Bibliography
· Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl from the Streets. New York: Penguin
Books, 1893
· Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1877
· Hawthorn, Nathaniel. The House of the Seven Gables. United States
of America: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc., 1851.
· Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Warner Books Inc., New York,
NY; 1960.
· McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Boston, Massachusetts:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.
· Neale, Zora Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God. J.B Lippincott,
Inc., 1937.
· Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1971.
· Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, NY: Washington Square
Press, 1982.
The years have passed and still not one big, spectacular change has taken
place. The 19th and 20th centuries have gone by and the portrayal of women
in literature still is overlooked and usually secondary. Women have been through
a big amount of hurt during this time and yet the day still remains to come
where every man does not think he is a superior being over women because this
is not so.
What does bring some sort of happiness is the ability for women to hold careers
and professions of their own. It is not uncommon in this time of day for a
woman to live on her own and live her own life. In the 21st century, are not
all expected to be housewives, but there still exist some women who chose
to be housewives. But that is the difference, because they chose to be, they
are not forced to do so by society's big influence over women. Nowadays women
also go to work and make the money for the family, not only the man. There
are even times where only the woman works and the husband stays at home.
Change is clearly seen through literature as we move from the early 19th century
to the present because in those earlier times, women were not likely to express
their own views and feelings. Usually they kept quiet and oblige to the "rules"
set by the man. As we move forward through time, we can see the growth and
maturation of the female character. For example, Janie Starks finally finds
some part of her, her voice, that she never knew she had in her and was able
to stand up for what she believed in and express herself freely. This new
sudden feeling of liberation might have caused chaos afterward but just having
done that, she breaks free from some of the chains holding her back.
But as everything goes up, everything must come back down. Yes, changes in
the treatment of women have occurred and are better overall, but still there
are occasions where women are still looked down upon. The social status of
women still remains at a low state and are ridiculed by men or other even
other women. Often times are women labeled "bitches" and "hos"
to imply that they are some sort of materialistic property. The worst side
of it is that women call each other these names when they dislike each other
but they do not see that they are only hurting themselves, each other. Women
have got to stop these derogatory comments, but the only way to start is to
stop using the words themselves. But even though, women's social status is
not perfect as of now we can only hope for it to get better. Women must continue
to stand up for what they believe in and soon enough change will come.
Junior Project Final Paper:
Women in Literature
Jessica Barragan
June 2, 2003
English 3AP
Period 1
Women-nurturing, caring, loving people-who have always longed for equality
and independence have also always been blocked by obstacles. Ever since the
19th century, women haven been depicted in literature to be held back from
their true identities by society and men in particular. The typical woman
is, and always has been, one that stays at home doing the chores and looking
after the children while her husband is out working providing for the family.
Because of their frequent submission to men and self-helplessness, women are
portrayed as minor, depressed beings with minimal self-esteem or sense of
self-ownership.
Scarcely were women appreciated for their distinctive mind and unique opinions
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. They have always been overshadowed
by powerful (or not so powerful) men who simply hold a higher standard in
society because of their sex. In the past women were commonly silenced in
their homes and communities at large disregarding their feelings. The hideous
truth is that men have continuously been looked upon as the dominant figure
while women the subservient who they take advantage of. The result of the
constant male authority over women is one where women actually begin to believe
in the such inferiority to men and also believe societies norm was for women
to serve men.
Other factors outside the relationship with men caused women to feel lonesome
and unwanted. One of them being the confinement to remain stuck in a "small
box" which had only so little to offer; possibly a comfortable life at
home with her children but not exactly the hopes and dreams she had always
envisioned (i.e. social life, education, career) and lived for. The conditions
were difficult for women to strive for their longtime goals, to overcome their
fears in a world run by men, to liberate themselves from the social norms
surrounding and instructing them.
Women have been treated similarly between early 19th century and late 20th
century and in accordance, literature has clearly followed its trail. Female
characters in literature during this time frame have been depicted with some
resemblance to one another but others have shown to be the exception to the
common thread. Also, the authors who wrote about women or whom are women themselves
have much in common, but differences are also clearly visible. As time passes
by so do the stories of women which commence as early as the early 19th century.
In 1851, Salem, Massachusetts native Nathaniel Hawthorne published The House
of the Seven Gables. At this point in time, the role of the woman was confined
to a domestic life, also inferior to man. Hepzibah Pyncheon, the main character
of the story does not have a horrendous relationship with the men around her
but society does work against her. Hepzibah was portrayed as a lonely woman
who kept herself in isolation because she, as female, did not have such privileges
males had to have a social life. Because of being isolated from the outside
world, Hepzibah refused to take care of herself which caused her to feel less
self-empowered in return.
Experiences of Hepzibah's past made her into a grouchy woman with a regular
scowl on her face. But her pessimistic views are lightened up when her cousin
Phoebe comes to stay with her. Phoebe, a beautiful and wise woman, is admired
by Hepzibah who she sees as a lady who also has an educated flair to her personality.
"As to Phoebe's not being a lady, or whether she were a lady or no, it
was a point, perhaps, difficult to decide, but which could hardly have come
up for judgment at all in any fair and healthy mind. Out of New England, it
would be impossible to meet with a person combining so many lady-like attributes
with so many others that form no necessary (if compatible) part of the character,"
states Hepzibah. Having her cousin around surely helped Hepzibah with her
problems of home and the social world.
