The women in both Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are seemingly presented with traditional feminine qualities of inferiority, weakness and sexual objectification. However, the power that they hold in male-female relationships, and their embodiment of traditional male roles, contests the chauvinistic views of society during Conrad and Hardy’s era. While Conrad presents powerful female characters through their influences over men, the reversal of traditional gender roles is exemplified more by Hardy’s character, Tess, yet both authors present revolutionary ideas of feminism, and enlighten readers to challenge the patriarchal views of society towards women. Both novels criticize traditional societal views towards
Prince’s death, the rape and her arrest all happen to her whilst asleep. The community and her unsupportive parents’ cold treatment towards Tess following these events emphasize the hegemonic male perspective of society towards women. Furthermore, Hardy shows how women are seen by society through the male gaze as sexual objects, as Tess is blamed for Alec’s lack of self-control. He attempts to justify his cruel actions as he calls Tess a “temptress” and the “dear damned witch of Babylon” (Hardy 316), yet he later says that he has “come to tempt [her]” (340). Tess is also objectified by Alec when he says that if Tess is “any man’s wife [she] is [his]” (325). The narrator’s repeated sexualized descriptions of Tess, such as her “pouted-up deep red mouth” (39), further demonstrate how women are commonly seen through the male gaze in
Kurtz’s “superb … magnificent” mistress who “[has] the value of several elephant tusks upon her” (Conrad 137) also exemplifies power. The Russian reveals the extent of her influence on Kurtz as he recalls how she once “talked like a fury”, but Kurtz “felt too ill that day to care, or there would have been mischief” (138). The Russian also feels threatened by Kurtz’s mistress, as he “has been risking [his] life everyday … to keep her out of the house” (138). The sexist and racist attitudes of that era, in addition to the idolized Kurtz’s savage behaviour towards the Africans, amplify the anomaly of an African woman instilling fear into colonial white men. Conrad establishes the influence that women can have, as it clearly contrasts Hardy’s insinuation of the powerless nature of females when compared to men. While both novels show women embodying traditional male roles and characteristics, the chivalric trait of honour in a woman is most prominent in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. While males are dominantly seen as the providers in Western society, Marlow’s aunt secures his position with The Company. Comparably, Tess takes on her inebriated father’s responsibility as a caretaker and provider when she attempts to deliver the wagonload of beehives for
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 ...
Due to traditional stereotypes of women, literature around the world is heavily male-dominant, with few female characters outside of cliché tropes. Whenever a female character is introduced, however, the assumption is that she will be a strong lead that challenges the patriarchal values. The authors of The Thousand and One Nights and Medea use their female centered stories to prove their contrasting beliefs on the role of women not only in literature, but also in society. A story with a female main character can be seen as empowering, but this is not always the case, as seen when comparing and contrasting Medea and The Thousand and One Nights.
For centuries women have been perceived as overshadowed figures who remain in a separate sphere from men. The term “separate spheres” refers to the distinct, conventional characteristics associated with gender differences. The public sphere of men is associated with commerce whereas the domestic sphere for women is linked with the household. However, there is more than just one perspective on feminism. The feminist view is influenced by three main voices: the French, American, and British. French feminists focus their attention on language; American feminists analyze the literary aspects; and British feminists examine the historical processes (Murfin 296-299). Using these perspectives, we can see the oppression of women conveyed in many different texts throughout literature and in history. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, for instance, exhibits not only a feminist view in the text, but also in society during Shelley’s time period as displayed by her negotiations with the separate spheres. Voltaire’s Candide also conveys powerful gender differences and reveals the oppression of women throughout the novel. Therefore, a correlation can be seen between the view of women in the two novels and how it reflects the culture and time period in which the novels were written.
Throughout ‘Tess’, she believes that she is punished for her immoral action, however even to Tess a simple country girl, the injustice treatment for her mistakes does not seem justifiable, these punishments are due to Tess’s central injustice of being raped/seduced by Alec - ‘whatever her sins they were not sins of intention…why should she have been punished so persistently’ (pp.313). Furthering this argument, in Hardy’s ‘Tess’ the moral code of ‘no sex before marriage’ is broken by the protagonist herself and sets in motion her fate eventually leading Tess to becoming a fallen woman. In Victorian society, women were expected to practice sexual resistance if this was not conduct...
