Fay Weldon, born Franklin Birkinshaw, started out in a state of ambivalence. She “took out library books as Franklin and read them as Fay” (Weldon). “What I do have to do is be faithful to what I see around me, whether I like it or not. My role is to look at the world, get a true, not an idealized vision of it and hand it over to you in fictional form” (Fay Weldon). This is how Fay Weldon characterizes her writing. Although the role and position of a woman in society has vastly changed in the last fifty years, there is still a divide amongst the sexes. It is Weldon’s fresh and sophisticated style of writing, alongside her feministic views, that make her novels extraordinary.
Weldon takes an objective approach to relationships, but she is not necessarily always on the women’s side. “[...] Weldon does not heavy-handedly use her female characters to hammer out a simplistic thesis about nasty men and victimized women. Through point of view and tone, her vision of women's relationships with men is more satisfyingly complex” (Krouse). In Weldon’s novels, women are not infallible, they make mistakes and often it is their fault that things end up wrong. Often, a man is the open-minded and down to earth part of the couple He also serves as a responsible and reliable element. Weldon aims to show women that with great power comes an even greater responsibility.
Weldon writes with a wicked sense of humor and outrageous plots. Her point of view and narrative style are fresh mix of tolerance, exaggeration and realism. “Weldon’s interest in the experience of women, her perceptions about their sexuality and friendship, her intelligent view that women’s lives are of necessity different from men's make her a most valuable contemporary novelist fo...
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...f view to her novels. Weldon is much more complex and experienced, and feminism is just one part of her personality, as well as of her novels. She is strongly feminist in her criticism of men and their lust for power, but at the same time she is very realistic. She is a feminist, but not a radical one, and reading her novels and examining her point of view is enriching, not limiting. She is often exaggerating and unforgiving, but if she was not, the message in her books would not be so appealing. “Readers crave explanations of their lives: the writers of fiction provide it, enlarging experience, giving meaning and significance where none was before. I see myself as someone who drops tiny crumbs of nourishment, in the form of comment and conversation, into the black enormous maw of the world’s discontent. […] See me as Sisyphus, but having a good time” (Fay Weldon).
Although Eudora Alice Welty’s work is sometimes compared to that of Faulkner or Poe. She is by far not as unusual. Throughout her lifetime Welty uncovered the secret of how people treat others. She took a simple subject and turned it into an ongrowing topic. She took the isolation issue and made it aware to her readers. The way she wrote has her readers stopping and thinking about the subject. An underlying message is constantly being weaved throughout the pages of her stories. Eudora Welty showed that, no matter how alone you may feel in a world of people, there is always someone there or something worth fighting to achieve. Whether it is a slave fighting for freedom, a person wanting to committ suicide realizing they will be missed, or even just someone trying to find a place in this world. Therefore isolation is a major influence in Eudora Welty's writing.
Even though women such as Lucy demonstrate stereotypical female weakness, characters such as Mina defy the conventional submissive female, as an independent woman, a role uncommon of novels in this era. In addition, Mina, in comparison to men, possesses substantially stronger emotional fortitude and controls her emotions, while the men who are supposed to be strong expose emotional weakness and frailty. Ultimately, however, no matter Mina’s intelligence or strengths, the men continually suppress Mina’s vast amount of wisdom in order to maintain their perceived dominance. Nonetheless, Stoker’s messages throughout the novel regarding women silently protest the sexist expectations of the overly limiting Victorian era. Should today’s modern feminists take Stoker’s peaceful approach and protest subtly hoping for long-term change? Or should feminists act with violent protests in hope for prompt change? Gender equality will not happen overnight, however, instead of rushing minuscule modifications with violent protest, society must patiently wait for productive and peaceful change, in order to prevent an even larger
In today’s society, gender issues are often discussed as a hot topic. In literature, feminist views are used to criticise “societal norms” in books and stories. Two popular pieces by authors Kolbenschlag and Hurston paint two very different views on women. One common assumption in the use of a feminist critical perspective is that gender issues are central. Kolbenschlag who wrote the literary criticism “Cinderella, the Legend” would most likely disagree with this statement, she feels that women bare greater burdens in society and are more largely affected by social norms.
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.
For readers who observe literature through a feminist lens, they will notice the depiction of female characters, and this makes a large statement on the author’s perception of feminism. Through portraying these women as specific female archetypes, the author creates sense of what roles women play in both their families and in society. In books such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the roles that the main female characters play are, in different instances, both comparable and dissimilar.