But on the other hand stands Clifford Pyncheon. Even though he is male and
the relationship between him and Hepzibah is not of marital status, but of
siblings, Clifford still influences the life of his sister not for the better
but for the worse. Clifford, Hepzibah's brother who had been in jail for 30
years but who she still lived for, was released and decided to live with his
sister. Clifford was in a way a torment for Hepzibah because he was an admirer
of beauty, something his sister was not in touch with, for she always portrayed
herself as a scowling character. In opposition to this manly character was
Holgrave who fell in love with Phoebe. In what seemed to be very uncommon
in the 1800s or literature of the time for that matter, was a man who did
not see his love as inferior and even chose not to take advantage of her when
he had an open chance to do so. On one side Clifford contributes to Hepzibah's
low self-esteem but in the other, Holgrave allows for Phoebe to be her own
person and does not degrade her in any way.
Forty-two years later, Stephen Crane-known for his realistic and honest portrayals-wrote
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. This story is about a young girl who is tormented
by the brutality of society and family which surrounds her, but in spite of
that, is not influenced to be a violent person herself. The story takes place
in a part of New York which is inhabited by the poor, the drunken, the profane
and corrupted. The harsh conditions facing the poor became the great forces
in the realism movement, where authors wrote about reality, not fantasy. To
Crane this was New York. He simply portrayed what he saw: the truth.
Crane's focus is on a young girl named Maggie who unfortunately was born to
a family with parents who do not care for their children as much as they care
about themselves and their own needs. Both Maggie's parents are drunks who
get overly abusive when under the influence. To make matters worse, her brother,
Jimmie, is a stereotypical male who feels as the protector of his sister and
also dominant to her. Jimmie remarked to Maggie, "Mag, I'll tell yeh
dis! See? Yeh've edder got teh go teh hell or go teh work!" Obviously
the men in Maggie's life were not so helpful or useful. Neither father nor
brother was aiding Maggie in any way to become a self-sufficient woman and
to make matters worse neither was her own mother.
Because of all the mistreatment of home from her family, Maggie is bound to
fall for the first charming man to meet her fancy. And she does so with a
handsome friend of her brother's, Pete. Initially, he treats her sweetly and
seduces her at the same time until she falls at his feet. Of course Maggie
is happy momentarily while she is experiencing new things with her new lover
Pete and soon enough she leaves with him. Everything seems to be going well
until a certain sophisticated woman, Nellie attracts Pete and lures him to
her. Once again, Maggie unfortunately suffers from mistreatment by another
loved one.
Due to the abandon by Pete, Maggie decides to return home, but unfortunately
her family does not take her in; she is rejected. This rejection hurts Maggie
beyond belief and thus has no choice but to become a prostitute in order to
survive in the harsh world. After a while of living in these conditions and
feeling pressured from all corners, she presumably takes her life.
Living in such horrible economic conditions really made women even more dependent
on men even so they did not like the idea. Monetary reasons in survival were
essential for each woman, but were definitely not the biggest issue. The main
conflict was the independence issue and the longing for it from each woman
in the stories. From the beginning of the early 19th century to early 20th
century, one can sense a major difference in the woman's life and control
of her own life.
The economic situation in this story differed to Hepzibah's in The House of
the Seven Gables, because Maggie was completely dependent on the people around
her especially her father and later on Pete, whereas in Hepzibah's case, she
was not absolutely dependent on her family or boyfriend to pay for her life.
The final outcome of Maggie as a prostitute proves how the professional field
was not quite ready nor open for any type of educated females. The cost of
uneducated females turns out to be in an occurrence of prostitutes working
the streets simply for a small piece of bread or some kind of nutrition to
live off of. Maggie's gruesome death was most likely at the fault of those
around her who did not comfort her in the way she needed nor gave her the
attention she wanted.
In similarity to the character of Maggie is the narrator of the short story,
The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Gilman Perkins in 1877. Such characters
are similar because they do not obtain the attention they needed or deserved.
In this story, the main character that is also the narrator suffers from a
psychological disease and depression. Ironically her husband is a physician
who would be able to help her in some sort of way but actually puts her problem
out of the way and tells her she is fine. "You see, he does not believe
I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's
own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the
matter with one but temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency--what
is one to do?" questions the narrator about her husband. Her brother
is also a physician and does not properly treat her. She is definitely confused
because she is aware of her sickness but does not understand why she is not
given the medical aid she needs.
As a woman, she is controlled by her husband (even though not in an obvious
and violent way) to the point where she stops listening to him and tries to
help herself. It turns out that her husband, John decides to spend some time
away from all distractions and rents a big place where she can relax. On the
contrary she becomes tense and frightened by voices she hears inside the wallpaper.
She begins to feel like those voices trapped in a little box which the lid
will not even open a bit for her to read and write, a big passion of hers.
Finally at the end, she liberates the voices (trapped women) by ripping off
the paper off the walls and in turn liberating herself from her husbands tactics.
Through this story we can see how men did not think of women as intellectuals
who had the ability to be up to part to men. Many women like the narrator
of the story desired to read and write. For some of them like her, these hobbies
were actually a passion. And the fact that she was forbidden to do such activities
shows the power males had over females and what they could and could not do.
But as the story progresses, the female character seems to grow a higher self-esteem
or at least gain a little more confidence in herself to be able to stay on
task of her plan to free the walls of the paper even though it was difficult.
She did so despite what her husband would think; thus hinting the reactions
women were beginning to give to the ideal submissive behavior glorified by
males.
What ties all three books together is that the victim is the woman who is
surrounded by external forces that keep her all balled up inside and wants
to be freed from them, but is very difficult to do so. The self-image of each
female character is shattered by the environment surrounding her which is
partly by a male character. These females do not know what life is like without
having a husband or brother by the side and this brings them down because
they feel incompetent about anything.
