The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Path and Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid

In the level of denial, women recognize their options, but feel that it is more beneficial for them to stay in their present state. On... ... middle of paper ... ...d independence is another great dilemma that I think many women go through, especially those in professional arenas and takes many of them a long time to resolve the two. Growing up in a matriarchal family, my mother has always instilled through actions the need for a woman to be independent. She raised my sister and I alone and I have seen her struggle with this dilemma, when she remarried. As Kolbenschlag said, often dependency is equated to domination, which is not what most women want.

Book 28.) Brooks, Polly Schoyer. Beyond The Myth the Story of Joan of Arc: New York, New York, Mifflin Company. 1990. Book 29.)

With an author ahead of her time, Kate Chopin challenged the ideas of how women should be seen socially. Chopin frankly portrays women as emotional, intelligent and sexual beings. While it might seem that Chopin offers positive examples of female characters, in actuality they are complicated, messy and ultimately negative. All of her main female character seem to experience self-awareness, something very important at that time period because while women had feelings and thoughts, they weren't recognized by society, these feelings of independence and discovery are often temporary, still bound to social limitations. In some cases, it requires the Chopin brings attention to women's internal struggles with themselves and who they are told to be in a society that dismisses female autonomy, she doesn't do anything to solve or change them.

Some will do whatever it takes to fit in with the crowd and community. In focusing on young women particularly, some may look up to the image of the ideal woman, which would be the perfect body, intelligence, and wifely personality. Then there are those young girls that want to detach themselves from what society expects from them creating themselves to be who they want to be. These are just some of the issues that arise in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. In Speak, Melinda's adolescent experience is shaped through the struggles of maintaining the traditional female role, which portrayed by the majority of female characters in the novel while the protagonist is also trying to defy the gender norms of society.

They hope or may even pray that one gets a chance to bear the Commanders child. The feminism is taken to the extremes with coinciding sex, secrecy escaping rights. Overall, Gilead is not a feminist society since women’s rights were taken away as a result of dehumanization and oppression of women. There is more a vision or hope of feminism that is present. The women try to lives there lives with some happiness and freedom, however it is hard since they are constantly watched by either the Aunts or the eye and have to abide strict rules.

Their female children experienced life in the traditional family and the effects it had on their mothers in a way that caused them to not become like their mothers. As these children grew into women, they longed to pursue higher education and seek employment outside of the home, but often society ostracized them if they did not marry and bear children. Ferdinand Lundberg and Marya Farnham, in their bestselling book, The Modern Woman: The Lost Sex portrayed the women that strayed away from the traditional life as being emotionally disturbed. This led most women to stay at home despite whatever dreams they had. In order to keep a reputation of a “good wife and mother,” independent or career driven women were forced to keep their lives outside of the home a secret.

“No name woman” shows a young girl being told not to shame her family by following the traditions of a woman not forming her own identity. These stories show the oppression women go through and the forced lives that they have to live. In conclusion your gender determines the type of lifestyle you are suppose live. No matter what a women culture is or the time period she lives’ in woman are always going to be put second to men. But as time has evolved Women have tried to refrain from these roles that have been forced upon them.

Women would be able to voice their opinions in more than just the right way to clean a house or discipline a child. Important as these pieces are, there is more to life like self-investment. Women did not fully embrace the feminist movement due to the combination of fear, male dominance and investment. Society’s placement of important on male’s views overshadowed women’s voices. As a result, many were afraid to step out of the designated zone given to them.

These novels further explore these women’s relationships and emotions, proving that throughout the ages of history women have wanted quite similar things out life. Similarly they interconnect in the fact that the end of the stories are left for interpretation from the reader. Both these women in these novels are being woken up to the world around themselves. They are not only waking up to their own understanding of themselves as women and individuals that are not happy in the domestic world of their peers, but they are also awakening themselves as sexual beings. Again, even though it may not seem like very substantial evidence, there is the comparison of both Edna Pontellier and Janie feeling like outsiders.

In the novel, Chopin portrays Edna’s character development by stating, “She was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself” (Chopin 67) . This characterization of Edna allows the reader to understand that Edna is not happy with her life because of the feminine role that she must maintain. As a character, Edna is very daring and courageous to attempt to break the roles that women held in the 18th century. In an analysis of, “The Awakening”, Novels for Students stated, “The roles that Edna and Robert play in the story point out the unfairness of sexism and the repression of individual freedom that it causes” (Novels for Students). The use of characterization allows the theme of sexism to be illustrated through the roles that characters Edna and Robert play.