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kurtz and the Council demonstrates natural human needs in order to survive and achieve personal desires. His dissolution and corruption take place as he travels deep within the Congo. His behaviour that lacks moral ethics is accepted by everyone in the Congo due to the severity of the area. Kurtz’ imperialistic actions of obsession with power and wealth, and his view of colonialism lead to his ultimate dissolution. He believes that his way of darkness is good, although it is the sole reason to his corruption.
Tess, the protagonist and heroine of Hardy's novel, becomes a victim of rape and in turn, her life grows to become degraded, humiliating and depressing; of which none of these things she deserves. Although initially striving to be heroic and providing for her family, (after she was responsible for the death of Prince) the position she takes on at the d'Urbervilles' ultimately leads to her death as she is raped and then pursued by her seducer Alec d'Urberville until she must murder him. This courageous yet dangerous decision to murder Alec epitomises her character as a heroine as she is brave enough to perform such a malicious act in order to kill her suffering at the root rather than being passive and perhaps choosing to take her own life instead.
The importance of cultural context within any type of text is essential in order to elucidate a distinct argument. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a novella starring the experiences of an ivory trader in Central Africa named Charles Marlow, various themes of racism and human cruelty are discussed in relation to its contextual features. The film “Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola adapts this idea of implementing a correlation between its central ideas to a specific cultural context as well. The central research question this extended essay focuses on is how do different features used in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and the film version of "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola help criticize imperialism? In Heart of Darkness and “Apocalypse Now,” the struggle between the barbaric nature of the natives and the oppressive nature of Imperialism is questioned through the use of characterization of various factors.
...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).
In Joseph Conrad’s unforgettable novel, Heart of Darkness, the profound words of Mr. Kurtz are a judgement of his malevolent life and of humanity in general. “The horror! The horror!” are the uttered words of Kurtz as he returned with Marlow from his civilization in Africa. Conrad left the words open for interpretation, leaving many readers feeling indifferent. As Kurtz encountered death, he reflected on his past and was fond of leaving the diabolical world that he inhabited. He was pleased to be dying due to his own evil, greedy actions as well as the inequality within humanity.
On the surface, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness appears to be chiefly male¬-driven which leaves little room for a feminist literary analysis. The narrator, Marlow, maintains an impertinent depiction of the female characters as two ¬dimensional caricatures instead of genuine people while also striving to entrap the gender within his chauvinistic narration. However, despite the patriarchal and imperialist overtones written and narrated throughout the text, a feminist critique may reveal important ways in which the Mistress and the Intended defy this marginalized dominion. Women are often subjected to the hegemonic masculinity of Western culture, however, a closer evaluation of these gender roles can illuminate on the idea that women steadily
...he associates her with having powerful qualities, she is still considered naïve for not having expected departure from Kurtz. She displays sorrow and grief as she throws her hands to the sky as the steamboat pulls away. Finally, Marlow uses Kurtz's Intended to support his view of women as being accurate. In order to save their fantasy worlds, Marlow argues that men can stoop as low as lying. In unique ways the three significant female figures influence the development of Marlow's story but they do not influence the theme of the story; which is Marlow's exploration of the darkness of the human soul. Preserving the "beautiful world" of women as Marlow suggests denies women journey into the Darkness. Their role is therefore limited to their cultural environment and their own world because they might not have the strength to handle all the difficulties and temptation.
Hardy’s novels are ultimately permeated upon his own examination of the contemporary world surrounding him, Tess’s life battles are ultimately foreshadowed by the condemnation of her working class background, which is uniquely explored throughout the text. The class struggles of her time are explored throughout her life in Marlott and the preconception of middle class ideals are challenged throughout Hardy’s exploration of the rural class. Tess of the D’Urbervilles revolves around Hardy’s views of Victorian social taboos and continues to be a greatly influential piece from a novelist who did not conform to the Victorian bourgeois standards of literature.
“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.
The role of women in The Heart of Darkness is at first seen as one that is very much a backseat role to that of a man’s in the empirical