In the year 1937, Zora Neal Hurston published her book, Their Eyes Were Watching
God. The story is based on the life of Janie Crawford (later Janie Starks)
who goes through much social speculation by the townspeople and also three
different male lover encounters. Janie is first fixed to marry a man by the
name of Logan by her grandmother. Janie tries to back away because she does
not love the man but her grandmother convinces her that she will soon fall
in love with him. Time passes by and still she does not feel anything for
him. Janie soon finds out that Logan wants to order her around and make her
work for him; something that Janie simply cannot tolerate. Janie is a black
woman who happens to have Caucasian features due to her genes and does not
like to be treated like a mule.
Soon after her realization she meets a man, Joe Starks who she finds quite
charming and some time after that runs away with him. Everything with him
is going well until she figures out that Jody, as she calls him, sees her
as a pretty object that he simply has by his side for adornment and wants
her to submit to him. This angers Janie but she remains silent even whenever
Jody physically hurts her.
Ever since she was young, she has struggled to find her own voice. As a woman
this always had been a big strain for her to accomplish because she always
felt oppressed to the womanly roles made up by society which she rebels to.
When she does chose to stand up for herself, or women in general, she does
so without hesitating even though she was going to pay afterwards. Jody hurt
her horribly from that moment on as he became more and more ill. When he is
lying at his deathbed, Janie decides to pay him a final visit and tells him
off. She finally tells him what she thinks about him even though Jody is pleading
her to stop and continues until he passes away.
Janie for the first time in long time feels free and liberated from the weights
(Jody) on her back which were only bringing her down. And even though it is
custom that widows remain so for quite a while, Janie broke tradition and
showed off her availability by wearing white. This move enhanced Janie's unique
character as a strong women who even though at times feels inferior to men
and can be manipulated at times also has her own sense of self and can handle
independence if she wanted it.
Some time passes and she meets yet another charming man, but who differs from
the other previous men in that he is 13 years younger than she is. What is
special about this one is that he sees Janie, a woman, as an equal. She notices
this by his gesture of inviting her to play checkers-a game prominently played
by men. Finally she has found a man who sees beyond her appearance into her
mind and soul. Of course Janie appreciates this because it is not so often
to occur to find a man who sees his partner as an equal. Janie is flattered
and also in love with Tea Cake. When a dog attacks and bites Tea Cake he becomes
a crazy, enraged man and the relationship results in the death of Tea Cake
by Janie.
She returns to her hometown of Eatonville after Tea Cake's death only to find
the townspeople to be gossiping about her and assume the worst of her relationships.
What is really admiring is that to Janie all the gossip did not affect her
one bet. In fact, she confided in a friend that she learned a lot from Tea
Cake and that she will keep him close to her heart. Janie was able to grow
during the story and in the end felt contempt of what she found, her voice.
She was able to tell her life from her own point of view, something nobody
else could do for her.
The two earlier stories describe women as absolutely dependent on males with
a shattered self-image of someone non-worthy of living, but in the last two
novels, the women become more self-reliant and feel more comfortable about
themselves.
Three years after the publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God, came the
story by Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Written by a woman,
the story already has a feminine side that is shown through the characters
in a unique matter, especially through Mick Kelley, the female character.
The relationship between the female and the male characters is not a bad one.
They all get along well and do not have any problems. There is an instance
where the wife of a male character is dies and he is not greatly affected
but that is only because he does not love her like he used to. t is how it
compares to other stories because the man is always the overpowering one who
holds the last word.
In this story the main issue concerning women is society and society's values.
Also, the female character, Mick Kelly, has trouble when dealing with herself
in particular when she fails at an attempt to do something she wants. She
has a hard time in dealing with acceptance which is why she, as well as others,
find comfort in talking to the mute, John Singer. Mick's biggest problem was
believing in herself and believing that she was able to go far in the world.
The suicide of Singer was a turning point for Mick and the other characters
because it marked a new beginning. No longer could she go to someone and spill
out everything on her mind; no longer could she run to him when she had problems.
From now on she had to deal with them on her own. She states, "Mick raked
her hair from her forehead. Her mouth was open so that her cheeks seemed hollow.
There were these two things she could never believe. That Mister Singer had
killed himself and was dead. And that she was grown and had to work at Woolworth's."
Mostly she was in disbelief about the whole situation but by the climax which
was also the end, she has grown to be more self-confident and seems to be
able to handle any issues on her own.
Another issue which is common throughout all books is the economic status
of the female. In this case, the Kelly family is very impoverished which stands
in the way of Mick's dreams of becoming a famous musician. In the end she
has to give up these dreams in order to support her family by taking a job
while still in high school which she probably has to give up. Women are portrayed
as weaker than men and in a way have to be protected if not by a lover than
by a father or an older male figure.
In 1960 Harper Lee published, To Kill a Mockingbird. The main characters of
the book are mostly African-American and the novel takes place in 1930s Alabama
which means that discrimination was in high play towards them at this time
and place. The narrator of the story is a young African-American girl, Scout,
whose father is a strong believer against discrimination and is also a lawyer.
The main idea of the story is based on poverty and racism.
Scout is a unique young girl because she refuses to wear nice little dresses
like young girls do and also refuses to act "lady like". Scout just
loved to have fun with her brother, Jem, and go on adventures with him. Because
Scout is always dressing, acting and hanging with boys, she is almost viewed
as one and is also expected to always be like one no matter what. In certain
occasions Jem actually tells her she is acting like a girl too much and that
she needs to stop. Scout is happy with the person she is thus she is definitely
not the common lady which is why she also is not expected to dress or act
like one.
A big part of the story consists about the young woman who is being abused
by her father and in turn she accuses black man, Tom Robinson, who happens
to Scout's dad, Atticus, client. The girl says that Robinson raped her and
physically hurt her in order to cover up what was really happening at home
with her father. This is an example of how many times it was the woman who
was the bigger person and in this case got away with it because of race. Several
occasions were there when women accused black men in order to conceal their
secrets at the expense of others.
