In the novel, The Blithedale Romance, the main character Miles Coverdale claims to believe in gender equality. Throughout the novel Coverdale and Zenobia discuss the issues of feminism and gender roles. Although he appears to sympathize with Zenobia’s feminist cause, there were occasions in the novel which proved otherwise. Coverdale’s support for Zenobia’s fight for equality might only be an act to win her approval. The purpose of the Blithedale community was for it to be a place where individuals would be treated equally, however, Coverdale’s mindset has a challenging time of remembering the goal of the community. During The Blithedale Romance, Coverdale would be analyzing people’s masculine and feminine traits. Coverdale does believe in gender stereotypes by constantly thinking about the aspects each gender should possess and his desire for power over women. A way Coverdale demonstrates he is not supportive of equality between genders is by stating what exactly makes a woman. Many people assume that there are times when Coverdale gives the impression of approving women from stepping out from the private sphere. The separate sphere ideology assigns the women to live in a private sphere which gives them the responsibility of being housewives. For example, when Zenobia gave her speech on the various ways women are mistreated Coverdale is quick to show his admiration for women to hold power. Coverdale states, “For instance, I should love dearly-for the next thousands
The book is titled: Pink Think Becoming A Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, the author of the book is Lynn Peril. The first copyright of the book is in 2002 the type of book pink think it would be the author stating her ideals on what it is to be a woman. The subject matter is the ideal woman meaning what America sees as the ideal woman and the things they have done to create or influence women to go and become these ideal roles. The book shows various pictures depicting how women were looked at as well shows newspaper advertisements and pictures of the different roles of men and women in society. The pictures are there to show the ideology of the time of how people wanted women to basically worship the men and treat them with nothing but love and respect. Also included are quizzes from magazines that were created to test if you were feminine enough. These quizzes were good example of what people assumed the role of a women were. The price of the book varies from place to place and is sold between $10.00-$15.00 the isbn for the book is 978-0-393-32354-2.
In Octavia Butler’s Dawn the idea of gender is deconstructed and reformed from the typical human’s definition. Often people do not consider the role of gender in society today. Usually the first thing one notices when meeting someone new is their gender or their presumed gender. However, there becomes a problem when the person whose gender we perceived identifies as a different gender. Butler forces the reader to examine how they judge and perceive gender. While the ooloi are actually “its” their personalities seem to imply a certain gender. The transgender community often brings up this issue because these assumptions of gender based on our judgments of what defines a male and what defines a female can skew how a transgender person is treated and addressed. In Chapter One of Gender Through the Prism of Difference by Anne Fausto-Sterling, the idea of expanding the number of genders based on one’s biological differences is examined through the five sexes theory. By now the concept of gender being defined solely by one’s biology has mostly been left in the past but the question remains of how do we truly define gender? How does being outside of the social norms that Michael Warner talks about cause us to feel shame when discussing our gender and our perceptions of gender? In this essay, I will argue that preconceived notions of gender create shame when a person’s own perception of their gender does not fit the social norms. This stigma around the limited and strict definitions
For my final project I will be examining the role that gender plays in the Blithedale Romance, specifically how Brook Farm as a utopia looks to represent the roles of men and women in society. I will examine how the Brook Farm looks to change the societal norms surrounding gender. My argument will be centered on the idea that although these utopia communities, specifically Brook Farm, looked to change or eliminate the typical gender roles that existed at the time, they ultimately cannot. I will delve into why they cannot, specifically focusing on the idea that the reason these communities cannot change or redefine these roles is because ultimately these utopia societies are set to fail from the get-go, as we see in the Blithedale Romance.
Equality between men and women is not always accepted in society. In the previous era, men were seen as the person who had the rights to rule over others and who could work outside the home. But the woman was seen only as a woman from home, she had the responsibility of taking care of the children, doing all household chores and her opinion was never considered. In Alice Munro story “Boys and Girls “, the narrator of the story is a girl who lives on a fox farm with her parents and a younger brother but her character is seen between the conflict with society and her desires because the difference of role that plays each genre.
Snow White is a fairy-tale known by many generations; it is a beloved Disney movie, and a princess favoured by many kids. But did you know the fairy-tale was made to teach young children, especially little girls, their duties in life? It also values beauty over knowledge, portrays women to be naive and incompetent, and assumes that women cannot understand anything other than common household chores. Throughout this criticism, I will be using the feminist lens to analyze the fairy-tale, Snow White, through the perspective of a feminist.
