In the poem 'The Last Day of the Year,'; Annette Von Droste-Hülshoff uses imagery and references to God to express the coming of the end of the year. The poem, however, seems to reflect the impending freedom of women from a patriarchal society. This poem's imagery and outside references suggest that it is in fact a plea for the end of the suffering of women, and that the coming of their empowerment is near. The three things that I will use to prove this point are how one year represents the time of women's oppression, how she speaks directly to men in the poem, and how she makes divine references to represent the freedom of women.
Droste-Hulshoff says in line one of this poem, 'The year at its turn'; (Droste-Hulshoff, 1). Throughout this poem, she uses the year to represent a period of time that is coming to an end. Referring to the introduction in the World Reader, Droste-Hulshoff was a woman 'yearning for the freedom to be herself'; (Caws, 2002). This forces the reader to consider that she is using the time period of the year as the time of women's oppression. She feels that the time of the oppression is coming to an end. 'I wait in stern silence, O deep night! Is there an open eye?'; (Droste-Hulshoff 5-7) is one example of how she considers the era of women's oppression at its end. Another example is the following quote: ' My life breaks down somewhere in the circle of this year. Long have I known decay. Yet my heart in love glows under the huge stone of passion'; (Droste-Hulshoff 37-42). She has felt this persecution for all of her life, but she still prospers as a individual and waits with short patience for her time to come.
At one point in this poem, Droste-Hulshoff speaks to an unidentified second party. 'You, child of sin, has there not been a hollow, secret quiver each day in your savage chest, as the polar winds reach across the stones, breaking, possessed with slow and insistent rage?'; (Droste-Hulshoff 24-31). Continuing under the assumption that this poem was created to show the iniquities of sexism, one could put men in place of you in the preceding excerpt. I believe this to be a likely case because of the references to 'your savage chest'; (Droste-Hulshoff 27) and the words speaking of possession and rage, all considered by society to be very masculine traits.
The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.
She questions “why should I be my aunt / or me, or anyone?” (75-76), perhaps highlighting the notion that women were not as likely to be seen as an induvial at this time in history. Additionally, she questions, almost rhetorically so, if “those awful hanging breasts -- / held us all together / or made us all just one?” (81-83). This conveys the questions of what it means to be a woman: are we simply similar because of “awful hanging breasts” as the speaker of the poem questions, or are we held together by something else, and what is society’s perception on this? It is also interesting to note Bishop’s use of parenthesis around the line “I could read” (15). It may function as an aside for the reader to realize that the six year old girl can in fact read, but also might function as a wink to the misconstrued notion throughout history that women were less educated and didn’t
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 structures. 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.
The idea and characteristics of gender, relate to the specific differences men and women deliver to society and the unique qualities and roles each demonstrate. The term ‘Femininity’ refers to the range of aspects and womanly characteristics the female represents. The foundation of femininity creates and brings forth many historical and contemporary issues. According to Mary Wollstonecraft in ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’, women’s femininity is considered a flaw of nature. Throughout the paper, history indicates how women are viewed and looked upon in a male dominated world which hinders a woman’s potential, her character, her mind, her dreams, her femininity. The paper particularly stresses the idea of power, the power of man. The historical argument leans towards man’s desire to treat women as inferior to them.
The influential roles of women in the story also have important effects on the whole poem. It is them that press the senses of love, family care, devotion, and other ethical attitudes on the progression of the story. In this poem the Poet has created a sort of “catalogue of women” in which he accurately creates and disting...
‘The woman’ of the poem has no specific identity and this helps us even further see the situation in which the woman is experiencing, the lost of one’s identity. Questions start to be raised and we wonder if Harwood uses this character to portray her views of every woman which goes into the stage of motherhood, where much sacrifice is needed one being the identity that was present in society prior to children.
As this poem characterizes the view of a native woman expressing feelings of passion relating to her culture, it also criticizes society, in particular Christianity, as the speaker is experiencing feelings of discontent with the outcome of residential schools. It does not directly criticize the faith, but through the use of a heavy native dialect and implications to the Christian faith it becomes simple to read the speakers emotions.
... convey the ways and outcomes of patriarchal oppression. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the result was insanity, in the novel The Awakening death was the result and in “The Story of an Hour” the result was also death. These are not the only results of a sudden realization that men should not have all the power. Women have resisted patriarchal power and earned their power against oppression throughout the years that followed the 19th century.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.
...sed society with religious overtones throughout the poem, as though religion and God are placing pressure on her. The is a very deep poem that can be taken in may ways depending on the readers stature yet one thing is certain; this poem speaks on Woman’s Identity.
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.
In the analysis of the issue in question, I have considered Mary Wollstonecraft’s Text, Vindication of the Rights of Woman. As an equivocal for liberties for humanity, Wollstonecraft was a feminist who championed for women rights of her time. Having witnessed devastating results or men’s improvidence, Wollstonecraft embraced an independent life, educated herself, and ultimately earned a living as a writer, teacher, and governess. In her book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she created a scandal perhaps to her unconventional lifestyle. The book is a manifesto of women rights arguing passionately for educating women. Sensualist and tyrants appear right in their endeavor to hold women in darkness to serve as slaves and their plaything. Anyone with a keen interest in women rights movement will surely welcome her inexpensive edition, a landmark documen...
This, in fact, is an example of “dynamic decomposition” of which the speaker claims she understands nothing. The ironic contradiction of form and content underlines the contradiction between the women’s presentation of her outer self and that of her inner self. The poem concludes with the line “’Let us go home she is tired and wants to go to bed.’” which is a statement made by the man. Hence, it “appears to give the last word to the men” but, in reality, it mirrors the poem’s opening lines and emphasises the role the woman assumes on the outside as well as her inner awareness and criticism. This echoes Loy’s proclamation in her “Feminist Manifesto” in which she states that women should “[l]eave off looking to men to find out what [they] are not [but] seek within [themselves] to find out what [they] are”. Therefore, the poem presents a “new woman” confined in the traditional social order but resisting it as she is aware and critical of
Le, F. G., Buehrle, M. C., & Von, H. A. (2010). The Eternal woman: The timeless meaning of the feminine. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Several people regard women as inferior figures in this global world. Women have challenged the traditional female roles and have gradually climbed up the ladder of equality. They portray a distinct perspective that proves that womanhood can accomplish anything they set their mind to and search for equal gender status. The poems celebrate femininity and highlights the traits necessary for a women to be successful. The ladies in the poems are female-figures that carry themselves with high self-esteem and fearlessness. This essay identifies various literary techniques that describe feminine strength in Angelou and Clifton.