Essay on Female Protagonists in Womens Literature

They feasted upon it. They thirsted for it. Society looked down on them for it, but these women remained honey mad, remained desperate for salvation in flavor, and craved salvation in indulgence. Considered half-savage and more than a little deranged, they roamed, free to do what so many of the women in civilized society longed to do. In Honey Mad Women: Charlotte Brontes Bilingual Heroines, Patricia Yaeger hypothesizes that bilingual heroines... are also honey mad women: women who consume, to excess, the languages designed to consume them (Yaeger 11). She applies this theory to Charlotte Brontes heroines, but it is also applicable to other literary works such as The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, The Lais of Marie de†¦show more content†¦When Jane sees this sorry spectacle, she tears the word off Helens head and tosses it into the fire, but instead of being punished, she is found innocent of a previous charge of lying. Yaeger says that in this way, her attack upon the w ord is obliquely condoned (Yaeger 13). After this pivotal scene, Jane feels free to feed upon honey, to luxuriate in the control and pleasure that language gives her. She is free to seek knowledge and enjoy the presence of language in her life. In a few weeks, I was promoted to a higher class; in less than two months I was allowed to commence French and drawing. I learned the first two tenses of the word Etre and sketched my first cottage....That night on going to bed... I... prepar[ed]... and... feasted... on the spectacle of ideal drawings, which I saw in the dark- all the work of my own hands; freely penciled houses and trees, picturesque rocks and ruins, Cuyp-like groups of cattle, sweet paintings of butterflies hovering over unblown roses, of birds picking at ripe cherries, of wrens nests enclosing pearl-like eggs, wreathed about with young ivy sprays. I examined, too, in thought, the possibility of my ever being able to translate currently a certain little French story-book which Madame Pierrot had that day shown me; nor was that problem solved to my satisfaction ere I fell sweetly asleep (Bronte 106). This scene shows Janes burgeoning independence, as she imagines a world of herShow MoreRelatedFeminism in Novel Makaan of Paigham Afaqui1301 Words   |  6 PagesPaigham Afaqui Feminist literature, as the name suggests, is based on the principles of feminism, and refers to any literary work that centers on the struggle of a woman for equality, and to be accepted as a human being, before being cast into a gender stereotype. Not all these works follow a direct approach towards this goal of equality. It is only through such media that women believed a change was possible in the way they were perceived in society. Not all feminist literature has been written by womenRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper913 Words   |  4 Pagespast century, the female gender had been a race characterized by limited opportunity and the widespread belief of inferiority to the male gender. It was not until the women’s rights movement took off in the 1920’s that women began to enjoy having the same opportunities as men and playing an active role in society. Before that time, women were perceived as being inferior to their male counterparts and received less respect than men. This resulted in devastating effects on the female psyche, includingRead MoreThe Female, Bildungsroman, By Carol Lazzaro Weis1083 Words   |  5 PagesMarch 2016 Literature Review #4 Article: Lazzaro-Weis, Carol. â€Å"The Female Bildungsroman: Calling It into Question†. NWSA Journal 2.1 (1990): 16–34. Web. Author: Carol Lazzaro-Weis is the President of the American Association of Italian Studies, the largest associate of university professors of Italian in North America and serves on several editorial boards. Professor Lazzaro-Weis has been appointed to serve on the International Advisory Board for The Centre of Contemporary Women’s Writing. HerRead Moreâ€Å"the Yellow Wallpaper† an Opinion on the Critical Essay â€Å"Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in â€Å"the Yellow Wallpaper†Ã¢â‚¬  by Carol Margaret Davison1177 Words   |  5 Pagesessay â€Å"Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†Ã¢â‚¬  by Carol Margaret Davison Rebecca Olds V00698066 English 125 Y. Levin April 2nd, 2009 â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story written in the late 1800’s about a woman with post-partum depression who becomes increasingly mad because of society’s, as well as her husband’s, repression. The critical essay â€Å"Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†Ã¢â‚¬ Read MoreWomen s Movement : Escape As A Post Feminism940 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Women’s Movement: Escape as Transgression in North American Feminist Fiction,† Heidi Macpherson explores the grounds behind female escape in feminist theory and argues that there is no clear escape from society. Although there are multiple means of escaping, one cannot fully escape from society and one is usually forced back into society. With this idea in mind, she critically explores the limitless and boundless abilities of female escape works in North America by providing her readers withRead MoreGender R oles And Femininity : Susan Glaspell s One Act Play1400 Words   |  6 Pagesroles by placing the emphasis on the female characters in the play. While the men are hard at work, it is the women who emerge as the protagonists. In this essay, I wish to explore the gender roles developed by Glaspell in the house of John Wright, particularly their role in the home, finding their identities, and the stereotypes portrayed in literature. The gender role motif is important to