This story fits into the women in literature theme because it depicts women
as attached to males no matter what the circumstances. The young girl, Scout,
pretty much lives her young life alongside her brother, Jem, her friend, Dill,
and her widowed father, Atticus. Because of this, she does not have a real
close female figure to look up to life a mother and so she becomes a tomboy.
Being a tomboy closely relates her to males through her own personality and
also through her experiences with males in society aside from her family.
The economic status of Scout was not the best. Her father was a lawyer and
of course that is a higher social profession, but the novel took place during
the Great Depression which in the broader picture was a great setback for
everyone economically. Because they were poor, this novel is related to other
Women in Literature novels where the woman is mostly living at a poverty level.
Three years after the release of Harper Lee's novel came Sylvia Plath's, The
Bell Jar. This novel is about a young college woman by the name of Esther
Greenwood. She becomes depressed when she hears that she has not been accepted
to a writing program she applied to for the summer. But even before that she's
had trouble with self-esteem and when she goes on a trip to New York for a
magazine and she is very anxious and curious. There she works as a guest editor
because writing like The Yellow Wallpaper's narrator both enjoy writing.
In her relationships with men, we can see that Esther is not comfortable with
the type of guy who believes that men are the dominant figure in a relationship
and were the controlling figure also. Buddy Willard, who she had been close
to for quite some time was that kind of man. In the story she states, "Because
I did look down on Buddy Willard, and although everybody still thought I would
marry him when he came out of the TB place, I knew I would never marry him
if he were the last man on earth. Buddy Willard was a hypocrite." Esther
and Buddy had a strange relationship afterwards and she dated on several occasions.
During the time of the 1950s many women shared Esther's opinion on how men
treated women as if they were nonhuman. Women were looked upon as simple objects
that men used for their advantage. But women had ideas of their own. They
wanted educations and they wanted careers. All this they wanted even though
society said that women were supposed to be housewives.
Connecting the title to the story brings upon how Esther felt and how women
in general felt at the time. The women are objects put inside this glass jar
where they are viewed and can be manipulated or called whatever the outside
observer wishes. For a long time women were viewed simply as sex objects who
served only for men's wants and needs. From this sprung the heinous vocabulary
used in the story such as whore and slut. Society's standards were simply
wrong to Esther and that is what was killing her. It was not her hurting herself,
but society hurting her to the point where it almost took her life.
In 1982, The Color Purple, was written by Alice Walker. This story is about
a young African-American girl who lives in Georgia suffers from abuse and
struggles to find her true self similar to how Janie was trying to find her
own voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The main character, Celie, lives
a horrible life since she is a young teenager when her stepfather abuses of
her which in the big picture is women being depicted as sexual objects where
age does not play a factor. Celie's sister, Nettie, is also subject to abuse
and both will be always for as long as they stayed in their mother's house.
Thankfully they both make it out of the house; thus away from that abuse.
Something that has not been noted in any of the other books is that women
seem to find relief and comfort amongst each other. In this story, friendship
between females is celebrated especially the friendship between sisters Celie
and Nettie; and also the friendship between Celie and Shug Avery. The women
of this story suffered a lot no matter what from and having another female
to understand what one of them was going through made the pain go away much
easier.
The relationship between men and women from the beginning of the story is
one of submission of the female. The men physically, mentally, and sexually
abuse women on different levels such as a father or a husband. Some of the
women like Celie and Nettie are fragile and helpless; thus remain silent about
their hardships and struggles. In the contrary, some women like Shug Avery
and Sofia are strong and confident which allows them to fight against abusive
men. Economically wise, the women in the book are of low income which holds
them back from striving for a better life away from their dependent spouses
or significant other.
The main idea of the story relies on self image of the woman. Celie, the main
character struggles to find her own individual voice as she suffers from negative
experiences throughout her life. She as a woman feels lost in identity and
does not hold the power to find herself just yet. Celie has to find her way
out of her box that is keeping her from her independence and does so as she
meets strong women who she can look up to. Becoming friends with Shug Avery
completely changes her life as she learns the power a female holds in society
careless of what males think. As she discovers the truth about her sister
and lost children, she is able to get in touch with her family and the people
which matter most to her. At the end of the story when she finally feels complete,
Celie proudly states: "But I don't think us feel old at all. And us so
happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt."
Bibliography
· Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl from the Streets. New York: Penguin
Books, 1893
· Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1877
· Hawthorn, Nathaniel. The House of the Seven Gables. United States
of America: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc., 1851.
· Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Warner Books Inc., New York,
NY; 1960.
· McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Boston, Massachusetts:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.
· Neale, Zora Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God. J.B Lippincott,
Inc., 1937.
· Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1971.
· Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, NY: Washington Square
Press, 1982.
The years have passed and still not one big, spectacular change has taken
place. The 19th and 20th centuries have gone by and the portrayal of women
in literature still is overlooked and usually secondary. Women have been through
a big amount of hurt during this time and yet the day still remains to come
where every man does not think he is a superior being over women because this
is not so.
What does bring some sort of happiness is the ability for women to hold careers
and professions of their own. It is not uncommon in this time of day for a
woman to live on her own and live her own life. In the 21st century, are not
all expected to be housewives, but there still exist some women who chose
to be housewives. But that is the difference, because they chose to be, they
are not forced to do so by society's big influence over women. Nowadays women
also go to work and make the money for the family, not only the man. There
are even times where only the woman works and the husband stays at home.
