Theme Of Femininity In The Howards End

1298 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Female roles in early British literature

In the novel Howards End, femininity transcends gender, and becomes a spirit rather than a gender trait. The feminine spirit incorporates love for all of humanity, and encourages self-denial and detachment from material possessions. Ruth Wilcox is the embodiment of this spirit in that her self-denial not only allows her to transcend dimensional categorization, but the difference between the sexes; Ruth Wilcox is seen as a spirit ruling over the lives of the characters throughout the novel, even after she has passed on (McConkey 29). Femininity is found in both men and women, and can explain the femininity of the Schlegel household. Mr. Schlegel is assumed to have been an idealist who held contempt for materialism, and was interested in the personal relationships of the “inner” life rather than the masculine “outer” life. The Wilcox family, excluding Ruth Wilcox, provide the opposition to the femininity of the Schlegels. Although the Wilcoxes are “exceptionally fertile,” they are still incapable of intimacy. The Wilcoxes live the “outer” life, and are extremely materialistic. This life denies sexual fulfillment, and the only way to achieve sexual liberation is through the “natural” person, which is thought to be the person of the “inner” life guided by the feminine spirit (McConkey 30).
The feminine spirit of the novel triumphs when it is unhindered by issues of sexual nature, as with Margaret’s sexuality. Her sexuality decreases throughout the novel, through the guidance of Ruth Wilcox’s spirit and even the spirit of her home; Margaret then becomes aware of the unity between the “seen”and the “unseen.” Before this, Margaret was in touch with her femininity and was aware of a baffling division between the world and the spiritual ...

... middle of paper ...

... Margaret, and from her to Helen’s child. The “Eternal Feminine” has taken absolute control of the England muddled by the materialistic “outer” life (Trilling 134). The triumph lies in that Henry has finally accepted that he needs Margaret, and Helen confesses that she cannot love a man, while Margaret cannot love a child. Each of these characters refute their gender expectations, and ultimately live a life guided by the feminine spirit of Ruth Wilcox and her family home. Although the women do not ultimately inherit Howards End, the feminine spirit is what will rule England. The inheritor is a classless child who will be raised in a household ruled by the feminine spirit of the “inner” life. The new England will then be built upon the morals of the “inner” life that will value humanity as a whole, and end class divisions through the guidance of the feminine spirit.

Show More
Related

  • Feminism in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's Barbie Doll

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl

    Read More

  • Comparing Edna And Chopin's The Awakening

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Margaret is painted as a strong character from the very beginning. As Jessica Ray Lymberopoulos writes in her essay,

    Read More

  • The Red Tent by Diamant

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    With a heart-full of advice and wisdom, Dinah maturates from a simple- minded young girl to a valiant independent individual. “For a moment I weighed the idea of keeping my secret and remaining a girl, the thought passes quickly. I could only be what I was. And that was a woman” (170). This act of puberty is not only her initiation into womanhood but the red tent as well. She is no longer just an observer of stories, she is one of them, part of their community now. On account of this event, Dinah’s sensuality begins to blossom and she is able to conceive the notion of true love.

    Read More

  • Harriet Jacobs' Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    In struggling against the brutal dynamics of a system that simultaneously set before her ideals of a true woman, but refused to acknowledge her as a human being, Jacobs emerges scarred but victorious. Her rational powers and will to action facilitate her efforts to find strategies for dealing with sexual harassment from her master, for maintaining family unity, and in estab...

