Fitzgerald openly shows his opinion that women generally have low moral qualities, and demonstrates this by the actions and speech illustrated by the three main female characters in the novel; Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson. His portrayal of them appears to expose a disturbing, misogynistic view of women in the 1920’s. Others would say this is not the case and his approach to how he presents the women has a much deeper meaning therefore implying that Fitzgerald could in fact be a feminist. In my essay I will discuss how I feel that Fitzgerald’s experiences with women are mirrored throughout the novel and undoubtedly display his general ‘underlying hatred’ for the female kind in the Jazz Age through his constant implications of the negative characteristics women possess. Like the central character of The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald had an intensely romantic imagination; he once called it "a heightened sensitivity to the promises of life."
“Jig” is a young, woman who is forced to decide between her freedom and the stability of her relationship or embracing motherhood and responsibilities that come with such a title. While It is not to say that motherhood would be imprisonment; it in fact would be the death of everything she loved which could be categorized into two different things: travelling, and the very stability of her relationship with her lover, “the American”. “The American” says, “that’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” (Hemingway 592) which equally shows that the center of conflict in their relationship is the alleged
The Story of an Hour Chelsea Boehland Intro to literature Larry Holden (ABG1318K) 5/13/2013 The short story of “A Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin (1894) was about a woman with a heart condition hearing about an accident that took her husbands life. The tone of the story started out sad, you felt for Mrs. Mallard, the horrible sadness you feel when you lost a loved one. But the tone changes as Mrs. Mallard is sitting in her room, staring out the window, thinking to herself. It’s the sudden thrill of freedom in death that she sees. This is where the tone goes from sad to excitement, that she is free to live her life, without I assume her husband.
The Awakening Society frowns upon women who are trying to be independent and have a free life. Many people tend to look down on women who lived their life in a “dream” and who have awakened from it and acted out this “dream”. During the 19th century any women who did not follow expected social behavior were often looked down on as a disappointment. In the tragic realistic novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, a young American woman of the late nineteenth century seeks to realize her full potential as an independent human being. Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz are two women in which Edna’s options of life paths are exhibited, however, Edna finds both role models lacking.
13 November 2012 Expression of Feminist Elements in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Throughout many pieces of fictional literature, authors may try to emphasize certain points or beliefs that can be exposed by the reader through literary analysis. Gilman does an exceptional job making determined statements about feminism and individuality using her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Gilman was able to do this by guiding the reader through the terrors of a woman’s neurosis. Neurosis can be defined as a relatively mild mental illness that is not brought on by organic disease but it involves stresses a woman may have such as depression, anxiety, obsessive behavior, and hypochondria. The woman is not completely normal but does not suffer any radical loss of her grip on reality.
We will sum up the key argument and the perception of women before the 20th century. In ‘The Story of an Hour,’ Louise Mallard has a heart condition, and she must be told of her husband’s death with great care and compassion. Her sister, Josephine, tells her the news along with Mr. Mallard’s good friend, Richards, who had learned of the death while at a newspaper facility. Mrs. Mallard begins to weep as she is told of her husband’s death and goes upstairs to her room. While in her room she discovers a scary feeling that had come across her and does not know how to take it.
How does Hardy portray women as not having the same rights as men in Tess of the d’Urbervilles? By structuring Tess of the d’Urbervilles in the way that he has, in seven phases, Thomas Hardy has created a character that almost defies classification. Margaret Higonnet said that Tess is a “patchwork of cultural stereotypes” (dutiful daughter, child of the Earth, mother, doomed bride, princess in disguise, prostitute, etcetera), which the critic Ellen Moers complained formed “the all-purpose heroine”. I however believe that Hardy has purposefully created a literary figure that is representative of women of all ages and classes. Every female reader would, at some stage of Tess’ development in the novel, find at least some aspect of the character that they can empathise with.
How far do you agree with the idea that Donne is a misogynist and Webster an early feminist? It can be argued that the poet John Donne is a misogynist and John Webster was an early feminist from parts of their work, although it can be interpreted in different ways. In ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ Webster has presented the Duchess as a very strong and independent woman. The Duchess is the main character in the play and Webster has done this to emphasise her importance and independence in the play. Here it can be argued that he is a feminist because he has made a woman the main character instead of the stereotypically strong and brave male as the main character.
Society during Chopin’s time period believed women to be a weak, dependent gender whose position lay nothing above mothering and housework. In The Awakening, Chopin relays the basic attitudes of society toward women mainly through her characters Leonce, Edna, Madame Ratignolle, and Madame Reisz. She uses Leonce and Madame Ratignolle to portray examples of what was considered acceptable in society. However, Chopin includes the contrasting characters of Edna and Madame Reisz in an effort to express urges and desires disguised by the female gender. The novel
The narrator’s words give a great portrayal of the relationship between the false news and how Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts formed. The narrator explained how she didn’t take the news in the manner that others did, she was unable to grasp its terrifying impact. Then later explains how Mrs. Mallard tried to fight it but then embraced the excitement she was having about her husband’s death and what was to come for her (Chopin, 2011, para. 3 and para. 10-11).