Change is clearly seen through literature as we move from the early 19th century
to the present because in those earlier times, women were not likely to express
their own views and feelings. Usually they kept quiet and oblige to the "rules"
set by the man. As we move forward through time, we can see the growth and
maturation of the female character. For example, Janie Starks finally finds
some part of her, her voice, that she never knew she had in her and was able
to stand up for what she believed in and express herself freely. This new
sudden feeling of liberation might have caused chaos afterward but just having
done that, she breaks free from some of the chains holding her back.
But as everything goes up, everything must come back down. Yes, changes in
the treatment of women have occurred and are better overall, but still there
are occasions where women are still looked down upon. The social status of
women still remains at a low state and are ridiculed by men or other even
other women. Often times are women labeled "bitches" and "hos"
to imply that they are some sort of materialistic property. The worst side
of it is that women call each other these names when they dislike each other
but they do not see that they are only hurting themselves, each other. Women
have got to stop these derogatory comments, but the only way to start is to
stop using the words themselves. But even though, women's social status is
not perfect as of now we can only hope for it to get better. Women must continue
to stand up for what they believe in and soon enough change will come.
Junior Project Final Paper:
Women in Literature
Jessica Barragan
June 2, 2003
English 3AP
Period 1
Women-nurturing, caring, loving people-who have always longed for equality
and independence have also always been blocked by obstacles. Ever since the
19th century, women haven been depicted in literature to be held back from
their true identities by society and men in particular. The typical woman
is, and always has been, one that stays at home doing the chores and looking
after the children while her husband is out working providing for the family.
Because of their frequent submission to men and self-helplessness, women are
portrayed as minor, depressed beings with minimal self-esteem or sense of
self-ownership.
Scarcely were women appreciated for their distinctive mind and unique opinions
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. They have always been overshadowed
by powerful (or not so powerful) men who simply hold a higher standard in
society because of their sex. In the past women were commonly silenced in
their homes and communities at large disregarding their feelings. The hideous
truth is that men have continuously been looked upon as the dominant figure
while women the subservient who they take advantage of. The result of the
constant male authority over women is one where women actually begin to believe
in the such inferiority to men and also believe societies norm was for women
to serve men.
Other factors outside the relationship with men caused women to feel lonesome
and unwanted. One of them being the confinement to remain stuck in a "small
box" which had only so little to offer; possibly a comfortable life at
home with her children but not exactly the hopes and dreams she had always
envisioned (i.e. social life, education, career) and lived for. The conditions
were difficult for women to strive for their longtime goals, to overcome their
fears in a world run by men, to liberate themselves from the social norms
surrounding and instructing them.
Women have been treated similarly between early 19th century and late 20th
century and in accordance, literature has clearly followed its trail. Female
characters in literature during this time frame have been depicted with some
resemblance to one another but others have shown to be the exception to the
common thread. Also, the authors who wrote about women or whom are women themselves
have much in common, but differences are also clearly visible. As time passes
by so do the stories of women which commence as early as the early 19th century.
In 1851, Salem, Massachusetts native Nathaniel Hawthorne published The House
of the Seven Gables. At this point in time, the role of the woman was confined
to a domestic life, also inferior to man. Hepzibah Pyncheon, the main character
of the story does not have a horrendous relationship with the men around her
but society does work against her. Hepzibah was portrayed as a lonely woman
who kept herself in isolation because she, as female, did not have such privileges
males had to have a social life. Because of being isolated from the outside
world, Hepzibah refused to take care of herself which caused her to feel less
self-empowered in return.
Experiences of Hepzibah's past made her into a grouchy woman with a regular
scowl on her face. But her pessimistic views are lightened up when her cousin
Phoebe comes to stay with her. Phoebe, a beautiful and wise woman, is admired
by Hepzibah who she sees as a lady who also has an educated flair to her personality.
"As to Phoebe's not being a lady, or whether she were a lady or no, it
was a point, perhaps, difficult to decide, but which could hardly have come
up for judgment at all in any fair and healthy mind. Out of New England, it
would be impossible to meet with a person combining so many lady-like attributes
with so many others that form no necessary (if compatible) part of the character,"
states Hepzibah. Having her cousin around surely helped Hepzibah with her
problems of home and the social world.
But on the other hand stands Clifford Pyncheon. Even though he is male and
the relationship between him and Hepzibah is not of marital status, but of
siblings, Clifford still influences the life of his sister not for the better
but for the worse. Clifford, Hepzibah's brother who had been in jail for 30
years but who she still lived for, was released and decided to live with his
sister. Clifford was in a way a torment for Hepzibah because he was an admirer
of beauty, something his sister was not in touch with, for she always portrayed
herself as a scowling character. In opposition to this manly character was
Holgrave who fell in love with Phoebe. In what seemed to be very uncommon
in the 1800s or literature of the time for that matter, was a man who did
not see his love as inferior and even chose not to take advantage of her when
he had an open chance to do so. On one side Clifford contributes to Hepzibah's
low self-esteem but in the other, Holgrave allows for Phoebe to be her own
person and does not degrade her in any way.
Forty-two years later, Stephen Crane-known for his realistic and honest portrayals-wrote
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. This story is about a young girl who is tormented
by the brutality of society and family which surrounds her, but in spite of
that, is not influenced to be a violent person herself. The story takes place
in a part of New York which is inhabited by the poor, the drunken, the profane
and corrupted. The harsh conditions facing the poor became the great forces
in the realism movement, where authors wrote about reality, not fantasy. To
Crane this was New York. He simply portrayed what he saw: the truth.
