Female Independence in Catharine Maria Sedgewick's Hope Leslie and Kelly Clarkson's Song "Miss Independent"
Authors have addressed the topic of female independence in various literary styles, including novels, novellas, and poetry. In our society today, independence for women is one of the main topics of many songs. The concept of female independence has changed over the years; people have gone from frowning upon female independence to celebrating it. Both Catharine Maria Sedgewick and pop singer Kelly Clarkson address female behavior that now, in the 21st century, is typical for many women. In Sedgewick’s Hope Leslie, the title character portrays a young woman that defies her society’s repressive Puritanical standards; she portrays independence, courage, and outspokenness. Clarkson, in her 2003 hit, “Miss Independent” expresses characteristics common in many females of modern American society; they tend to show independence, self-sufficiency, courage, and determination. Hope, in a way, is an anachronism; she represents characteristics of a 21st century woman, though living in the 17th century.
In Hope Leslie, the typical woman of the repressed 17th century Puritan society portrays a very passive demeanor; she tends to behave in a quiet and humble way. Esther Downing and Mrs. Winthrop exemplify this expected behavior. They are quiet, humble, do not express their opinions, and show domesticity – they are the perfect Puritan female. The title character, Hope Leslie, grew up “among the strictest sect of the puritans” and due to her upbringing, her loved ones expect that her behavior reflect that of women like Esther and Mrs. Winthrop (127). However, Hope does not adhere to the expectations. She depicts outspokenness, e...
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...r Philip, or have any sort of relationship with him whatsoever. Instead, Hope decides that she loves Everell and wants to be with him. Once again, Hope symbolizes how the majority of women would begin to behave as the years progressed.
Hope is the 17th century version of “Miss Independent.” Sedgewick uses Hope to portray a woman that has the characteristics of a typical woman of the 21st century. Hope shows assertiveness, courage, independence, outspokenness, and many other qualities not usual for a Puritan woman during the 17th century. Kelly Clarkson’s “Miss Independence” represents the average female of the 21st century, especially American women. The concept of female independence has changed drastically over the years, and it continues to change. This 21st century song bears a strong representation of an atypical 17th century female, Hope Leslie.
Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)
James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer. Notable American Women, 1607-1950. Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.
The title character of Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s novel, Hope Leslie, defies the standards to which women of the era were to adhere. Sedgewick’s novel is set in New England during the 17th century after the Puritans had broken away from the Church of England. Hope Leslie lives in a repressive Puritan society in which women behave passively, submit to the males around them, and live by the Bible. They allow the men of their family to make decisions for them and rarely, if ever, convey an opinion that differs from the status quo. However, Hope Leslie does not conform to the expected behavior of women during that time, behavior that only further expressed the supposed superiority of males. Hope portrays behaviors and attitudes common in a woman today. Hope is capable of thinking for herself, is courageous, independent, and aggressive. Sir Philip Gardner describes Hope as having “a generous rashness, a thoughtless impetuosity, a fearlessness of the… dictators that surround her, and a noble contempt of fear” (211). In comparison to Esther Downing, Hope is the antithesis of what a young Puritan woman should be, and in turn, Hope gains a great deal of respect from the readers of the novel through her “unacceptable” behavior.
In her novel, Hope Leslie, Catharine Maria Sedgwick supplants the importance of strict adherence to religious tenets with the significance the human conscience and following one's own heart. This central theme of the novel is intimated to the reader in the scene where Sir Philip Gardiner, a character that completely defies this ideal, is described. Although he "had a certain erect and gallant bearing that marks a man of the world . . . his dress was strictly puritanical" (124). In other words, even though his demeanor is completely unlike that of a puritan, he adheres to the outward seeming of one. The scene describes in detail these markings and intimations of his person that would indicate an attitude not befitting a puritan. His face suggested the "ravages of the passions" while his constantly roving eyes indicated a "restless mind" (124). The only signs of Sir Philip's "puritanism" are his pretenses and his clothing, and these are enough to convince society he is a religious man, quite a "dandy quaker" (125).
The exterior influences of society affect a woman’s autonomy, forcing her to conform to other’s expectations; however, once confident she creates her own
The lives of men and women are portrayed definitively in this novel. The setting of the story is in southern Georgia in the 1960’s, a time when women were expected to fit a certain role in society. When she was younger she would rather be playing ...
By the late eighteenth century, the ideological formulation of the newly reformed Nation was in transition as Americans attempted to maintain order and instill proper codes of conduct. In A Model of Christian Charity by John Winthrop we see carnal love represented as separate parts of a Puritan society, “love” being the only act capable of keeping the bonds of society rigid. This would not only be necessary for the survival of the Puritan people but as evident in “Money & Morals in America: A History” by author Patricia O’Toole, “If they [Puritans] succeeded in loving one another, Winthrop promised, God would bless them in all ways. If they turned their hearts away from heaven, they would perish.”(O’Toole 6). In later decades to come, The Coquette by Hannah Webster Forster dealt with the freedom and oppression unfettered passion and pleasure created for heiress Eliza Wharton who is ultimately left vulnerable and at the mercy of others because of of her radical choices. The central character Eliza Wharton, becomes a martyr of carnal sin and Winthrop's anti-thesis by willingly positioning herself as the juxtapose of the Puritan ideal whom regarded marriage and family life as the moral institution based upon set standards in which neither humility, poverty nor charity was as vital to either the performance or the perception of a holy life.
