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Gender roles in 20th century literature
Role of women in literature
Gender roles in 20th century literature
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender roles in 20th century literature
Role of women in literature
Gender roles in 20th century literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The gossiping housewives of Edward Scissorhands are prejudiced against Edward because of his looks and gossip behind his back. Tim Burton’s satirical portrayal of these ‘typical’ American housewives makes fun of the obsession with appearance that they have, even one of the main characters, Peg, whose whole job is about altering looks, follows this image-based acceptance of others. Thus, bringing the ridiculousness of preconceived views into light. Likewise, in Frankenstein, this prejudice solely based on appearance is demonstrated, when a man states ‘I am blind and cannot judge of your countenance, but there is something in your words which persuades me that you are sincere.’ symbolising the prejudice many people hold due to how someone looks.
Although the central message of conformity is still upheld, it is opposite of “Eye of the Beholder” in that this society has a pre-determined set of beautiful patterns that their citizens choose from instead of being forced into one disfigured norm. Meanwhile, Marilyn states “when everyone is beautiful, no one will be because without ugliness there can be no beauty.” (Number 12 Looks Like You) emphasizing her belief that what makes something beautiful is its ability to stand out amongst others like it, and not something that can be standardized. However, it is later discovered by Marilyn that the government alters personality traits as well, to create a more cooperative and happy
In the book “Two or Three Things I Know for Sure” by Dorothy Allison the theme of beauty is brought to light in a way that is intersectional and develops the story to new heights. Beauty is discussed throughout the book and is one of the main themes. Allison talks about beauty when referencing her family and herself, and the idea of what it means to be beautiful in her mind based on how she grew up and where she came from. Normatively, beauty is associated with outward appearance and one’s identity, however beauty should be recognized as intersectional and include everyone, based not only on their outwards appearance but based on the beauty of their personality and thoughts because every human is beautiful in their own way. Dorothy Alison transforms
In the story, George and Hazel talk about the ballerinas they see on television and express how the ballerinas wear masks to hide their beauty. The author wrote, “She must've been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.” Yes, one person may think the ballerina is beautiful however, another person may think the ballerina isn't beautiful. Therefore, one person is not capable of deciding who is beautiful or not precisely.
In the Heat of the Night is mystery drama film directed by Norman Jewson in 1967 which based on John Ball’s 1965 novel of the same name. It tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a black police detective from Philadelphia, who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a racist small town in Mississippi. Phillip Colbert, a wealthy industrialist from Chicago was murdered. He was constructing a factory in Sparta and staying with his wife during construction. Police Officer Sam Wood during his motor patrol of Sparta found his body on a pavement at the front of a pathway entrance onto Main Street.
This is suggested by Helen Simpson who stated that Carter centralises ‘latent content of fairy-tale’ is that women are objects of male desire hence patriarchal discourse establishes male supremacy to which Carter does this to challenge contemporary perspectives on the place of women by revealing the oppression that society inflicted. The Marquis is an overt example of male ownership of female bodies. Similarly, where Atwood exposes the harsh realities of oppressive patriarchy through the female body, Carter utilises the construct of the Marquis in the eponymous story ‘The Bloody Chamber’ as a grotesque embodiment of patriarchal control. In her essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ Laura Mulvey coined the feminist term ‘male gaze.’ She argues that men are the audience and women are to embody the male perspective of women as objects of satisfaction.
Her mother was once beautiful, but her looks faded with age, which is a reason why she is always after Connie. In the story, her mother, “who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadn’t much reason any longer to look at her own face scolded Connie about it”(25). She would say to Connie, “Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?”
The Consequences of Physical Appearance in Frankenstein The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a science fiction story about a creature created from non-living matter, by a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein. The conflict between society and Frankenstein’s creature is largely perpetuated by a split between those considered attractive, and those who are not. The conflict and language use in Frankenstein demonstrate that most of society judges others based on their physical appearance, which leads to excluding those who fall outside the accepted definition of beauty and sometimes life-threatening consequences for both groups.
In the two pieces “A&P” by John Updike and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay both the narrator and speaker see women as nothing more than beautiful objects, symbols of elegance and status. However, it is these thoughts that ultimately lead them to become morally better and draw new conclusions about not only themselves but women as well. In the beginning of “A&P” we see Sammy, the narrator observe “three girls in nothing but bathing suits”(1624). He denotes each of their characteristics in vivid detail describing one girl’s butt as a “sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs”(1624).
In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, Elizabeth, Caroline, and Justine represent a seemingly “perfect” woman. Mary Shelley ironically writes about each woman with a brief impersonal description of their status and relevance to the story. Elizabeth is presented to Victor as a object for his affection. Victor refers to his cousin as “My more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only” (Shelley 25).
In both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein, Shelley and Wilde offer an insight to British people in the nineteenth century; they focus too much on outward appearance versus the character of a person. Dorian asserted that “[e]ven those who had heard the most evil things against him . . . could not believe anything to his dishonour when they saw him” (Wilde 111). Dorian’s acceptance from society comes from his looks, not his actions. Oppositely, Victor Frankenstein’s creation receives rejection from society for his looks, not his actions.
Beauty and ugliness is often used to justify the reaction of others in the novel, Frankenstein; in which the relation between external appearance and internal desires are shown to be related. The theme of how appearance affects judgement is often demonstrated through the characters response to the monster’s physical being. Shelley depicts this situation through Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the Delacey family, and through the monster himself. The use of appearance to determine judgement is shown to be a negative habit. By automatically associating ugliness with evil, and beauty with innocence, society unintentionally develops a negative being in those considered ugly, while at the same creating an illusion of innocence over beautiful individuals.
Natural Beauty is Perfection Itself In the short stories “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the value of science over human life is established. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the characterization of beauty, emotion over love, versus intellect over science, and an exploration of creator over creation. He presents an idea about scientific research, especially regarding feminine beauty. These tales are told with a motive to give the audience a sympathetic understanding of women’s beauty; which is something precious and already the model of nature’s perfection.
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a science fiction story about a creature created from non-living matter, by a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein. The conflict between society and Frankenstein’s creature is largely perpetuated by a split between those considered attractive, and those who are not. The conflict and language use in Frankenstein demonstrate that most of society judges others based on their physical appearance, which leads to excluding those who fall outside the accepted definition of beauty and sometimes life-threatening consequences for both groups. Frankenstein and his parents demonstrate that they also fall victim to the habit of judging others initially based off of their appearance. The Frankenstein parents first
(Bodenner, 2016). Many theories have surfaced since women have started their fight for empowerment and equality, and one of the most famous theory is “the Male Gaze” theory, founded by Laura Mulvey in her essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” This essay will look into the sources of opposition the theory of “male gaze” faces, and how the theory is disrupted by other possible theories or pieces of media. As mentioned before, the Male Gaze theory was introduced in the essay Mulvey wrote in 1975.