Introduction
Elizabeth Gaskell, author of Wives and Daughters, wrote a best seller during the Victorian reign. Although she started her writing career in her late thirties, she managed to impress her critics with her unique style. She managed to branch away from writing novels to write a biography about her friend Charlotte Bronte, which almost resulted in a lawsuit. Even though critics embarked harshness on her writing about the plight of the working class, yet they viewed her work as a skillful.
Brief Summary of Wives and Daughters
Wives and Daughters is centered on its main character Molly Gibson. She’s the daughter of the local town doctor Dr. Gibson. The premature death of Molly’s mother forced the father to be both parents to the girl. Over the years, the father and daughter duo managed to build a bond that was strong, loving and caring.
Just a few miles up the road was the Hamley estate. The Hamley family developed a close connection with the Gibson family. Squire Hamley and Lady Hamley have two sons Osborne and Roger. With both sons are attending Cambridge University to become scholar’s in their field of poetry and science. Occasionally, Squire Hamley would ask Dr. Gibson if Molly could come by for a visit because his wife has asked about her. Both husband and wife embrace Molly as if she was a child of their own. The Hamley’s have an interesting relationship with their sons. For some reason, both parents will dote on Osborne because they believed he’s a genius whereas Roger’s intelligence was seen as mediocre. Roger returning home was a joyous one, but they would have preferred the presence of Osborne instead. He returned home to announced that Osborne has failed his exams, which placed his scholarship in jeopardy ...
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...riod. Molly’s character tries to control her temper and loose lips, while trying to accept and overlook people’s moral flaws, but her strong thirst for an independent voice was considered a sin.
A woman’s reputation is regarded as a holiness attribute that is far more important than her social status in society. A tarnished reputation is considered by some elders as an abomination to one’s self image. In the novel, Gaskell puts Molly’s reputation as a respectable young woman on the line by insinuating that she was behaving unfashionably with Mr. Preston.
The society of women complied with replicated this God-like figure, which is impossible to achieve since no living human can reach this supreme stature. The novel manages to offer insight into the different characters while still addressing critical and social roles in a male oriented society.
Within this family is a rather troublesome and frankly a bit clichéd mother (being the husband’s in this case) whose sole issue appears to be being herself. Readers are made to see her as complaining and overall very unpleasant to the rest of the family, especially the two young parents. It is absolutely clear that Bailey very much dislikes his mother, taking a dismissive stance to her, “Bailey didn 't look up from his reading so she wheeled around then and faced the children 's mother” and certainly not entertaining to her pleasure, “She asked Bailey if he would like to dance but he only glared at her.” However, soon readers start to see another side of this story, one which explains the situation more than what is initially offered by O’Conner. The differences in personal beliefs and ideologies between Bailey and his mother cause a major rift. It’s implied that perhaps she was not a very good parental figure to him leading up to the end as realizations dawned upon her far too late. Some of this may be attributed to the lifestyle and morals an older woman would have been raised in, but it is also strongly hinted at that she may have certain incorrigible flaws. This idea is confirmed in the ending lines of the work: “‘She would of been a good woman,’ The Misfit said, ‘if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her
When studying gender roles in history, one will find that females are often depicted in similar ways no matter the era or region of study. Even when comparing the industrialized, early, twentieth century to today’s progressive era, there are striking similarities between female roles. We can see that over the course of the twentieth century, the qualities of loyalty and honesty have decreased in marriages due to the treatment of the two main female roles as depicted literature. The first was the role of the wife. The wife was often portrayed as a housekeeper and a nanny. Dull in appearance, there was no aesthetic beauty to this typical female. The other main role was the “other woman.” The more mysterious and promiscuous character, this woman portrayed the other part of the female population. Both of these types of characters are composites that portrayed the average, disposable female while how they were treated conveyed the general handling of females in the early, twentieth century.
In the first few chapters Gaskell offers various examples of what the traditional woman of England is like. Margaret’s early descriptions in Chapter 7, characterize the beautiful, gentle femininity so idolized. Margaret is beautiful in her own way, she is very conscious of her surroundings. She is privileged in her own way by being in a respectable position in the tranquil village of Helstone. Throughout the beginning of the novel it is eluded that Margaret has the onset of a mature middle class mentality. During the planning of her beloved cousin Edith Shaw’s wedding, Margaret comments on Edith seemingly oblivious demeanor, as the house is chaos in preparations. Edith tries hard to please expectation of her social class. She is privileged and beautiful; angelic and innocent, she is the perfect idyllic, ignorant child bride, designed to please. For Margaret, “...the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed”(Gaskell, 7). It is in this passage that the readers familiarize themselves with Margaret’s keen ability to see and perceive the differences between her and her cousin’s manor. Edith poses the calm demure and angelic tranquility a woman is decreed to posses. Unsurprisingly at the brink of commotion Margaret observes that, “the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of
Brian Motzenbecker supports my idea that the parents are divorced but finds symbolism in what the children discuss and the father’s "quips" (174). I can suggest to the contrary that these stories within the story are meaningful but not symbolic at all. The rapid succession of jumping from one topic to the next suggests to me that the need for conversation without a break is necessary. It keeps everyone from simultaneously t...
Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji, set in the Heian Period, gives a good idea of what the model Heian man and Heian woman should look like. Genji himself is like a physical embodiment of male perfection, while a large portion of the Broom Tree chapter outlines the ideal of a woman—that it is men who decide what constitutes a perfect woman, and the fact that even they cannot come to decide which traits are the best, and whether anyone can realistically possess all of those traits shows that the function of women in the eyes of men of that period was largely to cater to their husbands and households. Broken down, there are similarities and differences between the standard for Heian men and women, and the Tale of Genji provides excellent examples of characters who fit into their respective gender roles.
In modern day society, female gender roles are defined in several of forms; ranging from the stereotypical concept of women being primary caretakers to women being the dominant sex. After analyzing two sources of past literature, two iconic women represent personas of both social standings. In the literary works “Genesis” of The Hebrew Bible; along with, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, impactful phenomenons take place in the era of these women.
...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).
Judgment is necessary for the self-preservation of humans solely when applied with original intent; however, overused and abused, judgment can mutate into prejudice. Frequently, openly addressing the issues of prejudice is more effective than suppressing it, facilitating optimum understanding while enabling capacity for change. Successfully employed, satire may enlighten hearts and minds to the ridiculousness of prejudice, while opportunely comical. Humorously, Alison exhibits loquaciousness, manipulation, sexual incontinence, indecisiveness, deceitfulness, and countless additional stereotypes in the prologue and tale, while she clarifies that sovereignty over husbands is the exclusive womanly desire. Auspiciously, Geoffrey Chaucer’s theme illustrates the absurdity of female stereotypes by utilizing satirical expression, ironically upholding the irrational presence of misogynistic
Margaret is an intelligent, articulate, and ambitious woman who desires to rise up in social status by marrying a man of higher social rank. She attends to those above her, in hopes of elevating her status as she becomes closer to the upper-class. As a minor character, she plays a small yet crucial role in advancing Don John’s plot to slander Hero and spoil her wedding. As a lower-class character, Margaret serves as a foil to the rich girls, particularly Hero, who embodies every attitude and mindset Margaret does not. But she also offers an alternative perspective on the upper-class characters in the play. Because Margaret is victimized because of her social ambitions, punished for wanting to rise above her ...
Since the beginning of time, women have strived to achieve an equal status in society. The vast majority of women have rebelled against the norm for equal status. As if washing the dirt off one’s hands, women are forgotten for all of their achievements. The identity of women in the Western world has evolved from domesticity and servility, and moved toward their valuation as individuals of intellect, talent, and independence. The culture about women’s empowerment has been reflected in literature and history throughout many ages.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
To begin this paper, I want to explain a little bit about Feminist Criticism. This category of criticism scrutinizes the means in which texts have been molded in accordance with matters of gender. It concentrates on social and financial disparities in a “male-controlled” culture that continues to impede women from grasping their true potentials. There are several perceptions and theories universally shared by feminist critics. One such belief is that our society is undeniably regulated by men. Another belief is that the concept of “gender” is mostly, if not wholly, a social standard that has curtailed from the never ending masculine biases that engulf our world. This male dominated philosophy is excessively abundant in most of the writings that are deemed exceptional literature. In addition, many feminist consider females, in literature, to be represented as destructive or docile objects, while most males are portrayed as being brave and resilient leaders.
In contemporary society, feminism is emerging as a theory of social construct. In literature it is often challenging to discover female characters that go beyond the limits of marginalized female stereotypes and roles as a means to transgress beyond societal norms. Women are characterized as subordinate objects, amid the dominant patriarchal nature entrenched amid the epic. In The Ramayana, women are portrayed as powerless objects that succumb to the manipulation of men as the text portrays a false empowerment of women, which ultimately succumb to common archetypes accustomed to women in literature; implementing a hierarchy of gender that institutionalizes male dominance amid female inferiority. The women of The Ramayana struggle to oppose the systemic patriarchy and pursue a pathway towards attaining dynamic elements of power, that enable their ability to embody autonomous authority. In Valmiki’s The Ramayana, while women appear to be empowered, ultimately they are feeble instruments utilized to fulfill the desires of men.
Catherine, nicknamed Kitty, is the fourth daughter in the Bennet family. She is “weak-spirited, irritable, and completely under Lydia’s guidance” (206). Like her younger sister, she is carefree and shows little remorse for her behavior. Lydia is the youngest daughter of the Bennet family and the tallest. As the favorite of Mrs. Bennet, she is “self-willed and careless” (206) and, like Catherine, she is “ignorant, idle, and vain” (207). Little concerns her more than potential husbands and officers of the militia. Each daughter of the Bennet family is vital to the complexity of Pride and Prejudice as each of their temperaments contradicts and complements those of the others.
For thousands of centuries literature has been used as a clever device to show the negative outlook in which society has on women at that time. The common theme of men exploiting women for personal gain and using their heavy-handed power to make women feel inferior can be seen in writings from the ancient Greeks all the through authors of the 20th century. Writers and intellectual thinkers such as Plato, Peter Abelard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Henrik Ibsen, and even women such as Virgina Wolfe, and Fatima Mernissi have all written about the struggles caused by domineering men which women have fought against for so long. It is not until the late twentieth century that we see a positive almost spiritual view of women from the stories told by Gao Xingjan in his book One Man’s Bible. The 1994 publication of Fatima Mernissi’s memoirs of her girlhood in a harem spoke powerfully in favor of women shedding prescribed gender roles in favor of embracing their own identities. It is books such as Fatima’s and Gao’s which will help carry out feminist movements into the 21st century.