A Feminist Reading of Galatea 2.2 There is one common thread linking all novels written by males; their female characters are always depicted as the stereotypical female: weak, indecisive and emotionally unstable. The feminist approach to analyzing literature provides an explanation for this phenomenon. In this patriarchal society, women are viewed as the weaker sex, inferior. This can be the result of socialization or some negative interactions with women in the past. Richard Powers employs this
A Feminist Reading of The Yellow Wallpaper In the late nineteenth century, after the American social and economic shift commonly referred to as the "Industrial Revolution" had changed the very fabric of American society, increased attention was paid to the psychological disorders that apparently had steamed up out of the new smokestacks and skyscrapers in urban populations (Bauer, 131). These disorders were presumed to have been born out of the exhaustion and "wear and tear" of industrial society
A Feminist Reading of A Woman on a Roof The short story, "A Woman on a Roof," by Doris Lessing may seem to be about a few men who become annoyed with a woman because she suns herself out on her roof. The men feel that she is a distraction and are obviously bothered by her presence. They are not happy that this sunbather is out there on display and illustrate these feelings of discontent by constantly whistling and yelling at her. The men also make several rude and sexist comments to her throughout
A Feminist Reading of Paul's Case At first glance, it may be considered difficult to give a feminist interpretation of "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather, because there is not much mention of women in the text. However, this fact alone gives good reason for a feminist reading of the story. The lack of the presence of females in this story supports the idea that women were not considered an important part of society during Willa Cather's lifetime. In "Paul's Case," the story revolves around a young
A Feminist Reading of The Last of the Mohicans While most often studied as a romance or adventure novel, the most dominant characteristic of The Last of the Mohicans is overlooked: phallicism. From this phallicism stems Cooper's patriarchal view of society. In the novel, men are symbolically set apart from women by the possession of weapons (the phallic symbol), and men are separated from one another by the size of their weapons. The more powerful the men are those bearing the larger, longer
Feminist Reading of Frankenstein When reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot help but notice that the women characters seem to have little substance compared to the male characters. This may have been caused by the time period in which she wrote: one in which females were considered inferior to males. This difference between the sexes can be looked at using a variety of different perspectives. Johanna M. Smith, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses this issue
A Feminist Reading of The Winter’s Tale In the Shakespearean tragedies we have studied, we have been exposed to tragic male protagonists who create their own downfall. Within these tragedies, Shakespeare's female characters are vested with varying degrees of power in relation to the tragic heroes. In looking back at Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, The Winter's Tale can be seen as an extension of the exploration into the nature of women and power broached in his earlier tragedies, as well as
A Feminist Reading of Rabbit, Run I do not like Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. This creation of John Updike, this man who abandons his pregnant wife and young child, and his alliance to the late 1950's feeling of unrest and rebellion makes me angry. Many times throughout this novel my cheeks flushed furiously and I could not contain my exasperated sighs. When I read the last sentences of Rabbit, Run and closed the book, I was disappointed. It was not because Updike fails to make it clear where or
A Feminist Reading of Buffy the Vampire Slayer In numerous interviews, creator Joss Whedon has explained that the inspiration for Buffy the Vampire Slayer struck while he was watching horror films and TV shows in which pretty women run away from or get killed by monsters in alleyways. Whedon claims he wanted to give this paradigmatic girl-victim a new role: that of the monster-killing hero. Whedon's explanation of his own artistic inspiration reveals at least two things about him as a
A Feminist Reading of The Five-Forty-Eight The short story "The Five-Forty-Eight" by John Cheever concerns the issue of a woman scorned by the inhumane treatment she has received by men, most notably that of Blake, whose oppression serves as the turning point in her life. This generalization is often the focus of a feminist criticism. Feminists believe that women should have equal rights as men, and they seek to "correct or supplement what they regard as a predominantly male-dominated critical
Comparing the Dominant and Feminist Readings of King Lear Shakespeare's King Lear has been the source of much contention as to the way in which the text can be read. The play originally was written for the Jacobean audience of Shakespeare's time, but since then has taken on many other readings. These new readings are produced to comment on issues in the society in which it is explored. Readings encompass a wide range of ideas - from the Dominant reading, the manner in which Shakespeare's
A Feminist Reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the reader is treated to an enthralling story of a woman’s lifelong quest for happiness and love. Although this novel may be analyzed according to several critical lenses, I believe the perspectives afforded by French feminists Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray have been most useful in informing my interpretation of Hurston’s book. In “The Laugh of the Medusa,” Cixous discusses a phenomenon
Feminist Reading of Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard While Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" overtly deals with the distinction between social class and the opportunity for greatness, the poem also contains a subtle yet strong message against the dominant role of men over women in society. Gray's tone throughout the poem is permeated with regret and a sense of something lost, voicing his opinions clearly against social class prejudice. This emotional tone
Reading Selection 7: Feminist Readings Reading 1 The main argument of the piece is that the author is just talking about the problems that women face. The major rhetorical strategies that were sued in this reading were emotion and logic. Logic The proportion of women attending college in comparison with men dropped from 47 per cent in 1920 to 35 per cent in 1958. A century earlier, women had fought for higher education; now girls went to college to get a husband. By the mid‐fifties, 60 per cent
illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common
Dear Mother, Today, the image of a woman is portrayed to follow the footsteps of men. Men are seen as the genearch ones, the dominant ones, the ones who created the language and the universal. Due to these standards, I noticed that women readers become an agent of their immasculation, bifurcation for women’s readers to hero, and have an androcentric canon. In our society, we as women tend to continue to follow the footsteps of men in order to fit the male universal. Unfortunately, some women decide
poem continues to fascinate and enchant its readers due to insightful evaluation of Victorian female sexual ideologies and expectations. Often seen as a didactic fairytale, the controversial poem can, more importantly, be perceived as a provocative feminist text which explores deviant sexuality and female desire in the Victorian age, with an unusual but seamless metaphor that offers powerful implications. As a result, Rossetti addresses feminine sensuality and desire by concealing her controversial
Misguided Feminist Reaction to A Streetcar Named Desire The dramatic climax of A Streetcar Named Desire, clearly illustrates the mastery of author Tennessee Williams. The brilliantly constructed text, with its tragic story and enticing characters, propels the reader to a point in which he becomes emotionally involved in the dynamics of Williams’ world. Unfortunately, many feminists are negatively affected by Williams’ captivating writing style. In turn, feminists have developed an array of very
The Difficulty with Defining Feminism In Feminist Theory: from margin to center, bell hook states on the first page what she believes to be the problem with feminism. In her opinion the biggest problem with feminism is that there is no real definition of what feminism is. The definition many people have formulated for feminism is having the goal of making woman socially equal to men. hook’s problem with this is the fact that all men are not socially equal. If women are to be the social equals
Feminist Theory - There is No One Definition of Woman When posed with the question “What is woman?” it seems a daunting task to lay an umbrella statement to describe an entire gender. Upon further reflection, however, it seems that this overwhelming inability to answer the question, may in fact, be the answer to the question itself. Within the past two decades Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman, Caroline Whitbeck, Geraldine Finn, and Helene Cixous have addressed the meaning of woman. There