Sibilla Aleramo was an Italian feminist author best known for her autobiographical works about her life in nineteenth century Italy. Her first work, A Woman, is one of the best examples of these autobiographical works. Indeed, this work explored in depth her early life in Southern Italy. Without a doubt, there are many themes throughout this work; from class divides to marriage, endless different aspects of the Italian life of the late nineteenth century are explored. However, the most prominent of the themes is certainly centered around the intricacies and complexities of motherhood. From her relationship with her mother, to her experiences raising her own child, Aleramo shows many different perspectives on maternity. More significant than these experiences, though, is the evolution throughout the novel of what it means to be a successful mother. Indeed, Aleramo’s definition of what maternity should be changes drastically from the first part of the novel to the final part, and this shift is also vital for understanding Aleramo’s maturity and personal growth. Aleramo’s original definition of motherhood is clear through her descriptions of her own mother. Throughout the first part of the work, Aleramo writes about her childhood and about her relationship with both her mother and her father. The way she describes her mother is significant. Throughout the first chapter, her mother is described as withdrawn, aloof, and no respected. Indeed, Aleramo even confesses that she
In this essay, female oppression in La Casa de Bernarda Alba will be discussed and analyzed. However, in order to be able to understand the importance of this theme and the impact it has had on the play, one must first understand the role of female oppression in the Spanish society in the 1930s.
In Junot Diaz’s short story “Wildwood,” many may argue that Lola’s mother Belicia deserved admiration for her subconscious overprotection and love for Lola that she portrays in an uncaring, despicable manner and especially because of her strong, independent fight against breast cancer. However, I think that Lola’s mother was unadmirable due to her lack of support, her weak role as a mother, and primarily because of her constant verbal and physical abuse that she bestowed upon her children.
The author agrees with the idea of women as victims through the characterisation of women in the short story. The women are portrayed as helpless to the torment inflicted upon them by the boy in the story. This positions readers to feel sympathy for the women but also think of the world outside the text in which women are also seen as inferior to men. “Each season provided him new ways of frightening the little girls who sat in front of him or behind him”. This statement shows that the boy’s primary target were the girls who sat next to him. This supports the tradition idea of women as the victims and compels readers to see that the women in the text are treated more or less the same as the women in the outside world. Characterisation has been used by the author to reinforce the traditional idea of women as the helpless victims.
The narrator grows up through the memory of a women named Mai Ling. In the excerpt “Kuraj” by Silvia Di Natale, Mai Ling to whom is noticed as a mother figure. The excerpt how the people from this environment admires and values the action of being protected; therefore, the narrator felt that Mai Ling was he/shes protector. “I know that I dreamed about her and it was Mai Ling with her almond eyes in her pale face.” The narrator describes the appearance of Mai Ling by using the literary devi
In “Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Transvestite in the New World” by Catalina de Erauso, a female-born transvestite conquers the Spanish World on her journey to disguise herself as a man and inflicts violence both on and off the battlefield. Catalina discovers her hidden role in society as she compares herself to her brothers advantage in life, as they are granted money and freedom in living their own lives. Erauso decides to take action of this act of inequality by forming a rebellion, as she pledges to threaten the social order.The gender roles allotted to both men and women in the Spanish world represent the significance of societal expectations in order to identify the importance of gender in determining one’s position in the social order in the Spanish World.
The novella tells the story of a young migrant worker who is faced the the responsibility to help care for her family not only financially but in a manner of leadership as well. Throughout the story the character of Estrella changes drastically from a timid outcast to an outspoken leader. In the beginning Estrella is portrayed as a quiet young woman who is defined as an outsider. When looking at the character of Estrella she is characterized in the category as powerless. One reason that we can attribute Estrella’s state of power is her socio-economic circumstances. Coming from a family of five, Estrella assumes the role as the oldest daughter as well as second mother due to her father’s recent abandonment on the family. It is because of this abandonment that Estrella resents her mother’s older boyfriend Perfecto, who in return has gotten her mother pregnant.