Edna Ferber's themes for her books are unusual for her time. Her most encompassing theme is the feminist one. In one of her most famous novels, Cimarron, Ferber writes the following about her main character, Sabra: ?But she did a man?s job with the paper, often against frightening odds, for Yancey was frequently absent now, and she had no one but the wavering Jesse Rickey to consult? (Ferber 164). All of her central characters are women. Women usually possess greater endurance, ingenuity, perception, and initiative than men. As her stories progress, women became more intuitive, more practical, less romantic, less sentimental, and less gullible than men. In Cimarron, Ferber very clearly depicts her feminist theme. The protagonist, Sabra, slowly evolves throughout the novel, from a doting, dependent wife to a strong, independent l...
Joyce Carol Oates was a true change in American Literature. She associated many novels that revealed political stances along with physical and psychological pain. (1) Joyce grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It was not uncommon for her to behold mistreatment, abuse, and gang violence; especially towards women. Detroit was a major political city were women’s rights were being fought. (2) Physical brawls broke out all over the city due to the uprising of women who wanted the same rights as men. (2) This uprising was called the Feminist Rights Movement. Women were mistreated and held unequal to men, they were not even allowed to be apart of any work force or vote. (7) organizations for women started to emerge all of the united States. (4) Joyce took experiences that she undertook and witnessed first hand and used them cleverly in her novels. (3) She accumulated her experiences in one of her most famous novels We Were the Mulvaney’s. (5) This novel refers to both physical and psychological pain among all the characters. Rape, death, abuse and how women were treated were all presented in this book. (5) Mrs. Mulvaney, the mother, always tended to her husbands needs, even if she disagreed with them. Mrs. Mulvaney had no say in any of the matters that arose. She even sent away her own daughter for the better of her husband.
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre may be superficially read as simply a sweet romance in which Jane ends up with the man of her dreams after overcoming many obstacles and challenges. But doing so misses the much deeper—richer—messages of Bronte's lasting masterpiece. A more thoughtful reading reveals this novel, especially its heroine Jane, challenging centuries-old gender roles which assume male supremacy, characterizing men as the dominant, more privileged gender, while women are oppressed into inferior and submissive roles. Of course this Victorian novel portrays the expected gender roles of both men and women in 19th century England, but Jane rises out of the patriarchy challenging the social roles assigned her with a personality marked by sass and self-assurance . Ms. Bronte, through Jane, ultimately demonstrates that women can live their lives on equal terms with—or independent of—men.
Feminism can be defined as a social idea that men and women should both have equal rights. The topic of feminism has been debated for many years. Throughout the early 1900's, the Women's Rights Movement was one of the largest social movements in the United States. Eudora Welty was born in 1909, right around the time where women's rights were being debated the most. Welty grew up in Mississippi, a common setting in many of her short stories. She was a smart girl who enjoyed reading and writing. Welty was also an artistic soul who enjoyed painting, photography and drawing. Eudora Welty started her career as a writer early on in her life. After attending college to receive a degree in literature, she worked for various newspapers and radio stations. As time progressed, Eudora started writing larger pieces of work that she had published. Today, she has many published works including her very popular short stories. Many of Eudora Welty's famous short stories contain strong examples of character and feminism.
Evelyn Cunningham once said, “Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors.” For thousands of years women have been oppressed, not in the bondage of slavery but in the bondage that comes from a lack of education and a dependence on men for their livelihood. Women have been subjected to scrutiny and ostracization, belittling and disparaging comments, and even at times they have been feared by men. Women themselves have even taken on the beliefs that they require a man in their life to be taken care of and have a satisfying life although some women and even some men have seen that the differences between the sexes is purely physical. This oppression, as well as the enlightenment of some, is well noted in many literary works. Literature has often been an arena for the examination of the “woman question,” as it was termed in the Victorian age. Four works that examine the role or view of women in society are John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women, T.S. Eliot’s “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, and Carol Ann Duffy’s “Medusa.” Although each work examines a side of the woman question in its own way with a variety of views on the question, all of the works examine the fear that women incite in men, the idea that women are dependent on men, and the idea that women are separate from men in some way and each piece works to show that there is actually an interdependence between men and women that is often not expressed.
Nussbaum, Felicity. “Risky Business: Feminism Now and Then.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 26.1 (Spring 2007): 81-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
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
Hurston portrays women as independent and capable of infinite possibilities. Many aspects contribute to how an author, male or female, portrays his or her female characters. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Wharton, and Hurston all illustrate their own perception of women based upon personal experience and social acuity of their particular era. The portrayal of women in American Literature is based solely upon an author’s personal opinion and interpretation and does not necessarily symbolize the true spirit and quintessence of women as one. Bibliography:..
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
This essay is an attempt to survey the temporal and spacial evolution of the literary movement of feminism in the United States. The feminist movement has always has the main concern of establishing and defending equal human rights. It has passed through three main time periods that are called “waves”, each with differ order priorities. I will try to view the main claims and issues each wave has dealt with as well as study some of the most renowned female writers/activists whose works have been central in reshaping the American attitudes...