Femme fatale

Iconic. Indubitable. Inspirational. These words could describe the artist Leonardo da Vinci or his masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, or both. It is arguably the best-known painting in the world “attracting six-million visitors a year.” The eccentric artist, curious history, unprecedented style, and ever-changing context of the Mona Lisa are as intriguing as her mysterious smile. Leonardo da Vinci was born illegitimately to a peasant woman in 1452 in “Vinci in the Tuscan country side, thirty miles…

What does one call a female villain? Surely one can ascribe femininity to polarizing literary figures, as evidenced by the “heroine” and even occasionally the “femme fatale.” Yet, even in modern literature, there is no exclusive juxtaposition to a heroine; the term “villainess” is coined as slang by Merriam-Webster. Perhaps this can be seen as an offshoot to the meek roles women played, not only in society but in literature, for the majority of history. In the nineteenth-century, Ivan Goncharov…

The analysis of Christina Rossetti’s skilful construction, timeless content, and sophisticated use of language in her poetry provides insight into why her poems are both engaging and highly valued. Rossetti’s works are highly acclaimed by many modern critics as innovative for her time, due to her commentary on Victorian society and her lyrical gift. She explores many thematic concerns that maintain relevancy in present-day society, including the corrupting influences of the world; the…

Imagine living in a world where you feel insecure, depressed, and suicidal because of the influence from the media. According to TheOddysseyOnline.com, fifty-three percent of 12 year old girls feel unhappy with their bodies, 78 percent of 17 year old girls feel unhappy with their bodies and 65% of women and girls have an eating disorder. In today’s tech savvy world, the media is an integral part of everybody’s lives yet it is also a devastating tool that can ruin many women’s lives. For example,…

I will be drawing the similarities and differences between ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ by John Keats and ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning and how these similarities and differences affect the portrayal of relationships in the poems. There is a lot of history utilised in both poems. At the time Robert Browning wrote ‘My Last Duchess’, there was a large influence in Italy mainly over possessions and status. The story of the Borgias family, who paid people to kill those that they didn’t like…

In 1960s America, women began to react in a new way to the building oppression that had taken decades to create. The double standards set up by society were finally boiling over, and women felt the need for an Equal Rights Amendment, which was originally proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. This inspired Shirley Chisholm to give her 1969 address to Congress, Equal Rights For Women. The speech expressed the irritations of women from the last century. Women were constantly…

CONCLUSION As a result of this study we have come into the following conclusion: Prevailing over English literature for mainly 34 years (1798-1832), Romanticism proved itself as one of the most ingenious, extreme and instable of all ages, a time characterized by insurrection, conservatism and reformation in politics, and by the creation of imaginative literature in its characteristically contemporary structure. It came to be a period when principles and ideals were in union, when radicalism and…

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock a novel that will tell you everyone is suffering and in some way you can conquer it. The author of this book is Matthew Quick an American novelist known to his book The Silver Linings Playbook in 2008 that was adapted into a film. He was born in Philadelphia on October 23, 1973 but he was raise in Oaklyn, New Jersey. He is now leaving with his wife Alicia Bessette in North Carolina’s Outer Bank. He study in La Salle University which he has a degree in English…

The advent of the 1950s ‘bad boy’ image is one that has been cultivated and adapted throughout the years to suit each generation’s ideals. Whether the bad boy be played by an actor, or be a person who’s identity is solely based in the real world, the characteristics are nearly identical. The classic ‘bad boy’ character has a mysterious past—or can be from the wrong side of the tracks—rebels against authority, usually smokes, and ultimately has a heart of gold. The generally female character…

In this essay, I will be exploring the changing presentation of sexuality within classic Victorian literature, exemplified with the use of a case study of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I would argue that perhaps more than in any other literary period, any textual inclination towards sexuality deteriorated as the eighteenth century progressed, ‘desexualising’ it, or, at least confining it to the bedroom doors of married couples. Additionally, whilst essentialist…