Crane's focus is on a young girl named Maggie who unfortunately was born to
a family with parents who do not care for their children as much as they care
about themselves and their own needs. Both Maggie's parents are drunks who
get overly abusive when under the influence. To make matters worse, her brother,
Jimmie, is a stereotypical male who feels as the protector of his sister and
also dominant to her. Jimmie remarked to Maggie, "Mag, I'll tell yeh
dis! See? Yeh've edder got teh go teh hell or go teh work!" Obviously
the men in Maggie's life were not so helpful or useful. Neither father nor
brother was aiding Maggie in any way to become a self-sufficient woman and
to make matters worse neither was her own mother.
Because of all the mistreatment of home from her family, Maggie is bound to
fall for the first charming man to meet her fancy. And she does so with a
handsome friend of her brother's, Pete. Initially, he treats her sweetly and
seduces her at the same time until she falls at his feet. Of course Maggie
is happy momentarily while she is experiencing new things with her new lover
Pete and soon enough she leaves with him. Everything seems to be going well
until a certain sophisticated woman, Nellie attracts Pete and lures him to
her. Once again, Maggie unfortunately suffers from mistreatment by another
loved one.
Due to the abandon by Pete, Maggie decides to return home, but unfortunately
her family does not take her in; she is rejected. This rejection hurts Maggie
beyond belief and thus has no choice but to become a prostitute in order to
survive in the harsh world. After a while of living in these conditions and
feeling pressured from all corners, she presumably takes her life.
Living in such horrible economic conditions really made women even more dependent
on men even so they did not like the idea. Monetary reasons in survival were
essential for each woman, but were definitely not the biggest issue. The main
conflict was the independence issue and the longing for it from each woman
in the stories. From the beginning of the early 19th century to early 20th
century, one can sense a major difference in the woman's life and control
of her own life.
The economic situation in this story differed to Hepzibah's in The House of
the Seven Gables, because Maggie was completely dependent on the people around
her especially her father and later on Pete, whereas in Hepzibah's case, she
was not absolutely dependent on her family or boyfriend to pay for her life.
The final outcome of Maggie as a prostitute proves how the professional field
was not quite ready nor open for any type of educated females. The cost of
uneducated females turns out to be in an occurrence of prostitutes working
the streets simply for a small piece of bread or some kind of nutrition to
live off of. Maggie's gruesome death was most likely at the fault of those
around her who did not comfort her in the way she needed nor gave her the
attention she wanted.
In similarity to the character of Maggie is the narrator of the short story,
The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Gilman Perkins in 1877. Such characters
are similar because they do not obtain the attention they needed or deserved.
In this story, the main character that is also the narrator suffers from a
psychological disease and depression. Ironically her husband is a physician
who would be able to help her in some sort of way but actually puts her problem
out of the way and tells her she is fine. "You see, he does not believe
I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's
own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the
matter with one but temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency--what
is one to do?" questions the narrator about her husband. Her brother
is also a physician and does not properly treat her. She is definitely confused
because she is aware of her sickness but does not understand why she is not
given the medical aid she needs.
As a woman, she is controlled by her husband (even though not in an obvious
and violent way) to the point where she stops listening to him and tries to
help herself. It turns out that her husband, John decides to spend some time
away from all distractions and rents a big place where she can relax. On the
contrary she becomes tense and frightened by voices she hears inside the wallpaper.
She begins to feel like those voices trapped in a little box which the lid
will not even open a bit for her to read and write, a big passion of hers.
Finally at the end, she liberates the voices (trapped women) by ripping off
the paper off the walls and in turn liberating herself from her husbands tactics.
Through this story we can see how men did not think of women as intellectuals
who had the ability to be up to part to men. Many women like the narrator
of the story desired to read and write. For some of them like her, these hobbies
were actually a passion. And the fact that she was forbidden to do such activities
shows the power males had over females and what they could and could not do.
But as the story progresses, the female character seems to grow a higher self-esteem
or at least gain a little more confidence in herself to be able to stay on
task of her plan to free the walls of the paper even though it was difficult.
She did so despite what her husband would think; thus hinting the reactions
women were beginning to give to the ideal submissive behavior glorified by
males.
What ties all three books together is that the victim is the woman who is
surrounded by external forces that keep her all balled up inside and wants
to be freed from them, but is very difficult to do so. The self-image of each
female character is shattered by the environment surrounding her which is
partly by a male character. These females do not know what life is like without
having a husband or brother by the side and this brings them down because
they feel incompetent about anything.
In the year 1937, Zora Neal Hurston published her book, Their Eyes Were Watching
God. The story is based on the life of Janie Crawford (later Janie Starks)
who goes through much social speculation by the townspeople and also three
different male lover encounters. Janie is first fixed to marry a man by the
name of Logan by her grandmother. Janie tries to back away because she does
not love the man but her grandmother convinces her that she will soon fall
in love with him. Time passes by and still she does not feel anything for
him. Janie soon finds out that Logan wants to order her around and make her
work for him; something that Janie simply cannot tolerate. Janie is a black
woman who happens to have Caucasian features due to her genes and does not
like to be treated like a mule.
Soon after her realization she meets a man, Joe Starks who she finds quite
charming and some time after that runs away with him. Everything with him
is going well until she figures out that Jody, as she calls him, sees her
as a pretty object that he simply has by his side for adornment and wants
her to submit to him. This angers Janie but she remains silent even whenever
Jody physically hurts her.
Ever since she was young, she has struggled to find her own voice. As a woman
this always had been a big strain for her to accomplish because she always
felt oppressed to the womanly roles made up by society which she rebels to.
When she does chose to stand up for herself, or women in general, she does
so without hesitating even though she was going to pay afterwards. Jody hurt
her horribly from that moment on as he became more and more ill. When he is
lying at his deathbed, Janie decides to pay him a final visit and tells him
off. She finally tells him what she thinks about him even though Jody is pleading
her to stop and continues until he passes away.
