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Essay on gender roles in literature
Gender roles in womens literature
Gender roles in Literature
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Yan Ayala
Michael Wilson
ENG 3000
2/24/16
Roman Fever Analysis For this literary analysis I am working with Edith Wharton’s short story “Roman Fever”. From the beginning of the story it is easy to see that Wharton uses gender stereotypes, from the time that the story is set in, to expose perennial antagonism of true human nature. The story’s two main charters, Grace Ansley and Alida Slide, early on in the story already have some past tension that continues to develop into a heated exchange until the shocking twist towards the end of the story. Gender stereotypes in Roman fever play an important role in creating tension between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley that ultimately leads to reason of why there is an underlying conflict between the two.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extreme fairly quickly. This demand is more commonly attributed by the men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where Stella is constantly being pushed around and being abused by her drunken husband Stanley, and also in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”, where the female narrator is claimed unfit by her husband as she suffers from a sort of depression, and is generally looked down on for other reasons.
Throughout the plays, the reader can visualize how men dismiss women as trivial and treat them like property, even though the lifestyles they are living in are very much in contrast. The playwrights, each in their own way, are addressing the issues that have negatively impacted the identity of women in society.
...ng it through Grace’s mother and Mrs. Humphrey. The novel depicts this construct of gender identity through society by molding Grace to believe women are subordinate and need to get married and be good housewives to be successful. This construct is seen through emotion as women who are emotional are seen as “abnormal” and sent to asylums, while men had to power to do so. The societal construct of gender identity was seen as men were to bask in their sexuality and be assertive, while women were to be passive and suppress their sexuality. Mrs. Humphrey challenged this construct as she was assertive and the instigator. Lastly, the societal construct of gender identity was challenged through Grace’s mother as she took over the males position of being the provider. Overall, women were looked at as subordinate to men in the Victorian age and Atwood challenged this belief.
...the female and male gender across cultures. This role can cause problems when mistaking a male for a female much like Gallimard did in the play. Everyone from children, to the media, creates stereotypes. Stereotypes corrupt members of society, compelling them to view cultures and gender unfairly. Societies must eliminate the amount of stereotypes that are being distributed to various cultural around the world. Stereotypes are powerful, limiting, and discriminatory, and they prevent people from understanding other cultures fully. Without the demolition of stereotypical ideas, cultures that stereotype others will not see the differences between the stereotypical ideas and the real ideas of a culture.
What is it about female relationships that makes them so complicated? How can two best friends quickly become enemies? Women, more so than men, have a tendency to hide their true feelings, creating tension and resentment that damage their friendships. From an early age, girls feel unspoken rivalries that only escalate throughout their lives. Envying another girl’s new pair of shoes eventually turns into coveting her career or fiancé. Once the delicate balance between friendship and rivalry is disturbed, feelings of jealousy and hatred will emerge to destroy the relationship.
Stereotypes are commonly held beliefs that most are all individuals sharing a given trait also should or do share other attributes to be associated with aspects such as race, religion, and physical qualities. In Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, he uses stereotypes to embody the characteristics of the stereotypical female according to society’s liking. The women in both “Othello” and “A Midsummer NIght’s Dream” are loyal and faithful. Women are bound by respect and loyalty to the men they love. Shakespeare has drawn a line concerning gender roles and the consequences of violating these positions (Bevington, 2014). Women seem to be victimized by society’s influence as they yield to these stereotypes that shape the
Have you ever love someone who you can’t be together with? The novel “Summer” by Edith Wharton states that during one summer, there was a girl name Charity Royall who fell in love with a young gentleman name Lucius Harney. Everything change when Charity knew Harney had the same feeling towards her. The significance of love that Charity felt for Harney was more than she can give to anyone, even if it’s not Mr. Royall who take her in when she was a little girl. At times, Charity didn’t know what to do or what decisions to make in her life unless she seek for advice, yet, she still do the opposite of what she don’t like. As it goes on, Mr. Royall would use informal ways of telling Charity not to date Harney and stop her from seeing him. Throughout the novel, Charity’s position was forces beyond her control.
...appearance with a sense of revulsion and harshness, which shows the differing nature in which males are able to evade serious repercussions as well as responsibility whereas females are left for judgment. In this way, the text appears to lower the significance and value of having knowledge and being informed while simultaneously highlighting the deceptive and complex nature that lies within each individual.
“Roman Fever” is about two mothers on a trip to Rome with their daughters. The Women’s names are Alida Slade and Grace Ansley. The author develops the plot in a way as to unfold the story through the dialogue between the characters. The whole story is spent with the two women sitting in a restaurant on the outskirts of a Roman village. As they converse in the story the author begins to build a bit of tension between the two women. While they talk about their daughters and their personal lives they come to realize that they actually do not know much about each other. Edith Wharton, the author of “Roman Fever” does an excellent job of making the characters in the story relatable to real life.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
...ilia’s stunning interrogation and conviction of her own husband as the evil mastermind behind the murder reverses the sexist image of women underlying the play. Her performance proves that women are guided by reason to the same extent, or even greater than, men; and that men are passion-driven moreso than are women. The tables are turned on sexism at the very climax of the drama!
Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. “The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.” The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294
Sexism can be defined as the prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination that is typically directed towards women. Jacobean women lived in a male-dominated world , which often meant that they were disempowered, subordinate possessions of men. Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ on one hand presents these stereotypical attitudes through the three female characters in the play, Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, however on the other hand he challenges this view by portraying these women as individuals in their own right who are beginning to break away from male control. Similarly Webster’s ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ deconstructs Jacobean stereotypes of women by presenting the Duchess as a powerful Renaissance woman who has the qualities of both a man and a woman. In comparison Verdi’s Desdemona does not challenge sexism to the same extent because she presents the stereotypical 19th century woman who remains dutiful to her husband. Although ultimately how far this can be deconstructed depends on the preconceived opinions of the audience.
Gender role is a form of a woman’s identity and if a woman doesn’t fit into that gender role of the society’s behaviours norms then she is rejected among others throughout her entire life. Both Maria from ‘Half-breed by Campbell’ and Anne Shirley from ‘Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery’ represent characters that go through stages in their life of rejection not only by others but themselves as well, however they contrast in ways by their level of emotional strength and by the level of capability of fulfilling women responsibilities. Maria and Anne are both played as women who are considered as the outsiders in their society by means of their color, sex or just the way their personality is illustrated. However if compared Maria to Anne, Maria is much more gender oriented by not only being an emotionally strong women who can face problems but also with regards of filling the national border by having a high level of awareness of women oriented responsibilities.