Gender Expectations In 'The Little Mermaid And The Magic Toyshop'

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The Social Gender Expectations that we have formed as a society (which outline the unwritten gender roles) also influence the way that we interpret the story. Although the use of Gender Perspective by Andersen may have been unintentional it does have an impact on our view of certain characters. By following these specific expectations in TLM he draws comparisons between fiction and non-fiction which highlights the imperfections in both worlds. There is a distinct link between the way that oppression of women is explored in the ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Magic Toyshop’ (TMT) and can be seen through the character of Aunt Margaret. Her muteness is due to her marriage; Carter suggests that being wed to Philip turned her into a voiceless woman. Her inability to express herself reduces her personality. The dehumanization of Aunt Margaret is further symbolised by the necklace ‘which was a collar of dull silver… strapped into place around her neck… so that she could hardly move her neck’. This collar she is forced to wear, almost tethered like an animal, seemed to strangle her and makes it significantly difficult for her to speak at all. Furthermore, ‘it is a visible sign of the control Philip has over his wife’. In addition, she is described as being as ‘frail as a pressed flower’ who ‘cowered by his presence’ displaying the submissive nature she has adopted his dominance. In this way, Carter uses symbolism to show that women are characterized as passive and lacking power as they are controlled by others. This is idea is re-enforced as Melanie is also shown to experience a loss of identity as ‘she felt herself not herself, wrenched from her own personality’. This dehumanization and disempowerment shows the objectification of her ch... ... middle of paper ... ...ht the concerns and position of women. Angela Carter uses both the men and women in her novel to highlight the issues that she felt were significant to society most strikingly, the oppression of women under patriarchal systems. Although Carter uses black humour to undermine male rule, perhaps the most influential techniques she uses are symbolism and allegory to highlight her feminist agenda. Andersen also uses his protagonist to engage in the debate of the treatment of women. Both writers aim to shame the rules of patriarchy which demean and control women and achieve this by following the point of view of females, exploring their struggles and use literary devices such as symbolism to achieve their critique of patriarchal society many literary devices are employed to explore the position of women however, perhaps more significantly symbolism and allegory are used.

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