Ulrich shows a progression of change in the way that women’s sexuality was viewed in New England. First, she starts with a society that depended on “external rather internal controls” and where many New Englanders responded more to shame than guilt (Ulrich 96). The courts were used to punish sexual misconducts such as adultery with fines, whippings, or sometimes even death. There were certain behaviors that “respectable” women were expected to follow and “sexual misbehavior” resulted in a serious decline of a woman’s reputation from even just one neighbor calling her names such as whore or bawd (Ulrich 97-98). Because the love between a man and his wife was compared to the bond between Christ and the Church, female modesty was an important ideal. “Within marriage, sexual attraction promoted consort; outside marriage, it led to heinous sins” (Ulrich 108). This modesty was expected to be upheld even as death approached and is seen with the example of Mary Mansfield in 1681. Ulrich describes Mary to have five neck cloths tucked into her bosom and eleven caps covering her hair. “A good wife was to be physically attractive…but she was not to expose her beauty to every eye”. Hence, even as she died, Mary was required to conceal her sexuality and beauty. However, at the end of the seventeenth century and throughout the
Margaret Hale in Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel North and South exemplifies the new type of woman a mid-nineteenth century woman should emulate. The contemporary woman is capable of balancing being a dutiful, generous, just woman while also satisfying her own passion, intellect, and moral activity. England needs women that can manifest their innate ability to sympathize with a capacity to change and adapt. The progressive world will require the modern woman to redefine the norms of social life.
Just from this short quote, one can see the independence she wanted the women in her stories to feel without having a man in their lives.
Feminists are some of the most feared individuals in the world due to their power, intelligence and determination. Beyoncé is one of those individuals who has had the power during the long years of her career to introduce feminism in popular North American culture. A personal favorite, “Independent Women” by Destiny’s child possesses the most powerful feminist lyrics. This songs brings up a few questions about the role of independent women. Mostly importantly, why should women have to depend on men to get what they want? Why should women feel a need to wait for men? Why can’t women do what they want and believe in themselves to get where
Limited opportunities for women to share their opinions publicly throughout the Nineteenth century caused an abundance of females to communicate their ideas through writing. Catharine Maria Sedgwick was among the first of American authors to publish historical and other fiction. Much of her work deals with the role of white women in society, especially involving the Cult of Domesticity or True Womanhood. Sedgwick managed to incorporate her unorthodox views on women’s behavior, relationships, religion, and people foreign to her culture, while still appealing to a broad audience. Her novels, A New-England Tale, published in 1822 and Hope Leslie published in 1827, contradict the mainstream ideals of her time. The time period and culture, during which Sedgwick matured, along with her family relationships, greatly influenced her work.
“Said he, ‘I beg of you, for my sake and for our child’s sake,as well as for your own, that you will never for one instant let that idea enter your mind!’”(Gilman, 774) shows John begging her to withhold all feelings to save herself, him, and their child from any further pain. This suppression of feeling caused the mental confinement that the narrator felt. He hadn’t known in asking her to do so, it would cause such a reaction. While, Brently Mallard’s consistent pressure of being a perfect wife on Mrs. Mallard caused her conflicting ideas on his death as her being set free. “And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not.” (Chopin, 785) shows Mrs. Mallard's rethinking of her feelings towards her husband. The release of pressure caused by her husband death caused her to rethink and find her true feelings towards him. Mr. Mallard had unknowingly applied this pressure upon his wife because it was simply what he had always thought a woman should be which is learned from society. Meanwhile, Henry Allen consistently ridicules and rejects Elisa’s ideas of breaking free of the set standards of what a woman should be not knowing the effects it had on her. “Oh, sure, some. What’s the matter, Elisa? Do you want to
...heir own sense of independence. But they also present the reality of it all, that in the end they are back to where they started, and that women will never be able to let their guard down, because of the constant struggle of becoming equally self-reliant as men are, which still remains today.
Beginning Gibert and Gubar’s piece about the position of female writers during the nineteenth century, this passage conjures up images of women as transient forms, bodiless and indefinite. It seems such a being could never possess enough agency to pick up a pen and write herself into history. Still, this woman, however incomprehensible by others, has the ability to know herself. This chapter of The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination, titled “The Queen’s Looking Glass,” discusses how the external, and particularly male, representations of a woman can affect her so much that the image she sees in the mirror is no longer her own. Thus, female writers are left with a problem. As Gibert and Gubar state, “the woman writer’s self-contemplation may be said to have begun with a searching glance into the mirror of the male-inscribed literary text. There she would see at first only those eternal lineaments fixed on her like a mask…” (Gilbert & Gubar, 15). In Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, the narrator and heroine Lucy Snowe is faced with a great deal of “reflections” which could influence her self-image and become detrimental to her writing. However, she is aware that the mirrors she finds, whether the literal mirror of the looking glass or her reflection in other characters’ ...