There are three main sections to a literary interaction, which are emphasis on the text, emphasis on the source and emphasis on the receiver. Under emphasis on the receiver there are several different critical approaches including feminist criticism. Feminist criticism focuses on the critique of female writers, the role of female characters, and how those roles are portrayed by their characteristics and often demeaning actions. In “A Rose for ‘A Rose for Emily,’” Judith Fetterley states that “A Rose for Emily” is a “story of a woman victimized and betrayed by the system of sexual politics, who nevertheless has discovered, within the structures that victimize her, sources of power for herself” (Fetterley 745). The
Female characters are influential in John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. In the novel, three women are of paramount importance in comparison to all others in shaping David’s views and opinions: Sophie, the Sealand woman, and Aunt Harriet. In the society of Waknuk, individuals exhibit prejudice repeatedly throughout the novel through their own blinkered treatment of deviations. David Strorm’s, a twelve-year-old boy whose parents brought him up in such lifestyle, interactions with those three women throughout the novel sways him to have second thoughts about it. Their dealings with David each have a particular impact on his life. Sophie allows for doubt to enter David’s life for the first time; the Sealand woman expands his views and prompts him to consider other beliefs different from those of his society; and Aunt Harriet makes him more conscious of his society’s despicable activities and more attentive to it. In John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids, Sophie, the Sealand woman, and Aunt Harriet are instrumental in influencing David’s outlook on society.
The female characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance, Zenobia and Priscilla, differ in their representations of womanhood. Zenobia begins as an independent character, whom later surrenders to Hollingsworth's control, whereas Priscilla is ever submissive to his desires. This determines how the male characters, Coverdale and Hollingsworth, view both women. Coverdale and Hollingsworth are first enamored by Zenobia's charm, but both fall for Priscilla's docility. Zenobia represents female independence and Priscilla embodies feminine subservience; the triumph of Priscilla casts the male vote in this novel unanimously
“The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself especially when everybody is watching”. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 1854 novel Blithedale Romance supposed to be utopian society but falls short when Coverdale and Hollingsworth have their own view of what Blithedale is supposed to look like. For example Coverdale uses and wants Blithedale for his poetry and Hollingsworth wants to use Blithedale to reform criminals. Both of these men aren’t there for a utopian community (where it can be a better living space for them) but they’re rather focus on their own objectives. In addition, there is another important character related to this book and that’s Zenobia. Zenobia is an older beautiful and mature women who comes from a rich background. She comes
The 18th century was a time where there were very strong gender norms that were strictly followed. But in Eliza Haywood's Fantomina, those gender norms are challenged with the creation of a cunning, and manipulative female protagonist. We are given a text that empowers the main character, Fantomina, throughout the story and shows us a woman's power to exercise their control over men. As a women of a higher class, Fantomina would have been expected to follow a certain code of conduct and uphold a good reputation. However, her ability to deceive Beauplaisir shows her power over him, as well as her skill and intelligence.
When analyzing a piece of literature, it is easy to simply take it at face value. However, when you read between the lines you can often find subtle hints that tell you an even greater story. The Importance of Being Earnest is applicable to Gender and Queer Theories because it addresses past gender inequality, portrays women in a certain way, and is about people feeling like they need to hide their true selves from society.
The typical conventions of the western genre included a male lead that fought crime while simultaneously saving the hopeless damsel in distress. Novels comparable to “True Grit” was revolutionary for female protagonists in accordance to the role females play in society. This novel shows that women are no longer expected to take care of the household, raise the kids or expect men to save the day. Even if the novel is a fictitious account of what the wild west was today’s readers are able to identify with a protagonist who questions the norm of society. The protagonist, Mattie, revealed she had “true” grit by vanquishing gender stereotypes to avenge her father’s death.
A disguise is used to mask a person’s identity and it is used as a tool to aid a person’s escape from reality. In Eliza Haywood’s novel Fantomina or Love in a Maze, the main character’s true identity is unknown to the reader and the characters featured in Haywood’s novel are fabricated personas. As the title suggests, the main character finds herself in a love maze. Fantomina’s disguises help guide her through this maze to an end goal. Whether this goal is to fulfill her own desires or to find love is unclear however, Fantomina will stop at nothing and the choices she makes reflect this. Eliza Haywood uses her masquerade novel, Fantomina, to challenge common misconceptions for women in social positions, gender, morality and identity.
Surprise! Women have sexual desires just like men do. Roles set for women in the 18th century demonstrated the constrictions women endured. The idea of sex, status, and character to a woman depended on what men thought of them. However Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina demonstrates what occurs when the gender power roles are reversed and women are the dominant gender.
Also on a quest to win the heart of Hollingsworth, Priscilla comes to Blithedale under false pretenses of innocence and abandonment. She does not tell anyone of her being the Veiled Lady, nor of her relation to Zenobia, and follows Zenobia around as though attached to her hip. Out of all of the characters, Priscilla allows herself to be the most easily manipulated, both by Westervelt as the Veiled Lady and by Hollingsworth. She seems to not possess free will as she bounces from master to master. Even Coverdale notes Priscilla’s “lack of earthly substance,” yet she manages to win the affection of every principle male at Blithedale (Hawthorne 83). Moreover, her role as the Veiled Lady adds an extra layer of mysticism to the already heavily clouded work. “In her isolated insensibility, she reenacts a social drama that the communitarians at Blithedale have been playing all spring and summer” (Castronovo 119). Just as Priscilla becomes unconscious during her time as the Veiled Lady, the community remained unconscious of the social disparities that plagued them throughout the work. Priscilla’s lack of awareness is analogous to the communities ignorance in the outside societal differences that separate them within the community.