Jane Austen Gender Analysis

Triumph over Trifles The struggles of women have subsisted in countless pieces of literature. Stereotypically speaking, women are not always seen as strong leading characters. Often women are found confined in stories as they are in life. Literature frees women in a way that real life simply cannot. Female authors as well as characters gain that feeling of freedom, due to the less constricting binds of literary writing.

There are indications that women are only marginal elements in the plot of both tales, but at the same time some of the women play central roles in the development of the stories. Notably, however, women in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have instances of displays of power (Sir Gawain). At the same time, they have been continuously presented as the sources and causes of evil within their societies. Evidently, the passage of time between the texts did little to diminish the perception of women solely on their physical appearance. While the women are instrumental components to advancing events, their contribution is barely positive and even when it is, it remains largely imperceptible except through great

Was one of the most preeminent writers in history prejudiced against women? It is formidably supported that John Steinbeck had strong prejudiced opinions about women as evidenced by his writings. Considering the vast number of available works, only a small selection of Steinbeck’s most popular literature is needed to investigate the slighted nature of his female characters: the women of The Grapes of Wrath, Eliza from “The Chrysanthemums,” and Curly’s wife in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck repeatedly generates a society that does not provide a place for women with ambition or intelligence, despite any effort to try and insert themselves into society.

She intentionally created a mysterious sort of persona as she kept her personal life away from the public. Nevertheless, from behind the guise of her numerous heroines, she managed to offer thousands of women the advice they needed to survive the prevailing issues of the eighteenth century.

Pg.69). This quote represents the fear that scout shows while trying to hide her femininity. It shows that scout believes that women have a minuscule amount of power, and that she needs to act like a boy for her to even be recognized by Jem as a member of the group. Gender equality is not fully intact, as shown explicitly throughout the novel. Scout is not the only woman who feels the impact of sexism in the novel.

Austen successfully puts the wit into her books in three main ways described in the following paragraphs. First of all, with the distinguishing personality, it clearly shows the thoughts and feelings of the characters. For example, Mrs. Bennet is superficial and foolish that she only cares about her daughters’ marriages without any concern about their future lives. It’s also her pitiful part because she doesn’t receive an education. Therefore, she thinks that marries someone is rich and has high social status is the only way to make a living.

Because her life is uneventful, she lives vicariously through books lets her imagination run free with the stories in them. She creates her own reality with these works of fiction, which puts a barrier between her and actual reality. She ends the list of quotes by saying “That a young woman in love always looks “like Patience on a monument ‘Smiling at Grief’” (18). This portrays Catherine’s tendency to shape the words to her liking, regardless of what the actual meaning is behind the text. She shows a lack of understanding of the metaphors and language, yet she simultaneously over thinks the work by taking it and applying it to her own life.

Because of the attitude towards women in the society of that day, many women possessed strength that they were never allowed to use. Chopin implies that this strength is repressed when she describes Mrs. Mallard as having a face "whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength" (Page 202). Mrs. Mallard is a strong woman who immediately begins to take her life into her own hands and starts to make decisions and plans for her future. Many women would not have had the strength to deal with these new ideas and emotions but would have simply allowed another man to take control of their life. Women should not only be powerful but also beautiful and independent.

Outline Question: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? Source: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Points: Pride and Prejudice received much criticism by authors, such as Charlotte Bronte and Ralph Waldo Emerson, for being a mundane book with female characters that fit the cookie-cutter image of English life.

Grendel’s mother is another example of powerful woman. She’s independent, as she lives her house alone and protects it herself. She confront’s Beowulf on her own to take revenge for Grendel’s death. On the contrary, the poet is generally enthusiastic about Beowulf’s feats, but he often surrounds the events he narrates with a sense of dom.

Most heroines were snobbish and all about vanity. The author allows her audience to see her reasons for Anne’s advance maturity. She focuses on her advanced moral development to explain her maturity, in relations to her readiness for marriage.

Feminist literary criticism Pride and prejudice and the scarlet letter implement misogyny and use their own century’s gender roles to criticize the inequality in women. Both the novels see the women as inferior; as on Pride and Prejudice females are seen as a status tool that marries into a higher class and obtains a higher status. The Scarlet letter shuns women by holding a female accountable for her sins, humiliating and punishing them by forcing to wear a red scarlet letter a that lowers their status,gives them a bad look, and negatively affects the first impressions of anyone they meet. There are contrasting and similar differences in their constructive criticism towards women In The Scarlet Letter, there is a lot of examples and evidence