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Discuss the role of lady bracknell
How are the roles of women and men reversed in the importance of being earnest
How are the women more dominant in the importance of being earnest
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Matriarchal Figures in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Persuasion by Jane Austen
‘A dominant female member of the family’[1] is often described as a
matriarch. Lady Bracknell in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and
Lady Russell in ‘Persuasion’ fulfill this role therefore can be
described as matriarchs, and as such they play vital roles. They
affect the lives of Gwendolen and Anne, by imposing their beliefs on
them.
Although Lady Russell is not related to any of the characters in
‘Persuasion’, after Anne’s mother died Lady Russell took on the role
of her mother. Lady Russell has some control over Anne, as Anne ‘had
always loved and relied on’ her and cannot believe she would ‘be
continually advising her in vain’. The matriarchs are pivotal as they
are the prime reasons for the plots’ complications; Lady Bracknell
tries to prevent two potential marriages between Jack and Gwendolen,
and Algernon and Cecily, and she is the reason Jack finds out about
his family connections. Lady Russell persuades Anne not to marry
Wentworth causing eight years of heartache and misery, as she was
wrongly persuaded. She induces further complications by trying to
persuade Anne to marry William Walter Elliot, when Anne and Wentworth
meet again.
Lady Bracknell’s importance is enhanced because she overshadows her
husband, which is true to her matriarch ways, and he occupies a
subordinate position. Lady Bracknell has taken the opposite role to
that which society accepted in the 1890’s, her husband stays at home,
while she goes to social gatherings. Her husband’s role is summed up
in Gwendolen’s speech to Cecily about her father.
‘The home seems to be the proper sphere for the man. And certainly,
once a m...
... middle of paper ...
...y say that Anne should marry for
money ‘she deprecated the connexion [to Wentworth] in every light’,
and only approves of alliances with men with money, such as Charles
Musgrove and William Walter Elliot. The matriarchs actions and advice
to women would be ‘don’t marry for money, but go where money is’[8].
[1] The Pocket Oxford Dictionary
[2] York Advanced Notes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
[3] Richard Foster , Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The
Importance of Being Earnest
[4] Inside the House of Fiction, ‘Jane Austen’s Cover Story’
[5] Dan Rebellato, Drama Classics Series, ‘The Importance of Being
Earnest’
[6] York Notes Advanced – ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
[7] Richard Foster , Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The
Importance of Being Earnest
[8] Juliet McMaster , Alfred Lord Tennyson as quoted in ‘Class’
We all have expectations, something that we expect as a result of something we did, but what about the unexpected something that we did but never fathomed the consequences? We often times call the unexpected a “curve ball” and that’s exactly what happened to the couples in the short essays “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, they were thrown a curve ball. The couples in the short stories have extremely hard decisions to make. The woman have the most important decision to make and the men have to decide to support the women in the lives or make a decision to move on. Sheri will most likely have her baby because she cancelled the abortion and she has bonded with her baby in her womb, and Lane Dean Jr. will marry her because he realizes he loves her. On the other hand Jig will most likely have the abortion because she fears the American will leave her if she doesn’t, and the American will stay with her because now they can travel without a baby spoiling his plans.
A Spirited Female Lead in Pride and Prejudice by Austen and Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
One cannot escape one’s fate. The theme of fate and freewill is central to William Shakespeare’s play Richard III, in which Richard III battles with the two in his quest for the crown. Richard seeks to escape his fate as a deformed and unfinished hunchback by using what little power he has to gain more power and respect. Although Richard thinks that he is acting on his own free will, fate still controls him throughout his journey. In addition, Richard’s fate is expressed in the form of a curse that Margaret delivers as punishment for his crimes against her and her family. Even though everyone sees Margaret as an irrational person, her curses against Richard and several other people end up coming true. Although Richard’s fate comes true, free will is still seen throughout the play, namely in the struggle of conscience.
In Oscar Wilde’s drama The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses light-hearted tones and humor to poke fun at British high society while handling the serious theme of truth and the true identity of who is really “Earnest.” Truth as theme is most significantly portrayed through the women characters, Gwendolen and Cecily but to present serious themes comically, Wilde portrays women to be the weaker sex of society, despite the seriousness of the subject—the identity of the men they want to marry.
Moglen, Helen. "The Creation of a Feminist Myth." Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: W.W. Norton, 1987. 484-491. Print.
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too” (Paulo Coelho. Web.). In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the false façade of Mr. Darcy slowly peels away until his true personality is revealed. His upstanding values are misused and insensitive, but through the love he develops for Elizabeth he strives to become a better person worthy of her affections.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice In 1796 Jane Austin wrote a classic novel named Pride and Prejudice. She wrote many novels but they were not published. In 1813 the novel was published.
Elizabeth and Edna’s attributes; rather, the differences that result from their juxtaposition with the protagonists also advances the issues that women faced in the 19th century. In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte’s desire to marry anyone regardless of her feelings, as opposed to Elizabeth’s uncompromising pursuit of true love, points out women’s dependence on marriage for their wellbeing. Charlotte’s predicament is but a representation of how women at the time were effectively bound by the only option they had. In the same manner, Adele’s blind obedience to social dictates, as opposed to Edna’s rejection of gender roles, emphasizes the limitations imposed by women. These two novels depict two different aspects of the same overarching issue: women’s dependence and submission to the power of men.
A rush of finery descends from the stairs as three women enter the ball. Each wears a striking gown, rustling with each step they take down different paths, deviating from the expected and taking the unexpected route to find their own bliss. The party whispers their names, silently admiring the three commanding attitudes of these nontraditional women. For the 19th century, these women express attitudes that deviate from the typical stereotype. Pride and Prejudice offers Jane Austen’s take on the traditional 19th century woman through indirect characterization, tonal elements, and heavy satire and irony to portray the idea that flawed women (in the 19th century sense) hold the key to success.
The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation.
Charlotte Brontë challenges the view that men are emotionally, socially and intellectually superior to women.
Over the centuries, women’s duties or roles in the home and in the work force have arguably changed for the better. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen teaches the reader about reputation and loves in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries by showing how Elizabeth shows up in a muddy dress, declines a marriage proposal and how women have changed over time. Anything a woman does is reflected on her future and how other people look at her. When Elizabeth shows up to the Bingley’s in a muddy dress they categorize her as being low class and unfashionable. Charles Bingley, a rich attractive man, and his sister had a reputation to protect by not letting their brother marry a ‘low class girl’. Reputation even today and back in the nineteenth century is still very important aspect in culture. In the twenty-first century, women have attempted to make their lives easier by wanting to be more equal with the men in their society. Women are wanting to be the apart of the ‘bread winnings’ efforts within a family. Since evolving from the culture of the nineteenth century, women have lost a lot of family and home making traditions but women have gained equality with more rights such as voting, working, and overall equal rights. In the twenty-first century world, most women are seen for losing their morals for and manners for others. As for example in the novel when Mr. Darcy is talking badly about Elizabeth she over hears what he and his friend, Mr. Bingley, are saying about her but she does not stand up for herself.
I have also learnt a lot more about Jane Austen and her life and about
Feminism is a global movement that affects women all around the world either directly or indirectly because of the discrimination that it defends. Over the years women have been limited to living in a male dominated world. Women have been alienated from educational opportunities, workforce or labor opportunities and most importantly financial opportunities. Being oppressed by these factors and others has left women with the little option of becoming a housewife or a servant, or inheritor. Feminism has proven to be a controversial yet present point in the works of literary giants such as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and many others. Charlotte Bronte phenomenal novel Jane Eyre is developed with ample evidence that is a direct
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: WW Norton &. Company, 1996.