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The portrayal of women in literature
Portrayal of women in literature
Portrayal of women in literature
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Until the last chapter of Ulysses, Molly Bloom was primarily seen through the eyes of the other viewpoint characters in the story. They are only small glimpses into her personality, and other than the few lines she does say, we see little of her own thoughts. In episode eighteen, we finally get her world view, even though her thoughts contradict themselves at times. In that episode, James Joyce is attempting to explore the mind of a 'universal woman', and their mindset, filtered through the eyes of one man. Himself.
After expressing her frustration with having to serve her husband breakfast in bed, Molly begins her stream of consciousness with thoughts of the differences between men and women: “…Yes because theyre so weak and pulling when there sick they want a women to get well if his nose bleeds…” (738). This line illustrates Joyce’s desire to understand the human mind, specifically the female mind. There’s a clear double standard for women, who must be strong and "hide(s) [their weakness]" (738). This also suggests the idea that men need to be, and should be, taken care of by women.
But unlike most written works that show women in a subservient light, Joyce seems to be trying to highlight the strengths of women, and therefore the weakness of men. Women are able to deal with unpleasant situations far better than men, and through this strength, Molly recognizes the powers she - and many other women have over men. For example, the lines “let him see my garters the new ones and make him turn red looking at him seduce him” (740) shows her identifying exactly how easy it is for her to get a reaction out of men. She likes that she can do this, especially since her relationship with her husband is neglected.
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...times, women must support them.
Further into the text, Molly states that men can do anything they want, with the implication of flirting with women, and yet women “[are] not to ask any questions”(746). At this point, Molly is clearly bitter about this, and believes that women should be able to question men’s activities just as men feel they are entitled to do to women – which Molly not only disagrees with, but truly dislikes. This is all to illustrate Joyce’s ideas of the female mind, and the hypocritical ways in which they work.
Towards the end of this episode, Molly’s stream of consciousness begins to explore the importance of love and family in a woman live. This aspects is different from his idea of a man’s point of view in that, according to Molly “A woman wants to be embraced 20 times a day almost” (777) because women need some form of love in their lives.
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.
...seful miscommunication between men and women. Lastly, when looking through the imagined perspective of the thoughtless male tricksters, the reader is shown the heartlessness of men. After this reader’s final consideration, the main theme in each of the presented poems is that both authors saw women as victims of a male dominated society.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage that is not only accepted, but rather expected at this time period.... ... middle of paper ...
Misogyny in this text is represented through many factors showing how women can only prove their dominance by removing the men’s sexuality and freedom of independence. It is also represented in the fact that Nurse Ratched is seen as perfect except for her breasts, her outward mark of being a woman. “A mistake was made somehow in manufacturing, putting those big, womanly breasts on what would of otherwise been a perfect work, and you can see how bitter she is about it.” (6) The fear of women is usually stemmed from ...
Nora and Mrs. Wright’s social standing when compared to the men in each play is inferior. Both works expose their respective male characters’ sexist view of women diminishing the women’s social standing. Each work features egotistical men who have a severely inflated view of their self-worth when compared to their female counterparts. The men’s actions and words indicate they believe women are not capable of thinking intelligently. This is demonstrated in “Trifles” when Mr. Hale makes the statement about women only worrying about mere trifles. It is also apparent in “A Dollhouse” when Torvalds thinks his wife is not capable of thinking with any complexity (Mazur 17). Another common attribute is of the women’s social standing is displayed as both women finally get tired of feeling like second class citizens and stand up to the repressive people in the women’s lives (Mulry 294). Although both women share much in common in their social standing there subtle differences. Torvald’s sexist view of Nora is more on a personal level in “A Dollhouse” while the male characters’ sexist views in “Trifles” seem to be more of a social view that women are not very smart and their opinions are of little value. This attitude is apparent in “Trifles” as Mr. Hale and Mr. Henderson’s comments about Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping (Mulry 293). As the women in both works reach their emotional
...as Mary Ann in the novel show that women can do so much more than sew and cook. Without women, all wars would have been a lot harder. Although men tend to keep a macho facade in order to calm others (such as the women in their lives), inside they may be like glass, easy to break. A society set on the ideal stoic, fearless warrior who acts ruthlessly and saves the damsel in distress (also showing that women are weak) obviously is one where doomed to sexism. Without the comfort and inspiration, men would have deteriorated in the face of death. All and all, women provided the needed comfort, nursing, “manpower”, and love that the soldiers of Vietnam need, something that helped them endure the havoc of war. O’Brien’s expert use of the feminist lens allows the reader to know that women indeed were a powerhouse in the Vietnam war, without whom, men would have perished.
Mrs. Hale feels a natural responsibility to defend and protect Minnie Foster Wright through her connection as a fellow woman and housewife. Upon her introduction to Minnie through her home, Mrs. Hale finds an immediate connection. She understands Minnie’s life as a homemaker and a farmer’s wife and is quick to defend her when her skills as a wife and woman come into question. When the men recognize Minnie’s lackluster cleaning of kitchen towels Mrs. Hale retorts “[m]en’s hands aren’t as clean as they might be” (Glaspell 160). She asserts her loyalty to Minnie and notes that men are not always perfect or without blame, without “clean hands”. As a woman, Mrs. Hale easily sees herself in Minnie’s place and comes to her defense as if she were defending herself. It is easier to share her loyalty with a woman so much like her than it is to be loyal to men that act superior and do not understand the challenges of being a housewife. The men find a woman’s chores as petty, nothing but “trifles” (Glaspell 160).Scholar Karen Stein argues that it is these commonalities that create the responsibility of everywoman to defend one another (Ortiz 165). Mrs. Hale sees herself in every...