Janie for the first time in long time feels free and liberated from the weights
(Jody) on her back which were only bringing her down. And even though it is
custom that widows remain so for quite a while, Janie broke tradition and
showed off her availability by wearing white. This move enhanced Janie's unique
character as a strong women who even though at times feels inferior to men
and can be manipulated at times also has her own sense of self and can handle
independence if she wanted it.
Some time passes and she meets yet another charming man, but who differs from
the other previous men in that he is 13 years younger than she is. What is
special about this one is that he sees Janie, a woman, as an equal. She notices
this by his gesture of inviting her to play checkers-a game prominently played
by men. Finally she has found a man who sees beyond her appearance into her
mind and soul. Of course Janie appreciates this because it is not so often
to occur to find a man who sees his partner as an equal. Janie is flattered
and also in love with Tea Cake. When a dog attacks and bites Tea Cake he becomes
a crazy, enraged man and the relationship results in the death of Tea Cake
by Janie.
She returns to her hometown of Eatonville after Tea Cake's death only to find
the townspeople to be gossiping about her and assume the worst of her relationships.
What is really admiring is that to Janie all the gossip did not affect her
one bet. In fact, she confided in a friend that she learned a lot from Tea
Cake and that she will keep him close to her heart. Janie was able to grow
during the story and in the end felt contempt of what she found, her voice.
She was able to tell her life from her own point of view, something nobody
else could do for her.
The two earlier stories describe women as absolutely dependent on males with
a shattered self-image of someone non-worthy of living, but in the last two
novels, the women become more self-reliant and feel more comfortable about
themselves.
Three years after the publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God, came the
story by Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Written by a woman,
the story already has a feminine side that is shown through the characters
in a unique matter, especially through Mick Kelley, the female character.
The relationship between the female and the male characters is not a bad one.
They all get along well and do not have any problems. There is an instance
where the wife of a male character is dies and he is not greatly affected
but that is only because he does not love her like he used to. t is how it
compares to other stories because the man is always the overpowering one who
holds the last word.
In this story the main issue concerning women is society and society's values.
Also, the female character, Mick Kelly, has trouble when dealing with herself
in particular when she fails at an attempt to do something she wants. She
has a hard time in dealing with acceptance which is why she, as well as others,
find comfort in talking to the mute, John Singer. Mick's biggest problem was
believing in herself and believing that she was able to go far in the world.
The suicide of Singer was a turning point for Mick and the other characters
because it marked a new beginning. No longer could she go to someone and spill
out everything on her mind; no longer could she run to him when she had problems.
From now on she had to deal with them on her own. She states, "Mick raked
her hair from her forehead. Her mouth was open so that her cheeks seemed hollow.
There were these two things she could never believe. That Mister Singer had
killed himself and was dead. And that she was grown and had to work at Woolworth's."
Mostly she was in disbelief about the whole situation but by the climax which
was also the end, she has grown to be more self-confident and seems to be
able to handle any issues on her own.
Another issue which is common throughout all books is the economic status
of the female. In this case, the Kelly family is very impoverished which stands
in the way of Mick's dreams of becoming a famous musician. In the end she
has to give up these dreams in order to support her family by taking a job
while still in high school which she probably has to give up. Women are portrayed
as weaker than men and in a way have to be protected if not by a lover than
by a father or an older male figure.
In 1960 Harper Lee published, To Kill a Mockingbird. The main characters of
the book are mostly African-American and the novel takes place in 1930s Alabama
which means that discrimination was in high play towards them at this time
and place. The narrator of the story is a young African-American girl, Scout,
whose father is a strong believer against discrimination and is also a lawyer.
The main idea of the story is based on poverty and racism.
Scout is a unique young girl because she refuses to wear nice little dresses
like young girls do and also refuses to act "lady like". Scout just
loved to have fun with her brother, Jem, and go on adventures with him. Because
Scout is always dressing, acting and hanging with boys, she is almost viewed
as one and is also expected to always be like one no matter what. In certain
occasions Jem actually tells her she is acting like a girl too much and that
she needs to stop. Scout is happy with the person she is thus she is definitely
not the common lady which is why she also is not expected to dress or act
like one.
A big part of the story consists about the young woman who is being abused
by her father and in turn she accuses black man, Tom Robinson, who happens
to Scout's dad, Atticus, client. The girl says that Robinson raped her and
physically hurt her in order to cover up what was really happening at home
with her father. This is an example of how many times it was the woman who
was the bigger person and in this case got away with it because of race. Several
occasions were there when women accused black men in order to conceal their
secrets at the expense of others.
This story fits into the women in literature theme because it depicts women
as attached to males no matter what the circumstances. The young girl, Scout,
pretty much lives her young life alongside her brother, Jem, her friend, Dill,
and her widowed father, Atticus. Because of this, she does not have a real
close female figure to look up to life a mother and so she becomes a tomboy.
Being a tomboy closely relates her to males through her own personality and
also through her experiences with males in society aside from her family.
The economic status of Scout was not the best. Her father was a lawyer and
of course that is a higher social profession, but the novel took place during
the Great Depression which in the broader picture was a great setback for
everyone economically. Because they were poor, this novel is related to other
Women in Literature novels where the woman is mostly living at a poverty level.
Three years after the release of Harper Lee's novel came Sylvia Plath's, The
Bell Jar. This novel is about a young college woman by the name of Esther
Greenwood. She becomes depressed when she hears that she has not been accepted
to a writing program she applied to for the summer. But even before that she's
had trouble with self-esteem and when she goes on a trip to New York for a
magazine and she is very anxious and curious. There she works as a guest editor
because writing like The Yellow Wallpaper's narrator both enjoy writing.
