Silas Marner

The nineteenth century was a large feminist movement as women pushed against their “roles in society.” Women were beginning to act contrary to “expected” beliefs and actions. To expose and respond to this social inequality, many women took to writing- novels, letters, pamphlets, and speeches. Overall, literature during this time often focused on the conflict between women and society. Henry James was an American author often regarded as an important figure in the literary culture of the…

A Wicked Woman is a short story written by the famous author Jack London. It is a story about an unconfident young lady named Loretta and how her life is mostly decided by the men around her; in fact the whole story reflects a strong male dominance. The whole story and especially the language in the dialogues follow the gender stereotypes of men and women. Loretta is depicted with the characteristics of a “typical” woman: delicate, sensitive, cute and not that intelligent as Alice…

Kate Chopin's short story, Desiree's Baby, is a work that explores multiple themes commonly considered taboo for late 19th century discussion. Most writers of the time rarely elucidated on such themes; and least of all female writers. To fully appreciate the work in its entirety, one must first understand the social critique of the times and then formulate an idea of just how impactful a story such as this one could be. This was an era in which the majority of creative literature focused on…

"A Rose for Emily" and comparison to a 21 Century Murderer The short story "A Rose for Emily" is written about a woman who lives a life of secrets, love, and neglect. Living in selective isolation, her mental health closely resembles that of a 21st Century murderer. Emily has the characteristics of a Behavioral Personality Disorder, or Schizophrenia by choosing self-isolation, premeditating a murder while keeping a trophy. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can be characterized by…

"I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (Lee). In the fictional novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee explains racism in the eyes of a young girl and how racism has affected society. This takes place in the 1900s in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb County. In chapter 7 when the knot-hole in the tree gets filled up, Jem learns from Mr. Nathan Radley’s excuse of the tree dying that people can manipulate the way they think. During the talk between Jem and Mr. Radley, Jem…

An important role in the narrator’s acting out of her creativity plays the yellow wallpaper. In the course of the story Jane develops an obsession with the wallpaper and projects all her imagination on it. The wallpaper is used as a metaphor for the patriarchal system, but also a representation of the narrator’s mind (cf. Treichler 64). At first it should be analysed how the wallpaper is described by the narrator in the story. From the beginning on, Jane characterizes it as the worst paper she…

In a patriarchal society, many women face the issue of an imbalance of power, especially whilst in a relationship. The characters in “The Company of Wolves” by Angela Carter and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman handle this reality with distinct approaches. Both authors employ symbolism and character to depict the various ways women are affected by male oppression and their struggle for liberation. While Carter’s character manages to forget her fear and seduce her oppressor, the…

At some point, everyone has felt like they were being forced to conform to society. Through the actions of the main characters, both William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” display various ways in which the pressures of society can alter one’s perception of reality. The women portrayed in these stories have been forced into isolation by the ones they love most. In addition, all of their actions are faced with continuous, harsh judgment. The struggle…

Chopin and Gilman do not only use the setting to present the profound desire of freedom and autonomy of their main female protagonists; they also employ irony to criticize and to change the misogynistic society. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” uses many deep ironies to express the desire of freedom and selfhood. For example, as other characters (Josephine and Richard) think that Louise is “making [herself] ill in her room” (Chopin 426), after her husband dead she is “she was drinking the…

In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses many different symbols to illustrate the subjection of women in marriage. Women of the 19th century felt restricted to the roles that they were expected to play in marriage. This short story really shows the distinction of the domestic functions of the wife and the active work of the husband. The author makes the narrator really fixate her attention to the yellow wallpaper that is in her room, and she gains a…