explore because it is replicated in many texts including the literature of today. First, Glaspell’s play addressesRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesImmediately in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† readers are able to tell that the protagonist feels trapped in the room, in which she is being placed. The female narrator also mentions to us that her husband â€Å"John is a physician, and perhaps –– (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind –– perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster† (Stetson 1892, 129). That is to say, this statement clearly indicates thatRead MoreEssay on Feminist Protagonists in The Awakening and A Dolls House755 Words   |  4 PagesThe Feminist Protagonists in The Awakening and A Dolls House    The idea of womens liberation is a common theme in both Kate Chopins The Awakening and Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House. In her analysis of Feminism in Europe Katharine M. Rogers writes, Thinking of Noras painful disillusionment, her parting from her children, and the uncertainties of her future independent career, Ibsen called his play the tragedy of modern times (82). The main characters in each work, Nora Helmer, in A DollRead MoreThe Portrayal of Women in the American Literary Canon1512 Words   |  6 Pages Literature is not simply a reflection of society; it is in actuality much more powerful. Literature draws upon society and creates its own meanings and images. It possesses the power to either nourish or discourage societal values and ideals. Hence, stereotypical views on gender relations in society are reinforced by literary depictions of men and women. The American literary canon is a collection of books that are widely accepted as influential in shaping Western culture. Stereotypes areRead MoreIsolation in â€Å"a Rose for Emily† and â€Å"the Yellow Wallpaper†1222 Words   |  5 Pagesthe late 1800’s early 1900’s and depict the era when women were viewed less important than men. The protagonist in each story is a woman, who is confined in solitary due to the men in their lives. The narrator in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is the mutual voice of the townspeople of Jefferson, while Emily Grierson is the main character in the story that undergoes a sequence of bad events. The unnamed, female narrator in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is also the main character whose journal we read. This difference

The Truth Lies Can Tell How Stories Shape Our Perspectives

The Truth Lies Can Tell: How Stories Shape Our Perspectives â€Å"Young as I was, I knew that I wanted the story to be true, true in the way fiction can be true† (Achebe) . Stories are essential to the identity of the human race. From ancient cave paintings depicting tales of epic hunts, to modern day movies in 3D cinema, the tales we tell show our values and our desires, both individually and as a society. Things Fall Apart proves to be no exception. In reading this novel, I found myself presented with a broader scope of the world through hearing a type of story I had never heard before, and a renewed perspective on how I personally process stories. Through Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe presents what matters to him, informing the world†¦show more content†¦After he is banished from the clan for accidentally killing a respected clansmen’s son, Okonkwo’s disdain for femininity is emphasized in that despite his mother’s tribe’s extreme generosity and kindness in providing for him and taking him in, he â€Å"regretted every day in his exile† (Achebe 162). By the end of the novel, Okonkwo’s beliefs so strongly define him, that his hatred for his people’s perceived â€Å"weakness† in refusing to go to war against the colonizers drives him to hang himself, an act not only terrible in and of itself, but unforgivable in the eyes of the society he lives. To the point, Okonkwo’s actions and moral values are also expressed in the stories he tells to his sons, â€Å"masculine stories of violence and bloodshed† (Achebe 53). His eldest son, Nwoye, expresses in th e same chapter that he secretly enjoys his mother’s stories about clever turtles, and vultures that end droughts and bring healing to the land. Through these stories, the reader infers that Nwoye appreciates healing and meaning in life, and stories that bring hope into a world that sometimes seems so desolate. I would argue that this is also the reason that Nyowe accepts the message of the European Christian missionaries. Because he values harmony and healing, and not the violence of masculinity that his father has forced on himShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie s Ted Talk, The Danger Of A Single Story1237 Words   |  5 PagesChimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s inspiring TED talk, The Danger of a Single Story, proves how stories influence the way we perceive the world. She describes the single story as a narrative that surrounds only one perspective. The objective of her speech is to inform her audience that assuming something is true based on a single pie ce of information gives us incomplete and incorrect perceptions. Society is an accumulation of social stories, it is never just one thing. There are multiple, contingent and overlappingRead Moreâ€Å"Art Is a Lie That Brings Us Nearer to the Truth† (Pablo Picasso)1692 Words   |  7 Pagesask if by distorting our perception to reality, how art is a lie and how it brings us nearer to the truth? As a result, we will discuss three main points of the Picasso’s quote; art, lies and reality. Then, this will be highlighted with the effect of art in Ethics and, through pertinent examples; we will emphasize the distinction between