We find feminism is now leading to monstrous male like characteristics in the females. Women now such as Hedda are not capable of being called women. The monstrous, evil green-eyed characteristics such as jealousy, treachery and domination over others and playing with others fate are such characteristics that let no longer a woman remain womanly. The angelic and doll like qualities of women are lost behind. The so called liberation leads to devastation and destruction. If everyone will let free to act according to his/her own personal desires and wishes, will and ideology, then there will be disintegration everywhere in the society. As J.S.Mill says in his essay, “On Liberty”:
Individual is free only as long as he does not harm other people. Individual should have freedom of expression and freedom of action but if this freedom adversely affects others, a person should be held accountable for that.
Hedda Gabler is a renowned feminist play. However the leading character Hedda is in no respect feminine. She lacks the angelic and sacrificing qualities of women. We find Hedda acting as the manipulator of fates. Hedda is General Gabler’s daughter, she has married Tesman. She is bound by social norms and traditions and cannot dare by marrying a depraved rake as Lovborg to risk a challenge from society. So she ends up in a loveless marriage with Tesman. A faithless conventional life leads her to poignant unproductiveness. She is cruel selfish and mean to Aunt Julia and Mrs. Elvsted
Her grandmother was a wealthy 70 year old. She took the responsibility to take care of Dorothea and her two brothers. Dorothea, 12 was not used to the wealthy life. She was raised to give to those in need and not to take more than she's was supposed to. Her grandmother wanted Dorothea to act as if she had always been wealthy, but Dorothea did not want that.
In Sedgwick’s A New-England Tale, Mrs. Wilson is the classic representation of a novel’s antagonist, especially in regards to how she treats protagonist, Jane Elton. However, it is the parenting, or lack thereof that has the greatest impact on the lives of Elvira and David Wilson, who despite being prohibited from engaging in sinful behavior, do just that. Sedgwick demonstrates that Mrs. Wilson’s salvation may have given her an authority over others, but when she failed to teach her children the ways of the Lord, her responsibility abandonment led to her children’s act of sin.
In this part of the story we see how she really is. When she is locked inside her house she starts to cry, “She cried out, she cried out for her mother…”(Oates 242) This tells us that she is still un-mature and still a
In the end her push for equality’s of gender, causes her to be sent to death by the male figure she
She begins to do drugs, disobey her father, and when she meets a pimp named Alphonse she claims
Her experience is necessary for her determining who she is and what she hopes to get out of life. Also, her exile precedes her nephew, Milkman's,
Another interesting view of the story is through modern feminism. Liberal feminism states that women maintain equality due to their choices and actions in their lives. Nyasha’s good actions towards others versus Manyara’s evil actions towards others led completely different outcomes for each daughter. On the other hand, socialist feminism maintains that women empower themselves or cause their own destruction. Socialist feminist theories hold that women are oppressed by cultural and societal pressures brought upon by the capitalist system.
In each woman’s encounter with their personal challenge, this goal is expressed in a form specific to them. Audiences see this interest of reaching equal status conveyed through the work and intentions the women produce. The female characters present a side to themselves that, at times, switch the gender roles their society is accustomed to. At other points, women’s abilities to lead in times of distress or confusion establish themselves as the same types of leaders that society grows to associate with men. Finally, the female character’s voicing of society’s unjust contradictory standards for women furthers paints the idea of a movement towards equality.
With the rise of civilization also came the rise of patriarchy-based societies and the slow decline of the importance of women in society. For the longest time the history of the world has been written by men who have been the head of the patriarchy and have forgotten the role of women in history. It is important to realize that women do in fact have a place at the table with men when it comes to importance in history, and are not just the ones cooking and serving the meal. It is women who tasked with raising the next generation. By looking at women of the past, people of the future can learn and evolve to fight oppression and gain their own power.
Furthermore, Feminist Criticism provides a better view of literature because it shows that women can be powerful. When Emilia finds out that her husband has been plotting an evil plan she says,” Tis proper I obey him, but not now”(Othello V.2.195). Emilia refuses to help her husband after she finds the cruel intentions he has despite the expectation of women always being submissive to their husbands. Women also have a voice and feelings, they are capable of defying their husbands commands when they know what he expects is simply wrong. In a literary article,The Role of Women in Othello: A Feminist Reading states that,” Society weighs heavily on the shoulders of women; they feel that they must support the men and defer to them, even if the actions of the men are questionable” (Literary Articles).
The feminist perspective challenges sexism and other beliefs and practices that result in the domination of women. When we look at Othello from feminist point of view it is important to note how the women of this play are treated and stereotyped.
– Hedda. Heddas relationship with lovebourd is interesting. They both seem to influence each other negatively, Hedda promoting suicide and Lovebourg negatively influencing her self-esteem, calling her a coward, and having her agree. Hedda commits suicide towards the end of the play, in doing so she demonstrates her fantasy of a beautiful death, believing that there will be no escape from her disappointing life. When she arrives at the Tesman home after her wedding trip, Hedda begins exercising control over others.
Rebecca West once said, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat”; feminism and other social issues are fundamental to literature, with them commonly being a driving force behind both modern and classic works of fiction. Feminism is everywhere, with women still fighting for gender equality in modern day Britain as demonstrated through Emma Watson’s United Nations speech which was broadcasted in September of 2014 where she differentiates feminism from ‘man-hating’. Feminism has developed considerably over time as general attitudes have been swayed through literature, political movements and women’s portrayal of themselves. In 1847, Charlotte Bronte released her novel ‘Jane Eyre’ which was viewed as very radical for its time as Bronte uses Jane to exhibit her resentment towards society. Jane is presented as a morally strong, determined character who, when she falls in love, embraces the notion instead of the label and profits which are associated with it; she states that she “cares for [her]self” and that “more unsustained [she is], the more [she] will respect [her]self” as she is not tempted away from her self-respect.
The argument presented is that women have been, since the dawn of time, demoted to the level of animals, used by men for procreation and pleasure, treated or maltreated as the master (man) deems fit. For her, this is “patriarchy – a system of female oppression stretching as far back as literary (and Biblical) texts could take us.” (2) Janet Saltzman Chafez describes seven areas of traditional masculinity in Western culture: physical (strong), functional (provider), sexual (sexually aggressive), emotional (unemotional), intellectual (rational), interpersonal (leader, dominating, disciplinarian), and other personal characteristics (proud, egotistical, decisive, uninhibited)(3) . Helene Cixous is concerned with the issue of a characteristically female or feminine mode of writing- ‘ecriturefeminenene’. “This involves the idea of a woman’s language by its diversity and multiplicity, a language opposed to patriarchal language, a language where fluidity opposes the order and logic of standard writing where women are assigned to the margins.”
This novel is also autobiographical. Throughout history, women have been locked in a struggle to free themselves from the borderline that separates and differentiate themselves from men. In many circles, it is agreed that the battleground for this struggle and fight exists in literature. In a