Is Dorcas Dene an accurate depiction of a Victorian woman? Dorcas Dene, born Dorcas Lester, is a character created by George R. Sims. Sims was born in1847 and died in 1922, but during his lifetime he wrote two volumes of short stories called Dorcas Dene, Detective: Her Adventures (Greene 110). These short stories were Sims's most important work and were published between 1897 and 1998 (Greene 110). The short story focused on for the purposes of this analysis is "The Haverstock Hill Murder", which was featured in Detection by Gaslight. To answer the question "Is Dorcas Dene an accurate depiction of a Victorian Woman?" I would have to say no, in fact, she's far from it. Dorcas Lester was an actress before meeting the man she was going …show more content…
However, they did sell to the common housewife and the market did focus on women because they would be stuck at home all day doing house work. Literature works for woman were centered around things, such as polishing silverware, being beautiful, arranging flowers, etc. Collected volumes would appear to be polished and beautiful and because the volumes arranged and preserved the beautiful, one might relate it to the beautification practices expected from a housewife (Rieger 238). Therefore, the literature that woman read would drive home what was expected of them and would repress their thinking further into believing they were inferior to the men. The short stories that were created with Dorcas's character was the opposite of what was commonly depicted of women however. The short stories of Dorcas Dene, Detective: Her Adventures, took an unconventional turn to where women stood compared to men and empowered women to be something more than just a housewife. Fiction often depicts real human characteristics and ideals. However, Dorcas's short stories didn't follow that route. The science of human behavior can be found in literature and shares the aspects of the lives of human beings because through literature, readers come to see the universals of human experience (Ryan 412). Fiction, in this view, provides accurate depictions or representations of mental characteristics (Ryan 412). While I can't say that the …show more content…
In the short story, Dorcas was called upon by Mr. Hannaford's mother to look further into the murder of Mrs. Hannaford. At this point in time, Mr. Hannaford had been found to be guilty by the police and the investigation has been closed. Mr. Hannaford had been sent to Broadmoor because of his mental breakdowns due to the circumstances. Therefore, Dorcas Dene was hired, after much persuasion by Mr. Hannaford's mother, to look further into Mrs. Hannaford's murder because she believed her son was innocent. Throughout the story, Dorcas disguises herself to track suspects and pick up on leads. Eventually, she finds evidence that connects a character named Flash George to the murder. Although, Dorcas doesn't believe that Flash George committed the murder. She finds that Flash George had recently come into wealth conveniently some time after the murder took place. This is because he has fell into the possession of bank notes that once belonged to Mrs. Hannaford's late first husband, Charles Drayson. Dorcas enlists the help of the narrator and Mr. Drayson's old "friend", James Holmes, to help her solve the ending of the case. The narrator and herself find that Mr. Drayson had kept bank notes hidden in a bear lamp within his home that nobody but himself knew about. Then, Mr. Holmes, Dorcas, and the narrator set up a
Danforth and Dimmesdale contrast in the way of their sins of commission and omission. Although Dimmesdale does not openly admit his sins until the end of the story, they feed on his conscience, causing him to engage in self-torturing practices. He confuses the destruction and weakening of himself for penance for his sin. Aided by Hester?s angered husband, Dimmesdale weakens himself so much, that he uses the last of his strength in his confession and he dies in Hester?s arms. Danforth suspects he is sending innocent people to their deaths, but through the love of his office, he does not stop his corrupt practices nor attempt to right his wrongs.
To the town, Dimmesdale appears to be perfectly righteous and is respected highly; while in reality, he is just as guilty as Hester. The hypocrisy of his character first begins to develop as he denies his own sinfulness
...rets committing adultery with Hester. In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale’s appearance, actions, and speech change from the beginning to the end of the novel, making him a dynamic character. Dimmesdale is a young clergyman in the beginning of the novel. He later turns into someone who is emaciated and full of guilt. Furthermore, he treats himself very harshly by whipping and starving himself. Dimmesdale does not trust Roger Chillingworth, but is a good friend to Hester. Even though he feels completely deceived when she tells him that Chillingworth is her husband, they have an honest relationship. He does not think that Hester and he commit the worst sin; he believes that Chillingworth does. Moreover, Chillingworth wants complete revenge on Dimmesdale. The novel ends with Arthur Dimmesdale dying on the scaffold and leaving the whole community in shock.
