Until their deciphering in the 1980’s, the diaries of eighteenth century landowner Anne Lister were an unknown tome of lesbian history. Written largely in a cipher of Lister’s conception, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister detail not only her day to day routine and superficial social interactions, but also the complexities of her romantic and sexual relationships with women, precise tailoring of her appearance, harassment she faced due to her gender non-conformity, and biting commentary on those in her social circles. Contained in plain hand, legible to anyone who may have come across Lister’s diaries with prying eyes, is documentation of her life in both York and Halifax such as the day’s weather, meals she took with neighboring families, …show more content…
Not only did Lister dress in masculine fashion, but cropped her hair close to her head, a complete departure from feminine fashion of the period. While Lister’s appearance, along with her confident gait and low voice, register as masculine, causing social backlash towards Lister, her status affords her the social mobility to present herself in whichever manner she pleases. On this matter, the translator and editor of The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, Helena Whitbread states, “Her position in life…enabled her to construct her own identity in defiance of social and cultural norms,” a statement that resounds through the entirety of Lister’s experience, including her ability to emulate masculine presentation (Whitbread …show more content…
Told her that, for this reason, I always wore black” (Lister 184). Although Lister consistently presents herself as confident in her appearance, both when interacting with others and in her diaries, this interaction points to discomfort with her non-normative presentation. Confrontational interactions on a routine basis most likely had and inevitable impact on her self-perception — Lister frequently became the target of verbal and physical harassment, predominately from men, when she simply ran errands or walked through town. In one instance Lister recorded “The people generally remark, as I pass along, how much I am like a man. I think they did it more than usual this evening. At the top of Cunnery Lane, as I went, three men said, as usual, ‘That’s a man’ & one axed ‘Does your cock stand?’” (61). Immediately after relaying this incident, the succeeding line states in plain hand “I know not how, but I feel low this evening” (61). In the face of verbal harassment, Lister is visibly negatively impacted, but the true extent of its effect on her is only understood by an audience able to read both plain and crypt hand. Due to this diary entry’s inherent expectation of privacy, it’s assumed that no one aside from Lister herself would have access to the text, but nonetheless,
Both Vanity Fair and A Room of One’s Own explore and challenge the idea that women are incapable of creating a name and a living for themselves, thus are completely dependent on a masculine figure to provide meaning and purpose to their lives. Thackeray, having published Vanity Fair in 1848, conforms to the widely accepted idea that women lack independence when he makes a note on Ms Pinkerton and remarks “the Lexicographer’s name was always on the lips of the majestic woman… [He] was the cause of her reputation and her fortune.” The way that a man’s name was metaphorically “always on the lips of the majestic woman” and how he was the source of “her reputation and her fortune” expresses this idea, especially through Thackeray’s skilful use of a sanguine tone to communicate that this cultural value, or rather inequality, was not thought of as out of the ordinary. From viewing this in a current light and modernised perspective...
Jews. He took it upon himself and Miep to give the two families in hiding
...lass and sexuality by including papers like Stead's which brought middle-class readers in touch with the events of working-class London and provided workers with middle-class representations of themselves. City of Dreadful Delight is an assortment of cross-cultural contact and negotiation between class and sexuality in Victorian era London. Walkowitz's analysis emphasizes distinct “classes,” and the impact of events on each group. Through close social and cultural analysis of the explosion of discourses proceeding and surrounding Jack the Ripper, Walkowitz has demonstrated the historical importance of narratives of sexual danger particularly in the lens of sexuality and class. She explicitly demonstrated the conflicted nature of these discourses, outright showing the women marginalized by male discursive dominance, whose struggles continue to even generations later.
Nella Larsen’s novel presents us with a good view of women’s issues of the early 20th century. We see in the two characters seemingly different interpretations of what race, sexuality, and class can and should be used for. For Clare, passing takes her into a whole new world of advantages that she would not have had if she had remained a part of the African-American community. She gains social status and can be seen as an object of sexual desire for many people, not only the black community. Irene leads herself to think that passing is unnecessary, and that she can live a totally happy life remaining who she is. What she fails to realize is that she is jealous of Clare’s status and sometimes passes herself subconsciously. Larsen presents to us the main point of the book – that the root of the love, hate, desire, and rejection that Irene holds for Clare is a result of social standing, not only passing and sexuality.