    Read More

  • Characterization Of Miss Hancock In Budge Wilson's The Metaphor

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Miss Hancock, her personality and beliefs were contrasted entirely by her character foil, Charlotte’s mother, “this civilized, this clean, this disciplined woman.” All through Charlotte’s life, her mother dictated her every move. A “small child [was] a terrible test to that cool and orderly spirit.” Her mother was “lovely to look at, with her dark-blond hair, her flawless figure, her smooth hands. She never acted frazzled or rushed or angry, and her forehead was unmarked by age lines or worry. Even her appearance differed greatly to Miss Hancock, who she described as,” overdone, too much enthusiasm. Flamboyant. Orange hair.” The discrepancy between the characters couldn’t escape Charlotte’s writing, her metaphors. Her seemingly perfect mother was “a flawless, modern building, created of glass and the smoothest of pale concrete. Inside are business offices furnished with beige carpets and gleaming chromium. In every room there are machines – computers, typewriters, intricate copiers. They are buzzing and clicking way, absorbing and spitting out information with the speed of sound. Downstairs, at ground level, people walk in and out, tracking mud and dirt over the steel-grey tiles, marring the cool perfection of the building. There are no comfortable chairs in the lobby.” By description, her mother is fully based on ideals and manners, aloof, running her life with “sure and perfect control.” Miss

    Read More

  • Margaret Fuller Argument Essay

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women were perceived as either being a housewife, a nurturer, or a person for company. They did not have the right to vote till later on, work, and if they had an opinion that a male do not agree with, women are considered “wicked”; not savvy, not prudent but wicked to the core. It is unfair, unethical, atrocious, but through it all there was one female who dared to challenge the mind of men and the notion that women can be more than what men perceive them as being. Her name is Margaret Fuller. The goals of Margaret Fuller were precise. Men should realize that women are not an epitome of a statue but human beings, just as men, women can achieve full adulthood and citizenship, but most vitally Margaret aimed to change the assumptions about

    Read More

  • The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    After locking her self in the solitude of her bedroom she begins to recognize things that one would not think of after a loved one just passed away. " She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life (paragraph 5)." This is the point at witch she begins to deal with the grieving process, but also starts to realize the beauty of life. She begins to see that ...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Margaret In Much Ado About Nothing

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Margaret is an intelligent, articulate, and ambitious woman who desires to rise up in social status by marrying a man of higher social rank. She attends to those above her, in hopes of elevating her status as she becomes closer to the upper-class. As a minor character, she plays a small yet crucial role in advancing Don John’s plot to slander Hero and spoil her wedding. As a lower-class character, Margaret serves as a foil to the rich girls, particularly Hero, who embodies every attitude and mindset Margaret does not. But she also offers an alternative perspective on the upper-class characters in the play. Because Margaret is victimized because of her social ambitions, punished for wanting to rise above her ...

    Read More

  • The Effects of Femininity

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order for us to deal with how a consideration of femininity can effect our understanding of a literary text, we must also be able to grasp the notion of `feminism' and `Feminist Literary Theory'. A dictionary definition of `feminism' is: `the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes.' Although this leans towards feminism in the historical sense of the word, it still provides the grounds, or foundations, from which feminist literary theories were created. Feminists argue against the stereotyping and social construction of female norms, seeing them as created by men in order to establish their own sense of power. It is thought that while males suggest that gender is sex and not actually a construct, the female role will become much more passive, stereotyped and controlled.

    Read More

  • Women of the Nineteenth Century: Sarah Stickney Ellis

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.

    Read More

  • Cordila Fine's Delusions Of Gender, By Cordelia Fine

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    She wrote this novel to inform readers that there are differences and similarities between the genders of male and female and how each of their minds work. She says, In other words, when we are not thinking of ourselves as “male” or “female” our judgements are the same. This quote directly shows us that she is trying to tell us what life is like with each gender.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Patriarchy In Jane Austen's Emma

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up

    Read More

  • Finding the Balance of Love and Freedom in Jane Eyre

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.

    Read More

  • The Social Class In Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author Jane Austen was writing in the most transformative eras of British history. Austen experienced the beginning of industrialization in England. The movie shows concerns over property, money and status that highlight’s the social scale of the eighteenth and early ninetieth-century England. The film shows the broad social class that included those who owned land as well as the professional classes (Lawyers, doctors, and clergy). Throughout this time there were strict inheritance laws. The law for owning property was that it would go to male children or male relatives rather than breaking it up ...

    Read More

More about Theme Of Femininity In The Howards End

Open Document