In her relationships with men, we can see that Esther is not comfortable with
the type of guy who believes that men are the dominant figure in a relationship
and were the controlling figure also. Buddy Willard, who she had been close
to for quite some time was that kind of man. In the story she states, "Because
I did look down on Buddy Willard, and although everybody still thought I would
marry him when he came out of the TB place, I knew I would never marry him
if he were the last man on earth. Buddy Willard was a hypocrite." Esther
and Buddy had a strange relationship afterwards and she dated on several occasions.
During the time of the 1950s many women shared Esther's opinion on how men
treated women as if they were nonhuman. Women were looked upon as simple objects
that men used for their advantage. But women had ideas of their own. They
wanted educations and they wanted careers. All this they wanted even though
society said that women were supposed to be housewives.
Connecting the title to the story brings upon how Esther felt and how women
in general felt at the time. The women are objects put inside this glass jar
where they are viewed and can be manipulated or called whatever the outside
observer wishes. For a long time women were viewed simply as sex objects who
served only for men's wants and needs. From this sprung the heinous vocabulary
used in the story such as whore and slut. Society's standards were simply
wrong to Esther and that is what was killing her. It was not her hurting herself,
but society hurting her to the point where it almost took her life.
In 1982, The Color Purple, was written by Alice Walker. This story is about
a young African-American girl who lives in Georgia suffers from abuse and
struggles to find her true self similar to how Janie was trying to find her
own voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The main character, Celie, lives
a horrible life since she is a young teenager when her stepfather abuses of
her which in the big picture is women being depicted as sexual objects where
age does not play a factor. Celie's sister, Nettie, is also subject to abuse
and both will be always for as long as they stayed in their mother's house.
Thankfully they both make it out of the house; thus away from that abuse.
Something that has not been noted in any of the other books is that women
seem to find relief and comfort amongst each other. In this story, friendship
between females is celebrated especially the friendship between sisters Celie
and Nettie; and also the friendship between Celie and Shug Avery. The women
of this story suffered a lot no matter what from and having another female
to understand what one of them was going through made the pain go away much
easier.
The relationship between men and women from the beginning of the story is
one of submission of the female. The men physically, mentally, and sexually
abuse women on different levels such as a father or a husband. Some of the
women like Celie and Nettie are fragile and helpless; thus remain silent about
their hardships and struggles. In the contrary, some women like Shug Avery
and Sofia are strong and confident which allows them to fight against abusive
men. Economically wise, the women in the book are of low income which holds
them back from striving for a better life away from their dependent spouses
or significant other.
The main idea of the story relies on self image of the woman. Celie, the main
character struggles to find her own individual voice as she suffers from negative
experiences throughout her life. She as a woman feels lost in identity and
does not hold the power to find herself just yet. Celie has to find her way
out of her box that is keeping her from her independence and does so as she
meets strong women who she can look up to. Becoming friends with Shug Avery
completely changes her life as she learns the power a female holds in society
careless of what males think. As she discovers the truth about her sister
and lost children, she is able to get in touch with her family and the people
which matter most to her. At the end of the story when she finally feels complete,
Celie proudly states: "But I don't think us feel old at all. And us so
happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt."
Bibliography
· Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl from the Streets. New York: Penguin
Books, 1893
· Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1877
· Hawthorn, Nathaniel. The House of the Seven Gables. United States
of America: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc., 1851.
· Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Warner Books Inc., New York,
NY; 1960.
· McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Boston, Massachusetts:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.
· Neale, Zora Hurston. Their Eyes Were Watching God. J.B Lippincott,
Inc., 1937.
· Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1971.
· Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, NY: Washington Square
Press, 1982.
The years have passed and still not one big, spectacular change has taken
place. The 19th and 20th centuries have gone by and the portrayal of women
in literature still is overlooked and usually secondary. Women have been through
a big amount of hurt during this time and yet the day still remains to come
where every man does not think he is a superior being over women because this
is not so.
What does bring some sort of happiness is the ability for women to hold careers
and professions of their own. It is not uncommon in this time of day for a
woman to live on her own and live her own life. In the 21st century, are not
all expected to be housewives, but there still exist some women who chose
to be housewives. But that is the difference, because they chose to be, they
are not forced to do so by society's big influence over women. Nowadays women
also go to work and make the money for the family, not only the man. There
are even times where only the woman works and the husband stays at home.
Change is clearly seen through literature as we move from the early 19th century
to the present because in those earlier times, women were not likely to express
their own views and feelings. Usually they kept quiet and oblige to the "rules"
set by the man. As we move forward through time, we can see the growth and
maturation of the female character. For example, Janie Starks finally finds
some part of her, her voice, that she never knew she had in her and was able
to stand up for what she believed in and express herself freely. This new
sudden feeling of liberation might have caused chaos afterward but just having
done that, she breaks free from some of the chains holding her back.
But as everything goes up, everything must come back down. Yes, changes in
the treatment of women have occurred and are better overall, but still there
are occasions where women are still looked down upon. The social status of
women still remains at a low state and are ridiculed by men or other even
other women. Often times are women labeled "bitches" and "hos"
to imply that they are some sort of materialistic property. The worst side
of it is that women call each other these names when they dislike each other
but they do not see that they are only hurting themselves, each other. Women
have got to stop these derogatory comments, but the only way to start is to
stop using the words themselves. But even though, women's social status is
not perfect as of now we can only hope for it to get better. Women must continue
to stand up for what they believe in and soon enough change will come.
Junior Project Final Paper:
Women in Literature
JB
June 2, 2003
English 3AP
Period 1
