Victorians are fascinated by the Science and the question of the woman. They come to the conclusion that woman are inferior to men. Critics constantly identify science as masculine, Victorian writers exclude woman from scientific discourses. Eventually after the publication of Charles Darwin’s Decent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex in 1871, the relation of gender and science become more interesting for literary critics. Darwin has showed the biological different on gender. In this book, Murphy uses several literary texts from fiction and nonfiction by poets and novelist, botaniest to examine gendered science. Her main purpose is to search for the literary works “that illustrate the telling ways in which scientific discourse could be
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North is a traveler, painter and botanist. Murphy considers North as a naturalist and feminine since many of her paintings are inspired by garden and garden is domestic, but at the same time her work as a traveler and botany are more related to the science. She is “being viewed as a woman in a male field” (162).Murphy concludes her argument by identifying North with neither sex.
The last chapter titled The Female physician in Charles Reade’s ‘A Woman-Hater’ (1877). Murphy argues that “A Woman-Hater” sympathies a woman, who wants to enter the world of medicine and science. Murphy has finished her argument by qualifying the woman foe medical practice, due to their biological sympathetic …show more content…
Her use of female character is gradually changed in her study. Naden’s poetry and Hardy’s work, female character are treated as a threat to the science. The female character is not identified by any gender till Murphy end up her study with accepting women as physicians. Finally, what I find most fascinating about In Science's Shadow: Literary Constructions of Late Victorian Women is, Murphy’s close reading of the literary texts and connecting it to Darwin’s theories about the relation between gender and science. In each selected texts, Murphy provides enough information about the background as well as accurate textual analysis. The reader may not find it is necessary to study the actual texts in order to understand this book. For example Murphy’s examination on Thomas Hardy’s “Tow on a Tower”, after a brief summary of the novel, she gives physical description and how each gender fit a specific environment. For example, Murphy examines the masculine descriptive of the tower and feminine descriptive of the house, vegetation and sounded field. Then she connects the tower with intellectuality, and landscape with emotion. Murphy argues about the lack of intellectual in women, and lack of interest in science is appeared in Viviette on many occasions. Viviette has observed the tower many times before meeting Swithin, without thinking about science. Also, in the
North is a traveler, painter and botanist. Murphy considers North as a naturalist and feminine since many of her paintings are inspired by garden and garden is domestic, but at the same time her work as a traveler and botany are more related to the science. She is “being viewed as a woman in a male field” (162).Murphy concludes her argument by identifying North with neither sex.
The last chapter titled The Female physician in Charles Reade’s ‘A Woman-Hater’ (1877). Murphy argues that “A Woman-Hater” sympathies a woman, who wants to enter the world of medicine and science. Murphy has finished her argument by qualifying the woman foe medical practice, due to their biological sympathetic …show more content…
Her use of female character is gradually changed in her study. Naden’s poetry and Hardy’s work, female character are treated as a threat to the science. The female character is not identified by any gender till Murphy end up her study with accepting women as physicians. Finally, what I find most fascinating about In Science's Shadow: Literary Constructions of Late Victorian Women is, Murphy’s close reading of the literary texts and connecting it to Darwin’s theories about the relation between gender and science. In each selected texts, Murphy provides enough information about the background as well as accurate textual analysis. The reader may not find it is necessary to study the actual texts in order to understand this book. For example Murphy’s examination on Thomas Hardy’s “Tow on a Tower”, after a brief summary of the novel, she gives physical description and how each gender fit a specific environment. For example, Murphy examines the masculine descriptive of the tower and feminine descriptive of the house, vegetation and sounded field. Then she connects the tower with intellectuality, and landscape with emotion. Murphy argues about the lack of intellectual in women, and lack of interest in science is appeared in Viviette on many occasions. Viviette has observed the tower many times before meeting Swithin, without thinking about science. Also, in the