Carol Ann Duffy, the Poet Laureate, tackles feminism in her own distinctive way and this uniqueness comes from her personal confidence. This is apparent in her written and vocal performances of her works. During these performances the audience is nonplussed as they are shocked by the manner in which she vocalises her feminist expression and hence, are unsure how to react. ‘Mrs. Beast’ within the collection of ‘The World’s Wife’, published in 1999, was largely controversial despite the third-wave feminist movement’s increasing popularity. As a result of this, many male critics objurgate Duffy as being a misandrist as they see her works to be contumelious due to her strong feminist views about female weakness and servitude. Duffy tackles these …show more content…
Due to the time period that ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was conceived, the feminist movement was non-existent. Women bore the conventional domestic role of being a ‘housewife’ which for some included cooking and cleaning. Therefore, it is clear as to why the roles within ‘Beauty and the Beast’ are very stereotypical of the era with the Beast being dominating and condescending to Belle. The poem can be seen as ‘a reinterpretation of traditional folk tales in a feminist rewriting of a tale ’. Duffy challenges these stereotypes of women as the whole concept of ‘Mrs. Beast’ defies the original tale as Belle/Mrs. Beast is dictating over Beast. The way Mrs. Beast is presented is shocking to the readers as there is a complete transformation of character from the original tale to the poem. Even in the present, society is relatively patriarchal and this is why the character presentation is shocking. Modern society would not be as shocked if the Beast was acting how Mrs. Beast does. Duffy may have written the role reversal to awaken people’s eyes to show how Beast in the original tale abuses Belle, which has gone largely unnoticed. Therefore, Duffy shows female strength and lack of servitude, ultimately challenging the expectations of Beauty and the
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.
Throughout a collection of Gwen Harwood’s poems is the exploration of women during the 1950’s-90’s and their roles in society as it evolved in its acceptance of allowing a woman equal say in her identity. (struggling to end this essay)
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed later on are gender, feminist writings, patriarchal society, and gynocriticism. These concepts will then be reviewed as to how they play a part in the book Wicked.
The use of ‘wild’ in both Catherine and La Belle’s descriptions shows their similarity in nature. The similarities of their descriptions of a charming, appealing appearances compared with their saucy, wild natures demonstrate the comparison of conflict within these texts.
Gender Trouble published in 1990 by Judith Butler, argues that feminism was and still relaying on the presumption that ‘women’ a...
This film, contrarily to its predecessors, scratches the surface of the male protagonists, and introduces men who are humanly flawed and relatable, taking them down from the pedestal they used to be on, and making them equal to the female characters. No matter how much one may despise the Beast for being aggressively temperamental, Gaston for his stupidity and violence, or even Lumière for his objectification of women, these characters have a life and a role of their own, and do not remain two-dimensional like the previous Princes. For example, Belle’s father never suggests that she marries a man and only caringly mentions Gaston as a potential companion and friend for his lonely daughter. In the same manner, the Disney Corporation is more open to sexual innuendos and female sexuality in the film as it has ever been with Lumière and Plumette’s affair being explicitly showed. Finally, as Dawn Elizabeth England, Lara Descartes, and Melissa Collier-Meek further explain this in their journal "Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses:"
As we progress further into the poems, the different ways Duffy presents gender dominance becomes obvious. In LRC, Duffy develops the budding romantic relationship between the persona and the wolf, deviating from the original tale because the persona is a willing, complicit participant in her own seduction:
Modern-day feminists state that there are many repressed attitudes and fears which keep women in a kind of half-light, forcing them to subconsciously retreat from the full use of their minds and creativity (Dowling, 595). The archetypal Cinderella is often criticized by feminist critics for waiting for something external to transform her life (Abel, 192). Contrary to this assumption, passivity is not prevalent in the original Brothers’ Grimm tale. However, actions performed by women in the tale are often associated with darkness. It is this overpowering association with the color black and its implications that truly keep women in a “half-light” in the tale.
Social factors have always encouraged the idea that men embody masculinity and women embody femininity and, thus, certain gender-norms are expected accordingly. In the past, such expectations were traditional and to go against them was frowned upon by the general public. Contemporarily speaking, there is more freedom to avail oneself of today than there was once upon a time. Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont’s fairytale adaptation of ‘Beauty and The Beast’ was published in 1740. During this time, men and women were compelled by the social conventions associated with their gender. When analyzing the literary work, the reader can grasp what gender roles are eminent in the characters identity and motives. By exploring the choice of language being
Pretty Woman is a modern take on the classic Cinderella story where a poor misguided girl meets her prince and her life is dramatically changed. This film has fairy tale elements, but the biggest element in the movie is the use of sex; Vivian, the main character, is a prostitute. She meets her “prince” and is swept off of her feet, but what this really means is that she is bought for an entire week by a handsome, wealthy business man. One would assume that he was buying her for sex, but this is not your average prostitute transaction. This movie has a lot of third wave feminism ideals. Third wave feminism deals with using the female gender and sexuality to further the cause and portray their views. The ultimate goal of this paper is to show that Vivian Ward (portrayed by Julia Roberts), is the poster girl for third wave feminism.
Adichie was born in Nigeria and is most known for giving a TEDxTalk in 2013 about modern feminism. After the overwhelming success of the talk, such as having millions of views on YouTube and being featured in the song “Flawless” by Beyoncé, she decided to publish the speech into an expanded essay named “We Should All Be Feminists.” In this essay, Adichie talks about her life and encounters of sexism from a young age, especially her introduction to the word “feminist” occurring at fourteen. She is having a normal day, playing and arguing with her friend Okoloma, until he “harmlessly” quips, “`You know, you’re a feminist’” (8), which in Nigeria, is not a compliment. She also spends a third of the essay addressing the fact all negativity towards gender inequality has the same root: unwavering tradition. She questions, “What if, in raising our children, we (the parents) focus on ability instead of gender… interest instead of gender” (36)? Simply, if negativity towards the opposite sex is eradicated in a new generation, there will be no more inequality to worry about. She also parallels Wollstonecraft in commenting on the fascinating diversity of males and females. She claims that if men are undeniably strong physically, women should be held in the same
...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).
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.