Damsel in distress

Females in children’s books have a notorious reputation for being “damsels in distress” who are focused on beauty and not much else. They are consistently being saved by stronger, wiser male characters that complete the tasks that they do not have the ability to do. A study done by Kortenhaus and Demarest analyzed 150 children’s…

Historically, most protagonists of the detective novels have been male, while female characters are portrayed either as hysterical or as the damsel in distress (Ruiz, Lecture, 4/19/16). On the contrary to the traditional masculine detective, Gloria is an independent and excellent professional. With Gloria’s symbolic transgression into a role dominated by male characters, Corpi diversifies the detective…

presented in fairy tales, yet is still able to retain the airs of convention through her descriptive prose. Carter is able to draw out the theme of feminism by juxtaposing traditional tropes of Gothic fiction- which depicts females as weak ‘damsels in distress’- with strong female protagonists. By pairing the horrific situations and atmosphere found typically in gothic fiction, with the heroines in her stories, a contrast is formed. It thus creates sexually liberated females, that when set…

Growing up, girls are surrounded by the idea of being a princess. From watching Cinderella and Snow White, to playing with Barbie dolls, and even being called Daddy's little "princess", this desire is aroused at an early age. We encourage hopeless romantics that wait for Prince Charming to appear on his white horse, ready to sweep them off their feet and free themselves of all their problems. Not to mention yearning to be what media has constructed to be the ideal image of a "princess". For…

The writings of Marie de France go against the gender roles of women from the majority of works written during the same time period. Her story Lanval shows this quite clearly. Lanval is a young knight who has been forgotten by his peers. He feels “depressed and worried” because he is “without friends” and “doesn’t know where to look for help” (297). He goes out for a ride and is approached by 2 lovely girls who bring him to their “lady” (298). One thing to note here is that women during this…

We have all seen the ending of Disney’s adaptation of Cinderella. The prince falls in love with the mysterious beauty that shows up to the ball and they live happily ever after. But what about when Cinderella’s step-sisters cut their foot off in order to fit the glass slipper? We also fell in love with the 2010 hit movie Rapunzel, where we learned about the hopeful independent girl who grew up in a tower alone and fell for the mischievous rough rider. The one part we missed though was when…

Introduction Disney has a tendency to represent gender using stereotypical manners. Too often do they expose the female character as the damsel in distress or as the honorable housewife. It is almost impossible to ignore the fact that in their movies, they always find the way to incorporate a male character whose purpose is to save the princess to grant him the right to marry her. Their inclusion of prince charming, usually serves to remind us that males are the dominant ones in society and…

What are human morals when one is not defined as human? Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Live of a Slave Girl makes the case for a call to action against the horrors of slavery.Jacobs uses the idea of civil disobedience and the failure of institutions to produce a form of agency to support her argument, but above all else, her rhetoric reflects the idea that slavery colors morality. Jacobs takes Thoreau’s argument further by demanding collective action against slavery by Northern White…

Each story starts with a beginning and without a beginning there is no plot, no climax, and no happy ending. An adventure cannot begin without that first initial step and a goal cannot be reached without a starting plan. The humble beginning is where the journey begins and where the story starts to enfold. My journey as a competitive swimmer did not begin at the highly competitive team that I ended up on. My journey started in my grandparents pool when I was three years old and I took my…

While any war is a terrible thing, it is the outcome of a war that truly leaves the victims in a state of despair and devastation, as author Dalton Trumbo attempts to explore in his novel. The book title captures the reader, not only from the author’s perspective about war but also of compassion and one’s own mortality. Trumbo’s story about his main character Joe mimics his own life’s story. Very much like Joe, Trumbo came from a working-class family, lost his father, and worked at a bakery.…