and takes original authority in varying the true-life elements of the court case. The central conflict of the play is based on the Scopes Monkey Trial itself. Several themes are presented throughout the play, for example when Brady argues for religious values while Drummond argues for natural values and freedom of thought. The definition of a theme is an implicit or recurrent idea. We also see a theme of man versus society, furthermore, Bertram Cates versus the small town of Hillsboro. A third theme is appearance versus reality, or the difference between outward pretext and the basic truth. There are also quite a few symbols all the way through the play. A symbol is something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible. A symbol can also be an image that has multiple interpretations. For instance in Inherit the Wind, the small town mentality concept is greatly represented. The widespread significance of the court case is symbolized by the radio broadcast during the trial. External beauty is also significant when it is symbolized by the means of the rocking horse we learn about from Drummond's childhood. During the decade of the Scopes Monkey Trial, the conflict of evolution and the bible has massive relevance to the municipal and philosophical surroundings.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues foreigners will come upon is to maintain a strong identity within the temptations and traditions from other cultures. Novelist Frank Delaney’s image of the search for identity is one of the best, quoting that one must “understand and reconnect with our stories, the stories of the ancestors . . . to build our identities”. For one, to maintain a firm identity, elderly characters often implement Chinese traditions to avoid younger generations veering toward different traditions, such as the Western culture. As well, the Chinese-Canadians of the novel sustain a superior identity because of their own cultural village in Vancouver, known as Chinatown, to implement firm beliefs, heritage, and pride. Thus in Wayson Choy’s, The Jade Peony, the novel discusses the challenge for different characters to maintain a firm and sole identity in the midst of a new environment with different temptations and influences. Ultimately, the characters of this novel rely upon different influences to form an identity, one of which being a strong and wide elderly personal
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase that has been uttered numerous times to children by their parents. This aphorism has been used to not only apply to books but also people. In The Black Walnut Tree by Mary Oliver, the speaker faces a conflict between the literal and figurative meaning of a tree in her yard. In the beginning of the poem, the mother and daughter “debate” selling the tree to “pay off their mortgage.” But with a shift from literal language to figurative language comes a symbolic representation of the tree, one that represents family heritage and their ancestors’ hard work.
A Doll?s House presents a revolutionary change for Norway in the 1880?s. During this time period women were seen as second or even third class citizens, and though numerically this is not true, a minority . Ibsen presents his character Nora as a plaything, sorely manipulated by the men in her life. As the play pro...
Connie Fife is a Saskatchewan, Cree poet who writes using her unique perspective, telling of her personal experiences and upbringing. This perspective is revealed to her audience through the poems “This is not a Metaphor”, “I Have Become so Many Mountains”, and “She Who Remembers” all of which present a direct relationship to her traditional background and culture (Rosen-Garten, Goldrick-Jones 1010). To show the relationship of her experiences through her poetry, Fife uses the form of dramatic monologue, as well as modern language and literal writing to display themes about racism presenting her traditional viewpoint to her audience.
The Modern Breakthrough of Scandinavian literature, which occurred at the latter end of the 19th century, was a direct reaction to the Romantic ideas of idealism and emotion so heavily emphasized throughout the previous century. Characterized by presenting realism and naturalism, the movement brought social issues, like the drive for equality and personal liberty, to question. August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen brought such ideas to the forefront of literature in “The Father” and “A Doll House.” Multiple characters in the plays are on journeys towards seeking their personal liberty, but the theme is arguably most exemplified in said journeys of the two stories’ main female character. Using the medium of their female leads (Laura and Nora, respectively), Strindberg and Ibsen diverge in their construction of the drive for personal liberty, where Laura represents a negative dismantling of the traditional family and Nora conversely represents the positive progressive catalyst in her drive for social equality and personal liberty.
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House the main character, Nora Helmer, shows us the story of a woman who has borrow money without her husband’s consent in order to save his life. Although this noble act would be admired by most, Nora has to keep it a secret from Torvald Helmer, her husband, as he would see it as a betrayal. The measures that Nora takes in order to keep the loan a secret, create circumstances that bring Nora—whose only duty is to serve her husband— to discover that her life can be more than just being an accessory to her husband. She becomes her own self. In her struggle to keep the borrowed money from her husband’s knowledge Nora begins a transformation from dependence of Torvald, to being self-efficient, self-worthy, and self-independent—qualities women of her time lacked of—because all, such as Nora never displayed a mind of their own. At the end, when Nora’s secret is revealed to Torvald and his reaction is to condemn her for borrowing the money, Nora realizes that she no longer fears her husband’s reaction; she is no longer worried of keeping appearances of what society says she should be as a wife, and mother. The secret that Nora tries very hard to keep hidden, gives her the opportunity to discover herself as an individual, and what she is capable of doing regardless the constraints of society.
Around the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, he develops a character, Madame Loisel, who illustrates her different style of assessments. Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she misplaces the closest thing she has to the life she dreams of and not telling her friend about the mishap, she could have set herself aside from ten years of work. Through many literary devices, de Maupassant sends a message to value less substance articles so life can be spent wisely.
