Women In Literature Flashcards
The Yellow Wallpaper, 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Husband John confines her to her bedroom for the ‘rest-cure’
Suffering from postnatal depression
Woman in the wallpaper provides symbolism of her mental health and its deterioration
Northanger Abbey, 1817, Jane Austen
Catherine Moreland is rebellious as a child and is therefore scolded and not respected, as she becomes older she becomes ‘prettier’ and this causes her to be respected
Expected to be submissive to men
Marries the first man she dances with
The Angel in the House, 1854, Coventry Patmore
Stereotype arose due to the poem
Women are pious, ure, ethereal, guiding, serving, dutiful, domestic
Jane Eyre, 1847, Charlotte Brontë
Jane’s aunt shows particular favouritism to her son, spoiling and sheltering him, causing him to become threatening and repulsive
Her daughters become submissive and complacent
John intimidated by Jane’s academic knowledge, women shouldn’t have the knowledge, only men
The Mill on the Floss, 1860, George Eliot (pseudonym)
Maggie subverts our expectations by being assertive and active in her behaviour
Tom is nevertheless able to take advantage of her and uses her vulnerability for his own enjoyment
Far From the Madding Crowd, 1874, Thomas Hardy
She rides her horse in secret so that she is able to ride it as she pleases, rather than what is standardly done
Metaphor for how women, in public, alter themselves for the pleasure of men
The Awakening, 1899, Kate Chopin
Edna is strong and defensive towards her husband, makes her own choices
As a mother and a wife, she must provide a benefit to the men in her life for them to help her in any way
Her husband is cruel and detached, compares her to other women and doubts her
A Study in Bloomers, 1895, George Franklin Hall
‘New Woman’ character who chooses things more closely resembling a stereotypical man (bicycle, bloomers)
She is strong minded about her choices, and won’t alter it from the encouragement of a man
Virgin Soil, 1894, George Egerton
Flo’s marriage consists of infidelity and a lack of emotional connection
Flo chooses to leave him and start a new life
Flow was married off to her husband by her mothers choosing, creating tension in their relationship and resulting in them hardly having one at all
A Room With A View, 1908, E. M. Forster
Lucy is awe struck by the nature she sees, so much so that she lost control of her thoughts, a metaphor for George’s presence meaning she has lost control of herself to him
The Garden Party, 1923, Katherine Mansfield
Laura put in charge of organising the garden party, suggesting the ability for women to now be able to work
Laura is of a higher social class than the work men which gives her some authority over them
However she still feels a need to justify herself, implying that men continue to have ultimate power
Cold Comfort Farm, 1932, Stella Gibbons
Flora has options on what she wishes to do with her life
She doesn’t want to work as she has limited options and would only be able to assist a man
She feels marriage is futile unless it has monetary gain
Brave New World, 1932, Aldous Huxley
Women constrained by the authority of men and are limited to assisting men
Carol, 1952, Patricia Highsmith
Wives working at a department store part time, but it is presented with a pessimistic outlook; the train is a metaphor for the futility of the job, and the other women suggest the effect the job has on them (making them frail and ugly)
All the women presented as one mass, suggesting their lacking individuality and own identity pm they are simply another housewife with a part time job
Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966, Jean Rhys
Antoinette is locked away due to her mental state, which only makes it worse, displaying the control of men over women and how the ‘mad woman’ had no voice
Antoinette ties her identity to objects and places, when she is without these she struggles to know and understand who she is
Women on the Edge of Time, 1976, Marge Piercy
Connie has a daughter who is later taken from her after her husband dies
Women no longer required to give birth and raise children, able to be fuller members of society
The Colour Purple, 1982, Alice Walker
Celie is married to a man who is uninterested in her, because her father essentially ‘sold’ her to him
Women are expected to fulfill every domestic duty, it’s nothing in return, Celies stepchildren go to her relentlessly for help, rather than their own father
The Children of Men, 1992, P. D. James
Ability to reproduce is now lost, meaning women cannot fulfil the maternal role they have been assigned by social convention, this causes some women to feel particularly lost and potentially become ‘mad’, despite the fact it is impossible for them to be a mother now
This lost ability no renders the women in society practically useless
White Teeth, 2000, Zadie Smith
Archie is able to coerce Clara into marrying him after 2 weeks, he is described to be predatory and it is revealed that this has happened before
Clara, however, is insinuated to be at fault for it
Americanah, 2013, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ifemelu has her own blog where she discusses issues which affect black people
Her assertion in her dialogue and her almost immediate dismissal of men shows how she is independent
Oranges are not the only fruit, 1984, Jeanette Winterson
Jeanette is lead majorly by her Pastor, who influences and encourage her to behave as a Christian woman would
He also attempts to influence all the other women,who eventually make Jeanette a cast out, and places strain on Jeanette’s relationship with her mother
Frankenstein, 1818, Mary Shelley
Elizabeth immediately handed the matriarch role after the death of their mother
Elizabeth defends Justine at her trial
Frankenstein is pleased when Elizabeth assimilates to the domestic role, but it limits her and permanently confines her to their family
Lessons in Chemistry, 2022, Bonnie Garmus
Miss Frask and Elizabeth have a strained relationship which results in jealousy and cruelty
When they discover they have a shared experience of men taking advantage, they become friends, beginning to understand each other
Elizabeth is constantly overruled by the men in her workplaces, having her work stolen or being unfairly fired
The Unnatural Mother, 1895, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Biological and instinctual for women to be mothers
Men cannot do it
Women should be grateful
