The novel "Hero of Our Time", written by M. Lermontov in 1839-1840, is the first realistic prosaic psychological and philosophical work in the Russian literature. The novel was written after the crushing defeat of December uprising. In his novel, Lermontov was drawing the portrait of a man of that epoch, i.e., the hero of his time, whose character was build on the defects of entire generation in which author lived.
Female characters created by Lermontov playing a large role in the novel: they make it possible to more deeply open the nature of Lermontov's main hero Pechorin, his internal peace, and also his look on love. All female characters are the representatives of different social classes in the Lermontov's time: Bela - one of the "children of nature", in whose peace falls Pechorin in the narrative "Bela"; undine, who represents the romantic peace of the lawless liberty, which is so much valued by Pechorin; princess Mary and Vera, two personages of the same social class as Pechorin.
Lermontov introduces Caucasian girl Bela to the reader first. She is very sincere and kind, but she is not lucking in her nature such national features as pride, sense of self-respect, lack of development and capability for passion. After being offended by Pechorin for his withdrawal to the hunting, having proudly raised head, she sad: "I'm not a slave - I'm a princely daughter!" Lermontov does not give the detailed description on appearance of the girl, but he focuses his attention on her eyes, which, "like in the wild goat and glanced straight... into the soul." She so passionately and hotly loves Pechorin, that his love for her seems shallow and unimportant. The Bela's character was necessary for Lermontov in order for him to show that t...
... middle of paper ...
...s, spirit of sacrifice, she does not have a clearly expressed sense of self-respect, she again acknowledges her love to Pechorin, even after he left her once already. All her struggles and pain for her love to Pechorin were necessary for Lermontov to show the selfishness of his hero, his altitude to those who loved him, his fear of loosing his freedom- one thing, which in Pechorin's opinion, was essential for life.
Thus, all female characters in the Lermontov's novel "Hero of Our Times" play an important role: with their aid Lermontov shows that his hero - Pechorin is lonely in any surroundings, he cannot find peace for himself even in such deeply intimate feeling as love. The love of woman, to whatever social circle she belongs, can only spark the feeling in him only for the short instance, but he cannot sincerely return her love, and in this - his tragedy.
A Feminist Perspective of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing Unlike the title of this piece suggests, Hero did not undergo her transformation in Much Ado About Nothing through magic. Rather, Hero was a victim of the double standards and illogical fears that the men of Shakespeare’s plays commonly held. The following quote sums it up quite well. In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period. Instead, it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry.
Leo Tolstoy, author of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, suffered numerous tragic losses such as his parents and his aunt, Tatyana Ergolsky who created a tremendous impact during Tolstoy’s childhood. Overtime, Tolstoy was cultured and for Tolstoy it was common within his community. During the 1840, Tolstoy developed a strong, eager interest for the studies of moral philosophy. In The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy suggests that although people can find happiness in materialism, they need spirituality during a crisis.
Many stories talk about relationships, especially the ones between man and woman as couple. In some of them, generally the most popular ones, these relationships are presented in a rosy, sentimental and cliché way. In others, they are presented using a much deeper, realistic and complicated tone; much more of how they are in real life. But not matter in what style the author presents its work, the base of every love story is the role each member of that relationship assumes in it. A role, that sometimes, internal forces will determinate them, such as: ideas, beliefs, interests, etc. or in order cases external, such as society. In the story “The Storm” by American writer Kate Chopin and the play A Doll’s house by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen I am going to examine those roles, giving a special focus to the woman´s, because in both works, it is non-traditional, different and somewhat shocking, besides having a feminist point of view.
The following paper will focus on one of the most characteristically types of work for Chekhov: “The Lady and the Pet Dog”. Our aim is to portrait the character of Dmitry Dmitrich Gurov, in the context of the story, extracting those elements that are characteristic for the period in which Chekhov wrote the story.
The book then talks about viewpoints of women, both real and those who face tragedy. Women during this time were very secluded and silent, but the heroines contradicted that. This chapter talks about the images of women in the classical literature in Athens, and the role they had in society. Many tragedies were ones that formed by mythes during the Bronze Age. It showed the separation in what made women heroic, rather than average. While viewing other Scholarly sourcese, Pomerory writes her own theory, she used others
In conclusion, it becomes obvious by these three plays that for a woman to achieve kleos in ancient Greece, she usually had to become more man-like in her role. The murders committed by Electra and Medea, the bravery of Antigone—all three of these were fulfilled by what would have normally been considered a man’s role. A woman could rarely be considered a hero unless she became like a man in her actions. Otherwise, she would be only a simple woman.
This essay explores the role of women in Homer's Odyssey, James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Derrick Walcott's Omeros (1990), epics written in very different historical periods. Common to all three epics are women as the transforming figure in a man's life, both in the capacity of a harlot and as wife.