Many people describe the role as a mother and a wife as something that is to be welcomed, a natural stage for women. However for the narrator, it changed from something seemingly beautiful to “old foul, bad...” Motherhood to her is then what creative women were to other people during the 19th century. Creativity was natural for the narrator, unlike motherhood; it was part of her being. Motherhood however, was a prison of domestic
When the notorious topic of women’s role in society comes to mind writers like Kate Chopin and Mary Wilkins Freeman break the norms of how women in America were imagined to be through different cultures and regions. In both Kate Chopin’s and Mary Wilkins Freeman’s time period women are portrayed as an ample servant to their husbands. Together the texts show how the controlled understanding of the nineteenth century society, had on women. At that time of these writers, people were restrictive about the viewpoint of women’s place in society. Women could not really do much without their Husband or another male figure in their life , they really didn’t have a voice of their own. In the stories A New England Nun , Desiree’s Baby, The Story of an Hour, and The Storm, Mary and Kate have represented how this situation of the society affected women and their viewpoints about life and marriage.
“I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.” These eternal words spoken in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather reflect the importance and prevalence of family allegiances. These allegiances transcend many different cultures, societies and environments. Every society has its own “Fredo”: the social outcast whose decisions make him or her the center of attention in society, and whose family allegiances complicate everything. We can see such a prototype for a character in Countess Olenska, the main character in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. Countess Olenska is the black sheep of her family because she is considered foreign, and the complicated decisions she faces often
In Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “The Mother”, the author expresses a lot of her thoughts and feelings in order to share her experience. It is written in the first person and the narrator is adopted by the author herself, Gwendolyn Brooks, who embodies a weaken mother. In this poem, Gwendolyn Brooks tries to portray what abortion is for a woman and to describe the harsh truth about how women feel afterwards. Thus, this poem is mostly targeted to aim females and their feelings. First of all, abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. First, the narrator uses many imageries, description, and a precise choice of words to explain this emotional topic of abortion. Second, her use
This “preview” to the overall bigger picture that the story is trying to tell demonstrates the power of abortion and the ripple effects that it can have. The authors utilize ethos, pathos, and logos in this example. The purpose of this portion of the chapter is to “preview” the main idea of the chapter, even if the reader does not know it yet. The author’s also use a historical example to help establish precedent and to help establish credibility for themselves – a prime example of ethos. The emotional appeal in this portion of the chapter is certainly present; one cannot help but feel for the parents and children living under the harsh conditions of Ceausecu’s regime. Whether or not the reader knows it at the time, this “preview” section is used to establish the main idea of the entire chapter in a unique way.
“The Psychodynamics of the Family” has greatly resonated in feminist literary theory and psychoanalytical theory. Chodorow’s first edition of The Reproduction of Mothering has been the object of criticism due to shortcomings and its limited view of the family and
“Adele Ratignolle is the premium example of the mother-woman. She embodies all the "womanly charms" of romantic heroines. In seven years, she has had three children and is planning on a fourth. Adele, represents the stages of a respectable
In “Lady Susan”, the gender roles or the gender expectations are revealed by the relationships between varied characters, like the affair between Lady Susan and Mr. De Courcy, or the maternity showed by Mrs. Vernon to Frederica. Aims to discuss the female gender expectations in this work, I want to compare Lady Susan and Mrs. Vernon. Specifically, I want to evaluate the conducts and thoughts showed by Lady Susan and Mrs. Vernon to discuss the gender expectations as a female. And through those comparisons I want to argue how to build a positive and good female role.
Maya Angelou said, “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow” (Wanderlust 1). The relationship a mother has with her child transcends all other relationships in complexity. Maternity largely contributes to the female identity in part because the ability to sexually reproduce is uniquely female. With this ability often comes an unparalleled feeling of responsibility. That is, mothers experience an inherent desire to protect their children from the world and guide them through life. Serving as a child’s protector then transforms a woman’s perspective, or the female gaze. While these protective instincts often arise naturally, they are also reinforced by the ideas society’s perpetuates about motherhood. Globally, women are expected to assume the roles of wives and mothers. The belief that motherhood is somewhat of a requirement assists in the subjugation of women and reinforces a plethora of gendered stereotypes. While some women enjoy the process of childrearing, others feel that having a family comes at an irreparable cost: losing sight of oneself. In response to the polarized views surrounding maternity, several authors have employed different writing techniques to illustrate the mother-child dynamic. Through the examination of three narratives, spanning fiction and non-fiction, one is able to better define maternity and the corresponding female gaze in both symbolic and universal terms.