Indian writers have started to depict both the diversity of women and the diversity within each woman, rather than limiting the lives of women to one ideal. Modern literature emerges with a whole range of attitudes towards the imposition of tradition, some offering an analysis of the family structure and the caste system as the key elements of patriarchal social organization. Some works also reinterpret mythology by using new symbols and subverting the canonic versions pertaining to gender issues. In conclusion, modern Indian literature has gender dynamics in making society aware of women’s demands, and creating a pedestal to etch their self-expression.
1.0.Introduction
Women writers have created an insignia to express their position to the world through their works. Women have been recognized as official storytellers to generations on home front, though they have been dismissed for years in the literary world. Women writers, for aeons, have always been marginalized and sidelined in the literary canon. The gender dynamics were eclipsed as women writers presumed to write within the enclosed domestic space and women’s perceptions of their experience within it and therefore rank below the works of male writers who deal with weightier themes. The breaking of glass ceiling through literature has helped many women writers to establish them as mainstream writers. Today, women writers understand and express their connection of actions into existence in their real life
The role of a woman in society has always fit into a perfect box. Women were expected to be the dutiful wife, loving mother and housekeeper for her family. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique, in 1963 hoping to unveil the truth behind women’s thoughts about their role in society. Friedan exposed that things were not always, as they seemed for the average mother and homemaker in the 1950s and 1960s. Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening in the 1850’s which told the story of Edna Pontillier and her struggles as a housewife and finding her true identity.
A book editor for mass-market books and a female magazine writer, Danuta Kean (2012) found a startling trend of women writers producing more horrific violence novels that some men authors have. Confronted with the question about the trend, some women writers argued that they simply wrote about the fear that only women feel, like the fear of being raped that men do not understand. Unlike the current trend and the freedom that many women writer enjoy, Cherry character in the The Outsiders novel represents the transition of a woman’s writer views on their own roles and expectations in the
After skimming through Volume 1 of The Norton Anthology Literature by Women, I noticed the reoccurring themes of patriarchy, women subordination, and the strength to be creative despite oppression. During the times that these literary pieces were written, women were constantly battling the patriarchy in order to get basic rights. During the earlier time periods, intelligence was seen as a sign of an evil spirit in a woman, resulting in miniscule amounts of literary works written by women. Women were not provided with equal spaces to creatively express themselves, as mentioned by Virginia Woolf. Moreover, they were not given the same publishing opportunities, many women either went anonymous or by a fake male name to have their works published.
During times of crisis, women have been marginalized continuously, and although many would like to think so, conditions for women have not changed much over time. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak both reflect that. Women in literature and in real life who deserve lead roles are often forced into supporting roles. Most people understand this but few acknowledge it. Strong female characters such as Liesel in The Book Thief, Penelope in The Odyssey, and Antigone in Antigone need to be honored the same way strong male characters are.
The domination of men over women is often characterized by physical and psychological victimization of women and enhancement of their misery. This male domination is not limited to any particular region or particular period but it is globalised problem of all the times. Many women writers enter the literary scene to motivate women and fight against male domination. Walker is one among these sort of writers. Alice walker in her novels portrays the world view of women and their worthy roles, as mother, sister, daughter, wife and beloved.
Authors, especially female authors, have long used their writing to emphasize and analyze the feminist issues that characterize society, both in the past and the present. Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Susan Glaspell wrote narratives that best examined feminist movements through the unreliable minds of their characters. In all three stories, “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, the authors use characterization, symbolism, and foreshadowing to describe the characters’ apparent psychosis or unreasonable behavior to shed light on the social issues that characterized the late 19th century and early 20th century. Penning many stories that demonstrate her opinions on the social issues of the era,
In many texts from the early twentieth century and even more recent books, the male authors seem to focus mainly on men’s experiences, thoughts, values, etc. However, nearly all of the books have a key female character that plays a big part in one of the main male character’s life. Though all of the books have key female characters, it seems that their only purpose is to serve the males in some way or they have an important relationship with one of the male characters that makes them important to the book.
Equality of genders is a basic human right that all should posses. However, in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the reader explores Afghanistan’s true nature of extreme gender inequality towards women and how it affects all the characters within the novel. The novel explores how within a marriage, women have unequal rights, undergo major amounts of physical abuse, and are emotionally and mentally tormented by their very own supposedly beloved husbands. A marriage is defined as a union of two people as partners in a personal relationship.
Government Arts College for Women, Thanjavur. Abstract: Identity crisis or search of identity has received an impetus in the Post-Colonial literature. Man is known as a social animal which needs some home, love of parents and friends and relatives. But when he is unhoused, he loses the sense of belongingness and thus suffers from a sense of insecurity or identity crisis. In the field of Indian English Literature, feminist or woman centered approach is the major development that deals with the experience and situation of women from the feminist consciousness.
From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth
Do you know that Shakespeare is not the only gifted writer in his family? This mysterious member exists in the English writer Virginia Woolf’s imagination. In her famous essay “Shakespeare’s Sister,” Woolf uses the hypothetical anecdote of Judith Shakespeare as her main evidence to argue against a dinner guest, who believes that women are incapable of writing great literature. During the time when Judith is created, women are considered to be naturally inferior to men and are expected to be passive and domestic. Regarding her potential audience, educated men, as “conservative,” Woolf attempts to persuade them that social discouragement is the real cause of the lack of great female writers without irritating them by proposing “radical” arguments.
“Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors,” -Evelyn Cunningham. During the early 20th century, society’s expectations of women were tremendously different than how they are currently in the 21st century. Women were expected to be submissive to the men around them and had to listen, obey, and serve them. Prominent examples were represented in Ernest Hemingway’s stories, “Cat in the Rain” and “Hills like White Elephants.” Both of the well-known short stories were written in the 1920s and depict the mistreatment of women.
Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, argues that women are instruments of the patriarchy, that women know this, and that women allow the system of oppression to live on. Her fictions ask, “What stories do women tell about themselves? What happens when their stories run counter to literary conventions or society’s expectations?” (Lecker 1). The Handmaid’s Tale is told through the protagonist, Offred, and allows readers to follow through her life as a handmaid while looking back on how life used to be prior to the societal changes.
Professions for Women At the beginning of the 19th century, ideas of the roles of men and women has taken a turn as women take a stand to encourage other women to overcome obstacles that society’s perspectives of gender roles confine them in. Women’s conflict to find their voice during this time struggle has taken a turn in the evolving male-dominated society. An English writer, Virginia Woolf, delivered her speech “Professions for Women”, published in 1931 for the National Society for Women’s Service, and she argues that it is important for women stand up for themselves and allow their imagination to flow despite society’s oppression. Woolf begins with building her credibility with personal anecdotes, expresses the phantoms that limit women’s
The role of women in literature crosses many broad spectrums in works of the past and present. Women are often portrayed as weak and feeble individuals that submit to the situations around them, but in many cases women are shown to be strong, independent individuals. This is a common theme that has appeared many times in literature. Across all literature, there is a common element that causes the suffering and pain of women. This catalyst, the thing that initiates the suffering of women, is essentially always in the form of a man.