Essays on Feminism In Literature

“A Mother’s Day Kiss-off” was written by Leslie Bennetts to change the male view of everyday mothers. Bennetts wrote this because she has witnessed and studied these events. She wrote that mothers should not just be praised on one day a year versus the 365 days that she is doing it alone, well mostly. Not only is this problematic for the child but for the parents relationship as well. She wanted to make clear that women’s roles in parenting have…...

The feminist critical perspective examines the roles that women play in literary works and their true significance to the text. Their roles are usually decided on by the society or time period in which the story is set. In "The Merchant of Venice," females were suppressed by the societal ideals of Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, which is portrayed through the characters of Portia and Jessica, who could not establish their own powerful identities because they were women. Portia and Jessica are…...

“Something could be exchanged… we still had our bodies. ” (Chapter 1) How are the women in The Handmaid’s Tale both oppressed and the oppressors? Atwood’s novel portrays strong feminist ideas throughout the tale, suggesting how women could become oppressed in the future. The Giledean state runs its laws and regulations based on extreme biblical views. In the bible Rachel couldn’t bare Jacob children, so she made her maid conceive children with Jacob this concept of the bible is portrayed…...

You have, perhaps, never heard a discussion on symposium on the topic, “Men-their role in the society! ” The discussion is always about the role of women. Men perhaps have no role! Men as well can perform some of the roles normally done by women. For example, the best chefs are men! The never-ending glib platitudes regarding giving equal rights to women go on unabated. All the Acts of Parliaments in the world and the UN Charters will not be…...

Chapter one opens up the question about women and fiction. The narrator’s thesis is that in order for a woman to write she must have her own security of money and a quiet room to herself. Throughout the chapter, it journeys through the narrator’s day and her many encounters with the institutional sexism at the universities. Towards the end of the chapter you get a better understanding of why someone must have their own quiet room in order to be…...

The book The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer holds a collection of stories based in medieval times of a number of people undergoing a journey. Along the method each character stops to inform a story that teaches an ethical. These stories all have their own protagonists that share the writer's beliefs and each tale is informed with a distinct viewpoint on the changing world. At the end of each tale, the main character faces their judgment or numeration and a…...

The feminist analysis has made a major contribution to social theory, making sociologist aware of issues that were previously ignored. Many aspects of what were considered to be “private life,” associated with male/female relations in household, family, and other social relationships have been transformed. Many parts of society have experienced changes as a result of increased involvement of women in public life. In the 19th century, women were viewed differently than they are now, and those differences play a major…...

Abstract Anita Nair is a living postmodern Indian woman writer in English. As a woman writer, she goes deep into the inner mind of the depressed women by virtue of their feminine sensibility and psychological insight and brings to light their issues, which are the outcome of Indian women's psyche and emotional inequalities in a male dominated society. Anita Nair's "Ladies Coupe" has turned out to be a great success. It is the story of a women's search for freedom…...

Anne Bradstreet During the time period of Anne Bradstreet, women were not considered very intelligent. They did not have a high role in society, and were often regarded with low respects. Most women would go with the flow and not think twice about changing the boundaries made. However, Anne Bradstreet’s personality leads her to separate from these societal thoughts, which is reflected in her poetry and stories. She was a mostly Puritan writer. The Puritan belief is based on virtues…...

Conversations around gender and gender roles have been existent since time immemorial. Gender roles refer to social characters that define actions, approaches, and conceptions that are considered tolerable, desirable, and suitable for people based on their alleged sex. Gender stereotyping roots from such definitions and has taken over the day to day cultures of individuals. It has become a tradition passed from generation to the next, even in the wake of liberal individuals. Girls and boys are taught how society…...

Women’s Rights is an extremely ethical topic that is surrounded by ethical theories and has a lot of history. While some of the theoretical systems in ethics have helped to gain women their rights, others have assisted in preventing women's rights. Women in America have seen much improvement in our modern-day society regarding Women’s Rights, but what about the women in less economically stable countries? Women continue to fight against abuse, hatred, and discrimination worldwide. I will be discussing not…...

The short story 'Girl' as written by Jamaica Kincaid, is an exciting and captivating piece that depicts several elements from literature and a reflection of various aspects of society. Most of the story is told in the second person containing a conversation between a mother and daughter; the conversation is about how the daughter should behave, how to go about doing her daily tasks, and her life. The dialogue as it flows depicts several items perceived as a how-to-do list…...

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story of a woman, who is suffering from misery and disorder, she feels like trapped in a house by her husband and lock herself in a yellow room where there is no freedom. Seeing women behind the wallpaper and that delusion becomes an obsession, the narrator eventually tears down the paper to emancipate the woman and herself from things that stopped her from freedom. The Yellow Wallpaper by Gilman mostly likes…...

The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman light up the female social critique of the late 1800s (29). She argues that the protagonist of the story is suffering from a mental disorder as she is in depression and feel like she is trapped in a room with wallpaper (Gilman). This depicts the male dominant society and women have less freedom to live their lives by their choices. This story is best known for the indifferences between women and…...

The yellow wallpaper is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892. This story is about a woman who is suffering from a mental disorder after giving birth. John, her husband who is a physician is not believed in her illness. For him, she is just suffering from temporary nervous depression. In this story, the narrator, who is a feminist shows how the women were treated in the 19th century. The story “The yellow wallpaper” took place in…...

In Charlotte Gilman Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman introduces the audience to a woman who enjoys writing. In the beginning of the story, we find out she is diagnosed with postpartum depression. In this story, Gilman uses the narrator's postpartum depression to narrate the story. The story tells of how postpartum depression was treated and dealt with by physicians back in the 19th century. It is about a woman who narrates her journey of being treated for postpartum depression. John…...

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman undeniably should be the winner for the best American short story of all time. The remaining candidates are Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, and Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, which arguably does not satisfy the criteria to win as remarkably as The Yellow Wallpaper. The Yellow Wallpaper illuminates a spotlight on modern themes such as self-identity and the role of women in marriage.…...