ethics and art. Finally, we will analyze Picasso’s quote in relation to literature and visual art in contrast to his art. Firstly, how can we assess this quoteRead MorePost Colonialism Is Not A Reference Of Time Essay1237 Words   |  5 Pagesbox this particular word can smoothly fit into. This is a literary theory; it is a lens to take in order to understand the truthfulness of all perspectives in a story. A baseline of post colonialism lies in the definition of both terms. Colonialism states that people come to settle and establish political control over an area. Post refers to after, so in a sense post colonialism is the aftermath of what that political control conducted and accomplished. If post colonialism can be defined, then it isRead MoreIts Not Finished,, , but My Speech on Reflect Upon How Your Understanding of Representation, History and Memory Has Been Shaped by This Elective1173 Words   |  5 PagesSpeech – Reflection on History and Memory Throughout time, perspectives of history and memory have changed. They have been moulded by the events of our time as well as the texts and we read. The question of what is history and memory is being raised. Is it a scholarly discipline that claims to record the truth vs. a cognitive faculty coloured by trauma and emotion? To me history is represented as official memory of the winning side. As a result, it is very subjective, selective, bias and with multipleRead MoreEssay on Lies My Teacher Told Me910 Words   |  4 Pagescorresponding moment which can take the accuracy and understanding and change them forever. Throughout time people add small pieces of information to great events in our past. This is where we get the misinterpretation of history. In chapter five of the book Lies My Teacher Told Me, these contradictions are brought into light and force us to look at them again. As I have learned in my history courses we can always question the accuracy of a story but we may neve r fully understand the truth. There have beenRead MoreMarjane Satrapi s Persepolis 1646 Words   |  7 Pagesshe is a normal person that has had to live through extreme circumstances. Marjane has contributed to a whole new way of writing memoirs that may last for many generations to come. She effectively demonstrates how she is just like anybody else by expressing herself through rebellion, truth and being at the threshold of a changing nation. What further makes it her book relevant is that the revolution is still going on today. In the novel, Marjane, Marji for short, is living in Tehran, the capitalRead MoreMontaigne in The Return of Martin Guerra by Natalie Zemon Davis1839 Words   |  8 Pagesstatus quo in his pursuit of truth. Like any judge, Coras has the discretion to select or omit certain pieces of evidence, the power to shape the official and accepted version of the truth; however, Michel de Montaigne would argue that Coras has a high probability of reaching a distorte d verdict. Montaigne’s â€Å"Essays† claims that knowledge is acquired through the process of self-questioning, but this self-questioning presumes that knowledge begins with ones own perspectives and not with disciplines (suchRead MoreThe Purpose Of An English Teacher1630 Words   |  7 Pagesan English teacher is to impart wisdom into the minds of his or her students, through various methods and mediums such as stories, grammar exercises, and literary writing assignments that challenge students to think critically. English is an interesting subject, in relevance to education and philosophy; because, outside of grammar, there are few concrete avenues an educator can take in order to â€Å"properly† teach it. However, there are standards by which educational organizations follow and promoteRead MoreThe Mega Marketing Of Depression Essay1609 Words   |  7 Pagespresents how the enforcement of mundane standardization in American education systems leads to the de crease of original talents and creativity. 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Living in 1984 Free Essays

George Orwell’s horrendous yet prophetic vision of the future in his novel, 1984 has come and gone. In this nightmarish novel, Oceania, where the story takes place, is the perfect depiction of â€Å"Negative Utopia† in which the government is in total control of their citizens. They control every aspect of their life. We will write a custom essay sample on Living in 1984 or any similar topic only for you Order Now From the smallest things as the clothes their citizen wore on a daily basis to the person they were allowed to marry to their thoughts. Freedom of choice and thought was unquestionable and was not allowed and anything or anyone that went against this principle or resisted oppression was completely suppressed themselves. Now, in 2006 under our current government there are a lot of similarities between the haunting novel of the â€Å"Negative Utopia† which George Orwell portrays in†¦.. Living in 1984-Today George Orwell’s horrendous yet prophetic vision of the future in his novel, 1984 has come and gone. In this nightmarish novel, Oceania, where the story takes place, is the perfect depiction of â€Å"Negative Utopia† in which the government is in total control of their citizens. They control every aspect of their life. From the smallest things as the clothes their citizen wore on a daily basis to the person they were allowed to marry to their thoughts. Freedom of choice and thought was unquestionable and was not allowed and anything or anyone that went against this principle or resisted oppression was completely suppressed themselves. Now, in 2006 under our current government there are a lot of similarities between the haunting novel of the â€Å"Negative Utopia† which George Orwell. How to cite Living in 1984, Papers