The Depiction of Women in Literary Texts - 1346 Words

The Depiction of women in literary texts differed throughout history and varied in different regions of the world. In numerous cases, women are portrayed as submissive, obedient, totally devoted to their family and inferior to men, which most often is the definition of femininity. However, in the text She written by H. Rider Haggard and well-known The Arabian Nights oral folk tales translated by Husain Haddawy, women are portrayed in a different fashion. The text She by H. Haggard portrays a woman who has lived for millennia and rules a tribe deep in Africa with terror brought by the power she acquired from the â€Å"Spirit of the Globe† (Haggard 257). The Arabian Nights features a woman that uses her intelligence to keep herself alive. The portrayal of women in these texts differ from traditional submissive traits, in contrast, they are portrayed as intelligent and knowledgeable. I will explore the similarities between these two women in terms of modern femininity and differ ences in terms of additional masculine traits of Ayesha that are absent in Shahrazad. Ayesha from She displays certain traits that resemble some of the traditional definition of masculinity, including power and aggressiveness. Ayesha defies the traditional women’s role of staying home and devoting all their time and energy to their children and husband; instead, she is the ruler of an African tribe. Ayesha is a relentless leader who â€Å"blast[s] them [Amahaggers] for very sport† (Haggard 146). This appallingShow MoreRelatedThe Portrayal of Women in the American Literary Canon1512 Words   |  6 Pagesrelations in society are reinforced by literary depictions of men and women. The American literary canon is a collection of books that are widely accepted as influential in shaping Western culture. Stereotypes are evident throughout these texts, and often serve to justify the continuance of traditional roles. More specifically, women seem to be the target of cataloguing and other negative depictions. Classic books that are identified as part of the Americ an literary canon tend to portray female charactersRead MoreAnalysis Of Kathy Ackers Blood And Guts In High School1181 Words   |  5 PagesFor her article in the 1976 publication of the Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Helen Cixous writes, â€Å"Woman must write herself: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies—for the same reasons, by the same law, with the same fatal goal. Women must put herself into text—as into the world and into history—by her own movement† (Cixous 875). Kathy Acker does just this in her novel, Blood and Guts in High School. UnlikeRead MoreEssay about The Effects of Femininity1571 Words   |  7 PagesIn order to understand the effects that ideas of femininity have on literary texts, we must first acknowledge what the term means. Clearly both terms derive from the original sex of the being, whether male or female, and can be similarly tied i n with notions of gender, either masculine or feminine, which are said to be constructs, or labels, created by society. However `masculinity and `femininity become, on some levels, dislodged from the idea of the biological makeup and gender constructs,Read MoreFeminist Analysis Of Paradise Lost By John Milton1124 Words   |  5 Pagesphenomenon in his epic Paradise Lost that illustrates not only the consequences of disobedience from God, but the distinct gender differences between men and women. Through the perspective of feminist literary criticism, the portrayal of male domination and the inferiority of women are exemplified by the status, stereotypes, and roles women are assigned in Literature that has consequently transcended into western society. Both the Book of Genesis and Paradise Lost begin with the creation of the universeRead More Children’s Literature through an Americanized Scope1232 Words   |  5 PagesSusan Louise Stewart addresses non-western depictions by westerners in Gloria Whelan’s Homeless Bird and Deborah Ellis’s Parvana’s Journey in her article â€Å"Beyond Borders: Reading ‘Other’ Places in Children’s Literature.† Stewart claims that multicultural texts are significant, and that diverse perspectives in conjunction with western existence and beliefs are poignant to a young student’s education. But multicultural literature is dismal, in regards to works about other places and experiences byRead MoreAmerican Literature in the Period between 1914-1945887 Words   |  4 PagesMany writers of the period 1914-1945, changed and shaped the American literary landscape by the country’s changing of the manufacturing industries, advancement in techn ologies and the uprooting of many citizens. This era became committed to steering America back to a prewar way of life. Writers were associated with high modernism, objectivist and confessional movement that emerged post World War II. There was a major change socially, politically and culturally emerging multicultural perspectivesRead MoreGender Inequalities in Victorian England: Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover984 Words   |  4 PagesMaxwell, 1993, p.27), this esteemed text follows the murder of beloved Porphyria, the lover of the enigmatic speaker who, after inviting her to his cottage for a romantic rendezvous, strangles her. Stay tuned, for tonight we explore just how this poem come to be a perfect representation of a society that was obsessed with the dominate preoccupation of male dominance. Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover skillfully epitomizes the male desire to dominate women in all spheres of life during the VictorianRead MoreRepresentations Of Women And Women1539 Words   |  7 Pagesfragments of the Oseberg tapestry. The textile fragments show human-esque figures that appear to be either standing in front of spears or holding them and who wear clothing that is closely representative of long dresses which were worn by Viking Age women. Some apparently female figures are also holding swords. The Oseberg tapestry is difficult to interpret, but it has been suggested that its imagery may represent a procession of some sort, perhaps one that occurred as part of a funeral. Jesch hasRead MoreYellow Wallpaper1673 Words   |  7 Pagesfiction were swamped with notions about how to be a proper woman in middle class society. With industrialization, urbanization, declining birth rates, amplified divorce rates, the shift away from the home and the rise in th e number of single men and women in the professional class, Americans dreaded that their families would disintegrate. Thus, one of the most important changes to American culture in the late 19th century was the change in the perception and illustration of gender roles. BesidesRead MoreCompatison of Spotty Handed Villainesses and Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women.879 Words   |  4 Pages‘A text of timeless appeal is marked by effective construction of rhetoric to support its main ideas.’ Discuss this statement, making detailed reference to at least two speeches. Great speeches are those which timelessly captivate audiences through their integrity and rhetoric treatment. This is relevant to Margaret Atwood’s speech in 1994, Spotty Handed Villainesses (hereafter referred to as Villainesses), and Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech in 1995, Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on