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
Another defining characteristic is the desire for equality and dignity for all, the thought that all have a set of basic human rights. The Enlightenment also challenged many of the former ideologies, one of which was ignorance. Tartuffe exemplifies these characteristics through the character Dorine. Dorine is Mariane’s lady-maid, in other words, someone with a low social standing because she is a member of the working class, and presumably ignorant because of this low social status. However, in the story, she is much smarter than Orgon and also a lot more reasonable. This shows that it does not matter what social class one comes from to determine their level of intelligence. Her closeness and acceptance by the family, with the exception of Orgon, shows that people can be viewed for their own worth and value. Dorine is someone from a lower social standing than the family, but yet, is able to socialize and befriend the family she works for.
Society continually places specific and often restrictive standards on the female gender. While modern women have overcome many unfair prejudices, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women were forced to deal with a less than understanding culture. Different people had various ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities, including expressing themselves through literature. By writing a fictional story, authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James were given the opportunity to let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic.
It takes a certain amount of will or determination to make such changes. The cultural pressure held over women to do certain tasks such as becoming a mother or getting married became quite overwhelming. This held them back from expressing themselves in a well-suited fashion. Overall, these three texts showed how women progressed in their own literature which had been written in different time periods. It allowed them each to rise to their full potential. The creative component is a full face mask meant to express something people tend to hide themselves behind. All three women at some point in their literature went through some form of battle. At the end of the battle or the end of their texts, they were stronger. They were not known just as creatures, but instead they had the strength and confidence they so desperately longed
In the novels, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, and the play, The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare, all had protagonists who were affected by gender expectations in their novel or play. Dante lacks the gender expectation of being physically strong in your society, while Ari does not, which proves to be a benefit for Ari, showing the men in his society that he is capable of becoming one. Esperanza is given the expectation of becoming a housewife in her society, as this is the only job a woman has. For Katherine, by the end of her play she has been tamed by Petruchio, her husband, and has become kind and obedient.
Throughout most of literature and history, the notion of ‘the woman’ has been little more than a caricature of the actual female identity. Most works of literature rely on only a handful of tropes for their female characters and often use women to prop up the male characters: female characters are sacrificed for plot development. It may be that the author actually sacrifices a female character by killing her off, like Mary Shelly did in Frankenstein in order to get Victor Frankenstein to confront the monster he had created, or by reducing a character to just a childish girl who only fulfills a trope, as Oscar Wilde did with Cecily and Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest. Using female characters in order to further the male characters’
While a large portion of the public was appalled by the thought of independent young working women, they were also fascinated. Therefore, the attitudes of the public toward these women can be seen in the literature that was produced at that time. The works of Edith Wharton and Theodore Dreiser immediately come to mind as dramatizations of the life of women of this period.
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.
The characters Madame Pernelle, and Mariane, follow the roles as stereotypical women in that time, whereas Dorine and Elmire push the boundaries and start to show an edgier depiction of women. Madame Pernelle is depicted as an obnoxious old woman, she is very stubborn and stuck in her ways. She believes what she says is always right which kind of gives her a hint of ignorance. For example, this stubbornness and ignorance is brought to light when Orgon tells her of what he has learned about Tartuffe and ultimately tries to convince her that he is a fake she replies with “No, no, a man of such surpassing piety could not do such a thing. You cannot shake me. I don’t believe it and you shall not make me.” (5.3.24). Mariane is an overly obedient and hide in the shadows type of girl, she obeys to her father Orgon’s every command. That is until he asks her to end her engagement with her fiancé Valere who she is madly in love with, which even then does not cause her to develop a voice of her own it is Dorine who speaks up for her. Dorine comes off as a very opinionated, sassy, and outspoken woman. Due to her position as a maid, and overall upbringing she has no problem speaking up when she feels something is wrong, no matter whether it is to a man or a woman, which was very rare in the 17th century to hear of a woman speaking out against a man. For example, when Organ is
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a
Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.