Some roles women had were non-traditional. In the same story that was represented in the preceding paragraph Mary Anne show some of her own non-traditional roles. She becomes very fond of military paraphernalia and even blackens her face with charcoal and carries around an M-16 (102). Her hygiene also becomes second hand. "No cosmetics, no fingernail filling. She stopped wearing jewelry, cut her hair short and wrapped it in a green bandana"(98). Here she is taking on masculine features and her feminine ways are forgotten. Mary Anne also starts staying out late, and once even does not come in until the next day. Some nights the men would go out and look for her, and her boyfriend even accuses her of sleeping with other men, because of her awkward ways.
I keep my journal hidden; the script, the drawings, the color, the weight of the paper, contents I hope never to be experienced by another. My journal is intensely personal, temporal and exposed. When opening the leather bound formality of Alice Williamson's journal a framework of meaning is presupposed by the reader's own feelings concerning the medium. Reading someone else's diary can be, and is for myself, an voyeuristic invasion of space. The act of reading makes the private and personal into public. Yet, for Alice Williamson and many other female journalists of the Civil War period, the journal was creating a public memory of the hardship that would be sustained when read by others. The knowledge of the outside reader reading of your life was as important as the exercise of recording for one's self; creating a sense of sentimentality connecting people through emotions. (Arnold)
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.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
In the play “Diary of Anne Frank” there were a number of different rules to follow when in hiding. First in hiding during the day no one could use the W/C or bathroom. They could not use the W/C because the pipes would make to much noise and they would get caught. Then no one could walk around because it made too much noise. The floor was wood so people down stairs could hear the people upstairs, they also could not wear shoes because It would make to much noise every time they moved their foot on the floor. Next people in hiding had to stay very quite for example no talking or shouting during the day or a worker could hear them. The people were told not to speak at all or whisper very softly. In conclusion the people in hiding had to follow
A critical point about Anne Frank's diary is that it was written during the years of her adolescence. She struggled with many typical teenage problems- yearning for her own...
Margaret Atwood’s novel, Alias Grace, nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel, depicts a young 16 year old girl who is found guilty of murdering her employer and his lover in conspiracy with James McDerrmott. James McDermott is put to death by hanging, but Grace is brought to prison because she is of the “weaker sex.” This is a reflection of the construction of femininity and masculinity of the mid and late nineteenth century. A social issue of the Victorian age was women being treated as subordinate to men. Queen Victoria says, “Victorian ideology of gender rested on the belief that women were both physically and intellectually the inferior sex”(YILDIRIM). Women were seen as highly susceptible to becoming mentally ill because of this belief. Women were subject to only be “housewives.” The novel, Alias Grace, accurately shows the construction of this gender identity through society, sexuality, and emotion while challenging it through Grace’s mother and Mrs. Humphrey.
The third decade of the twentieth century brought on more explicit writers than ever before, but none were as expressive as Anne Sexton. Her style of writing, her works, the image that she created, and the crazy life that she led are all prime examples of this. Known as one of the most “confessional” poets of her time, Anne Sexton was also one of the most criticized. She was known to use images of incest, adultery, and madness to reveal the depths of her deeply troubled life, which often brought on much controversy. Despite this, Anne went on to win many awards and go down as one of the best poets of all time.
As a result of the horror installed in the Marquis’s masculine dominance, the narrator objectified herself to discover her personal identity. The transition from being a child into a married woman allows the narrator to be curious and gain knowledge that she may not have had before. The knowledge that the narrator gains challenges the masculine dominance that her husband has restricted on her. Through this lens, the intention that Carter may have is to deconstruct gender norms. In “The Bloody Chamber,” masculine dominance was the end for some individuals, but just the beginning for others to
The private life consists of details that the public life would rather deny or at least hide. (17) If one person examines the private life of another (i.e. Strephon sees Celia's dressing room), the credibility of that public life is destroyed for him or her. If a large number of people examine that private life (i.e. readers of Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room"), the public facade is totally dest...
Gorham, Deborah. A. A. The Victorian Girl and the Feminine Ideal. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982. Martineau, Harriet.