In the 1800’s, women lived under men’s rules and ideologies and were forced to conform to the social “norms” of the time. To women, these rules seemed normal as they were used to them. In the story, Jane is put in a nursery because she is said to be sick and
What is it about a woman that defines them, by default, as the weakest gender? Whether it is by a father, boyfriend, or husband, there have been many accounts of women being overshadowed by men in literature and history. In many cases, men feel obligated to protect females, which makes them think they are superior or have power over women. However, men are not aware of the negative effects their "superiority" can have on women: alienation, low self-esteem, incompetence, and even insanity. Two women, from two different short stories, are classic examples of what can happen when women become victims of a patriarchal society. Although these women have their differences, both Emily Grierson, from William Faulkner 's "A Rose for Emily", and the narrator, from Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's "The Yellow Wall-Paper," are related as they are both held back by their dominant patriarchal societies, and in turn are forced into insanity.
He is an educated wolf, which masks his misogyny. ‘How nice, breakfast in bed, he said’. We notice a sense of domestication, suggesting that the wolf is already trying to mould her to fit the stereotypical female domestic role thus smothering her poetic voice. The reason she left to join the wolf was to grow more independent and learn more about poetry so she could stand on her own right however the wolf seems to have stripped her of that, leaving her completely reliant on him. We see similar domination in ‘Girl Talking’ as Duffy develops the idea that she tries to hold onto the normalcy of her old life through the use of everyday routines. However this only highlights the corruption in society as it becomes painstakingly obvious the power men hold over women. ‘Every day, shed carried water from the well into the mosque’ this gives the impression of constantly being watched over, the place of prayer luring her into a false sense of security. ‘Each day’ suggests that she had an obvious routine so the ‘miller’ knew where she would be at any given time. The mosque gave a false sense of security as it is the place where no one should have been able to harm her. She then goes on to state; ‘Men washed and prayed to God’ This makes reference to the role of men and women suggesting that women were made to serve the men and treat them like gods while the men basked in the glory of god. The religious reference suggests that men could do anything wrong and as long as they prayed to god and asked for forgiveness, that they would be purified of their sins. This in turn suggests that the rape was not a big deal and that they will be forgiven as men are more important. ‘Queen Herod’ is the complete contrast of this as Duffy develops the idea of her daughter being too god for men, suggesting that men cannot bring any happiness. She begins to present Female
Women show a submission to the power of men, even Blanche admits that maybe Stanley is what they need to ‘Mix with [their] blood’, whereas she treats Mitch with contempt, rolling her eyeballs when he can’t see and ridiculing him in ...
Joyce Carol Oates was a true change in American Literature. She associated many novels that revealed political stances along with physical and psychological pain. (1) Joyce grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It was not uncommon for her to behold mistreatment, abuse, and gang violence; especially towards women. Detroit was a major political city were women’s rights were being fought. (2) Physical brawls broke out all over the city due to the uprising of women who wanted the same rights as men. (2) This uprising was called the Feminist Rights Movement. Women were mistreated and held unequal to men, they were not even allowed to be apart of any work force or vote. (7) organizations for women started to emerge all of the united States. (4) Joyce took experiences that she undertook and witnessed first hand and used them cleverly in her novels. (3) She accumulated her experiences in one of her most famous novels We Were the Mulvaney’s. (5) This novel refers to both physical and psychological pain among all the characters. Rape, death, abuse and how women were treated were all presented in this book. (5) Mrs. Mulvaney, the mother, always tended to her husbands needs, even if she disagreed with them. Mrs. Mulvaney had no say in any of the matters that arose. She even sent away her own daughter for the better of her husband.
In order for us to deal with how a consideration of femininity can effect our understanding of a literary text, we must also be able to grasp the notion of `feminism' and `Feminist Literary Theory'. A dictionary definition of `feminism' is: `the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes.' Although this leans towards feminism in the historical sense of the word, it still provides the grounds, or foundations, from which feminist literary theories were created. Feminists argue against the stereotyping and social construction of female norms, seeing them as created by men in order to establish their own sense of power. It is thought that while males suggest that gender is sex and not actually a construct, the female role will become much more passive, stereotyped and controlled.
A central theme in James Joyce’s works is that of love: what is it, and how can we discuss it? Joyce could not bring himself to use the word ‘love;’ when Nora asked him if he loved her he could only say that he "was very fond of her, desired her, admired and honored her, and wished to secure her happiness in every way; and if these elements were what is called love then perhaps his affection for her was a kind of love" (Ellmann 6). One can read Molly Bloom’s "Oh, rocks. Tell us in plain words" as Nora’s answer to Joyce’s intellectual, complicated answer (Joyce, Ulysses 64). Perhaps as a result of Joyce’s own concern and questions about love, many of his characters are also confused and looking for a definition of love. There are many kinds of love discussed in Joyce’s works, including love for ideals, family, friends, God, and most importantly, husband and wife. This paper will explore the theme of love in Joyce’s work and show that love is a basic concept in life; characters unsure of this concept need to find a concrete definition before they can be comfortable. To do this I will analyze characters from Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses, using the Greek ideals of agape; spiritual love, storge; familial love, philia; the love between friends, and eros; sexual love.
Joyce’s character development is intentionally minimalist. There are very few “voices” in this story. The dialogue in the story is limited to minimal interaction between family members and a few minor characters. In his description of their time playing in the street, there is little or no differentiation between the narrator and his friends. He offers very little information about his characters, with one very important exception, that being Mangan’s sister. Although we never learn he...