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women and literature
women and literature
how has the REPRESENTATION of women in literature evolve since 1900
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The Role of Women Reflected in Literature During the Early 20th
Century
At the turn of the 20th century America was going through many
changes. This time in America was known as the Progressive Era.
Economic growth and social reform prompted the roles of many people to
change. The roles of Americans also changed due to two significant
events in history. These events were World War I, and the women’s
suffrage movement that started before the Progressive Era and
culminated on August 26, 1920 with the 19th Amendment, the woman’s
right to vote. The Great War opened the door for women to get jobs
that only men had done before. The existing feminine role in society
was clearly changing. The “flapper” was born and women had freedoms
and expectations they had never been able to experience in the past.
The writers and authors of the day saw this occurring change and
documented it by putting their characters in these new roles for women
in society. The characters of the young housewife in the poem “The
Young Housewife”, Marian Forrester in A Lost Lady, and Caddy Compson
in The Sound and the Fury depict a few of these new roles for women.
Each one of the three characters represents a new and different role
that women in the early 20th century confronted.
The young housewife in “The Young Housewife” seems to live a life that
does not allow her to change with the times. Her life reflects the
way things once were, but her actions suggest that she may be aroused
and intrigued by the thought of freedom. She is shown in the role of
the new woman trapped in past by marital or social constraints. The
woman in fact may live a great life but she lives under, what seems to
be, the confinement of her husband and her marriage. “Behind the
wooden walls of her husband’s house,” is the way her solitary days are
described. The emphasis on the house being his property shows that he
First off, in Carol Clover’s novel “Men Women and Chainsaws” the narrative is focusing on how women overcome their challenges throughout varies films. Clover focuses
Behind every great man lies a great women. In some cases the women herself may not always be good or ideal according to society. Nevertheless it seems to add character to
Gender roles can cause a lot of controversy, people may think the roles the woman play in a movie are inadequate to that of the roles male’s play in the movie. That is the case for many movies nowadays and many movies in the past, but some people do not take in account the fact that in “the old days” women’s roles were not the same as men. In the movie The 13th Warrior directed by John McTiernan, and Michael Crichton, the women’s role are lesser to that of the men’s role, however because of the time period to which the movie was based upon women having lesser roles is actually historically correct.
... her condition get worse. It almost seems as if they want the narrator to be a “true woman”. According to “The Cult of True Womanhood” by Barbara Welter, a woman had to have certain virtues and was discouraged from working outside of the home. Although the narrator was trapped in the home, she was not happy and it caused her to go mad making her the opposite of the true woman.
In reading the fiction works of Ayn Rand, one becomes quickly aware of her use of characterization to display a set of mores that apply to a group in today's society she is describing. In Anthem, for instance, even the names hold significance toward the point of the story. The name Liberty 5-3000, a gross smear of the philosophy of her world, becomes The Golden One, and then Gaea in the eyes of the protagonist. This use of a name, a face, to convey the message of a group becomes a common thread through all four of Miss Rand's novels. The Fountainhead is no exception. Though the names don't have quite the amount of significance, the characters presented are a startling appraisal of the personalities to be found in this country's artistic culture.
...her own life and treatment in question. As a result, her husband’s, and ultimately societies, view towards women intensified her postpartum depression, which may have been very mild. In addition, she is pushed to the edge of the world like a child as well as living her life as one. Her confinement due to stereotypical patriarchal views of her simply because she is a woman leads to hysteria, which ultimately demonstrates that it is through the lack of equality for women and more specifically the narrator of this story that leads to a tragic outcome.
In conclusion, most of the female character are often isolated, victimized and ultimately killed by the male characters. Furthermore, it is rather ironic how Mary Shelly, the daughter Mary Wollestonecraft who wrote the Vindication of the Right of Women chooses to portray women. In this novel, the female characters are the exact opposite of the male characters; they are passive, weak and extremely limited. Mary Shelly repeatedly shows women in a victimized position exhibiting to the audience how things should not be. In conclusion, Mary Shelly’s novel is a reflection of how women were treated in the 1800’s.
Matriarchal Figures in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Persuasion by Jane Austen
A person does not know a someone until they walk in his or her shoes. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird this is a major theme. A mean and grouchy teacher named Miss. Caroline in a new teacher at Scouts school. The first day when scout walked into class she was hoping for a good day, but then her teacher ruined it. Scout was thrilled to show everyone her reading skills and Miss. Caroline said that she no longer could read at home or have her dad teach her how. The teacher then patted Scout on the hand with a ruler and had her stand in the corner. This made Scout devastated because she loved to read. Later in the book Miss. Caroline had offered a boy name Walter Cunningham some money to by a lunch. He kindly declined the money and Scout told
Previously, the narrator has intimated, “She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.” Her thoughts and emotions engulf her, but she does not “struggle” with them. They “belonged to her and were her own.” She does not have to share them with anyone; conversely, she must share her life and her money with her husband and children and with the many social organizations and functions her role demands.
The poem The Lady of Shalott is written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The poem is about a mysterious woman who lives in a tower and is very isolated from the rest of the world. The poem The Highwayman is written by Alfred Noyes. The main character is the very beautiful landlord’s daughter, Bess. Both the female protagonists are described as attractive, and they both prove themselves to be very brave. They each, in their different ways, die for love. Therefore they can both be described as courageous, but also perhaps slightly naïve? Both women’s lives end in tragedy.
Women have been seen as weak and submissive throughout history in society and that is reflected in many films and movies. These are the feminine qualities that have often been associated with being a woman, which results in the role of women being overlooked and seen as weak or sexualized. They are either in the scene to look pretty or as the one in need of a savior. It is rare for them to fall out of their feminine categories of being motherly or sexual. However, there are more recent films that challenge the singular role women seem to always have. Examples of these are the films, The Matrix (Lana and Lily Wachowski, 1999) and Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015). The films bring rise to a more progressive view of women that are reflecting
Miss Caroline is not only a inexperienced teacher, but she is also new to Maycomb. In her eyes everyone is equal and status is not based upon wealth. In Maycomb that's not the case, your family is based upon your wealth. Since Miss Caroline is new she does not know how things are run, Scout knowing this decides to explain it to her, while Miss Caroline insists walter takes some money for lunch since he doesn't have one. Scout begins to tell her how the Cunninghams never take what they cant pay back. This doesn't set well with Miss Caroline, she then proceeds to hit Scout with a ruler and make her stand in the corner. Scout is confused and angered because she was just trying to help her learn about their society. Later, While Miss Caroline was
In the story ‘’the Stray,” by Cynthia Rylant, the main character Doris is an admirable character because of what she does. Doris can be a caring person and she is very thoughtful.
In Daisy Miller, Henry James slowly reveals the nature of Daisy"s character through her interactions with other characters, especially Winterbourne, the main character." The author uses third person narration; however, Winterbourne"s thoughts and point of view dominate." Thus, the audience knows no more about Daisy than Winterbourne." This technique helps maintain the ambiguity of Daisy"s character and draws the audience into the story.