“I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life’s blood, and everything for your sake” (Ibsen 71). This statement shows just how much a husband loves his wife, so much he is willing to relinquish all that he has. In “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, the reader is shown how just one action causes the main protagonist, Nora Helmer and her loving husband Torvald, to go from loving each other to eventually splitting up. After a careful analysis of the story, the reader is shown how Nora’s illicit action cause their feelings towards her and her husband to change, why they changed, and how it affected the story.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, written in 1879, is set in late-19th century Norway. Upon publication, Ibsen’s biting commentary on 19th century marriage stereotypes created widespread uproar. In the play’s first act, the viewer is introduced to a young married couple by the names of Nora and Torvald. In tune with stereotypes of the time, the relationship is controlled almost dictatorially by the husband. Nora is often treated by Torvald the way one might expect a father to treat his daughter. For instance, Torvald incessantly refers to Nora by child-like nicknames such as “my little squirrel” and “skylark” and often speaks to her in a condescending manner. Nora, who acts as a symbol of all women of that time, initially fits in very well with the common perception of women in late-19th century Scandinavia. Torvald himself even extends this sentiment of male infallibility and female submissiveness to the whole female race, saying, “Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early in life has had a deceitful mother (Ibsen 27).” However, throughout the play Nora begins to break the mold of inferiority that was associ...
The idea of equality for women has been the subject of countless books, speeches, and performances for decades. The concept of a world in which a woman can be considered equal to a man is not a new concept in today’s society, but it was in that of 19th century Norway. This is the world of noted playwright Heinrik Ibsen, a forward thinking individual with ideas that challenged the restrictions of society time and time again. A forerunner in the women’s rights movement, Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House offers a commentary much before its time on the dangers of a patriarchal society through the evolution of its protagonist, Nora. In his play, Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize the growing empowerment and independence of Nora, as well as the steady deterioration of Nora and Helmer’s marriage.
In the short story “The Necklace”, the main character, Loisel, is a woman who dreams of greater things in her life. She is married to a poor clerk who tries his best to make her happy no matter what. In an attempt to try to bring happiness to his wife, he manages to get two invitations to a very classy ball, but even in light of this Loisel is still unhappy. Even when she gets a new dress she is still unhappy. This lasts until her husband suggests she borrows some jewelry from a friend, and upon doing so she is finally happy. Once the ball is over, and they reach home, Loisel has the horrible realization that she has lost the necklace, and after ten years of hard labor and suffering, they pay off debts incurred to get a replacement. The central idea of this story is how something small can have a life changing effect on our and others life’s. This idea is presented through internal and external conflicts, third person omniscient point of view, and the round-dynamic character of Loisel. The third person limited omniscient point-of-view is prevalent throughout this short story in the way that the author lets the reader only see into the main character’s thoughts. Loisel is revealed to the reader as being unhappy with her life and wishing for fancier things. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.” (de Maupassant 887) When her husband tries to fancy things up, “she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls…” (de Maupassant 887) As the story goes on her point of view changes, as she “now knew the horrible existence of the needy. She took her part, moreover all of a sudden, with heroism.” (de Maupassant 891) Having the accountability to know that the “dreadful debt must be paid.” (de Maupassant 891 ) This point-of-view is used to help the reader gain more insight to how Loisel’s whole mindset is changed throughout her struggle to pay off their debts. Maupassant only reveals the thoughts and feelings of these this main character leaving all the others as flat characters. Loisel is a round-dynamic character in that Maupassant shows how she thought she was born in the wrong “station”. “She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her proper station.
Judith Wright is a respected Australian poet is also known as a conservationist and protester. Her poetry has captured the most amazing imagery of Australian Culture. For Australian students to understand their own culture and history it is necessary to study the best poetry and Judith Wright’s poetry is definitely some of the best.
For various reasons, the role of women in society has been analyzed and frequently debated throughout history. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is no exception to the rule. In Norway, and during the Victorian period in history, women’s responsibilities were simply to keep house or do small jobs on the side such as sewing or light secretarial work. Henrik Ibsen may have had several intentions when writing his play A Doll’s House, but the one that stands out so clearly is the role of women in the time period from which the play takes place and just how doll-like they were treated in Victorian society. Women during this period were by no means the decision-makers of their households. Husbands or fathers were the heads of the household and many times women didn’t even know what state their financial affairs were in. It was often times only when something drastic happened that a woman would become aware of these things. For instance, if a husband should fall sick or even pass away and there were no male relatives to help take care of things, often times the woman would have to step up and distinguish what needed to be done in order to take care of things. We see a variation of this situation in Ibsen’s play. We meet a woman, Nora, and her husband Torvald and in it we witness the deterioration of their life together through Nora’s eyes. Throughout this analysis of A Doll’s House, I will address several things concerning Ibsen’s play. I will give a synopsis of the play, an analysis of three major characters: a.) Nora, b.) Torvald, and c.) Krogstad. I will discuss the language of the play and themes. I will give an in-depth look at the playwright himself as well as information on his creation of the play. I will give an idea of ...