Despite Russia being unstable during the 1860s due to political conflicts, class conflicts, and various revolutionary ideologies shaking up traditional customs, women were still constantly trapped in their own state of oppression. Women were faced with inequality everywhere - from their community, to even their own family. Compared to men, they were subordinated legally at every social level and weren’t allowed to participate in occupations outside of their domestic work. In What is to Be Done?, Nikolai Chernyshevsky implements much of the intelligentsia’s ideas for transforming the subordination of women. The novel centers on Vera Pavlovna, a woman who escapes a suffocating lifestyle and forced marriage, becomes an entrepreneur, and finds her own true love with the help of her new found independence. Chernyshevsky uses Vera’s journey as an example of how a woman is oppressed and how she is able to be liberated from that oppression.
The memoir gives a unique perspective of the noblewoman in this period of Russian society. A male-centered society made it difficult for women to shape and control their lives, however it was possible through means of gaining respect. The society respected woman who had a virtuous demeanor. Especially, those who lived with an immoral spouse and still were able to show virtuous characteristics. Anna is able to gain the respect of people higher in authority than her husband receiving special treatment for various requests. Through her marriage, she recognizes that her husband has rights that she doesn’t have in shaping and controlling her life privately and especially publicly. This society causes for women to depend on men completely.
The aristocratic women or rather the “mothers” enjoy the benefits of wealth and high society and use their perspective abilities to influence men. These women portray three very different kinds of female roles. Arina Barzarova the selfless caretaker, Evdoksya Kukshina the independent feminist, and Anna Odintsova who is both guardian and liberal, but all maintain emotional, social, and romantic control over the men in their lives. Arina Vlasevna Bazarova, the overly emotional mother of Enyushka Bazarova, is an intensely superstitious woman who “believed in all manner of omens, soothsayings, incantations, and pr...
Though not the focus of epic poetry, the female characters of this ancient genre play a central role, as they have a great influence on the male heroes they encounter. In a genre which idealizes manliness and heroism—that is, acts of courage, strength, and cunning— women are set in opposition to these ideals and therefore less respected. At the same time, women who attempt to take on more “masculine” roles are vilified. Here, antagonist is defined as anyone in opposition to the hero’s goals. Female agency—their free will and ability to wield power—is directly related to their role in epic poetry; that is, the more agency a female character has, the more antagonistic of a role she plays. This agency is often enacted through sexuality or supernatural
...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).
Due to traditional stereotypes of women, literature around the world is heavily male-dominant, with few female characters outside of cliché tropes. Whenever a female character is introduced, however, the assumption is that she will be a strong lead that challenges the patriarchal values. The authors of The Thousand and One Nights and Medea use their female centered stories to prove their contrasting beliefs on the role of women not only in literature, but also in society. A story with a female main character can be seen as empowering, but this is not always the case, as seen when comparing and contrasting Medea and The Thousand and One Nights.
Antigone asks Ismene, her sister, if she recognizes how Zeus fulfills them as they live the curse of Oedipus. Although this idea of fulfillment manifests itself specifically in the tragedy of Ismene's and Antigone's radical behavior, the myth also serves as an archetypical model of a woman's position in society, and its patriarchal elements. The influence of Oedipus' curse over his daughters, whether mythological or directly familial, lingers in the ethos of psycho-sexualized European mores. Culturally, this notion characterizes masculinity as being `large and in charge,' the provider and protector; thus, femininity necessarily involves a certain subservience. Such ethos associates femininity with certain gender roles. The story of Oedipus and his daughters, therefore, highlights the overshadowing efficacy of the male presence and it's effects on the female psyche. For instance, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, each paint a picture of the feminine gender role, which predominantly consists of becoming a proper wife, so as to secure a husband, or mother, so as to produce his heir. Essentially, the occidental woman of this period is confined to a life of marriage. In such a patriarchy, what happens to an Antigone, a vicious rejection of all social conventions? And to an Ismene, a passive surrender to patriarchy's nomos? A woman's relationship to society's oppr...
Through themes involving hyper-consciousness, calling into question free will, and suffering in isolation, Dostoevsky’s “Underground Man” serves as a character who exemplifies everything Dostoevsky believes is wrong with the belief in a Russian society perfected by laws, mathematics and science. The tragic ending of The Idiot manifests itself as product of the continual struggle of its characters throughout the book, namely through the downfall of the traditional Russian family, the mockery of Christ-like qualities, and the tensions between good and evil members of society. Both Notes from Underground and The Idiot speak to Dostoevsky’s critique of the rising popularity and prominence of utopianism and socialism ideals in Russian society.