Feminism In The Haunting Of Hill House

First of all, Margaret Atwood is well known for writing fiction with strong female characters that critics categorize her as feminist. Her initial works, ”The Edible Woman”, “Dancing Girls”, “The Robber Bride”, and “The Handmaid’s Tale” are some of examples of her works that are categorize as feminist. Those novels of strong woman describe, “The main characters variously indulge in self-invention, self-mythologising, role-playing, and self-division, while identity is presented as unstable and duplicitous throughout the novels” (McCarthy 3). Atwood has that unique style to describe her characters. She elucidates the woman as their own self to invent their life and their environment through the entire novel. Atwood has a twisted technique for giving her work a jubilant name when the words describe the opposite. One example of that is her short story collection, “Dancing Girls”, Atwood, “bears a surprisingly joyful title for a series of narratives shot through with anxiety and fear, with images of death, deformity, lifelessness and contained rage” (Murray 1). Atwood has an incredible way to write stories where the characters go through gruesome obstacles or experiences that define

Analyzing the ways in which a piece of literature includes feminist ideologies can bring out the potential messages that the creators of these productions were attempting to portray, while allowing the reader to critique the literature from a feminist perspective.

In 1959, author Shirley Jackson, known also for her novel “Frankenstein”, published a book named “Haunting of Hill House” whose main character dealt with being treated differently as she was unusually shy and never knew the correct times to speak up. As documented by the History of Education Quarterly, even educated women were expected to always be “looking up” to men (Riley). In “Haunting of Hill House”, the protagonist’s inner issues are presented as a result of a constant but fruitless pursuit of the “ladylike” ideal. On top of having dealt with her mother’s death, Eleanor was described as “… [It had become] difficult for her to talk, even casually, to [anyone] without self-consciousness…” (Jackson 6). By this, one sees that on top of having suffered through grief, she was now presented to a group of people that, including her, were chosen for a reason unknown to them. After being socialized less than the others in her life she resorted to attempting to be what she had taught to be: ladylike. During this time before Roe v. Wade, a few psychologists like Herbert Spencer identified or assumed traits that women acquired through living in the world of men, like “the desire for approval and the capacity to deceive” (Conway). This kind of thinking became ingrained in women, so the behavior became instinct when all else was lost. She closed her mouth and only

The protagonist of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is Eleanor Vance, an emotionally underdeveloped young woman with a dark past. As a character, she has a deep connection to the broad theme of family within the novel, and more specifically, how the lack of family when it is desperately needed leads to emptiness.

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

The Women of the House: How A Colonial She-Merchant Built A Mansion, A Fortune, And A Dynasty written by Jean Zimmerman, was published by Harcourt, Inc. in 2006. The Women of the House has 338 pages of the actual book and 402 including the prologue, afterword, notes, sources and index. This nonfiction, hard-back, paper book portrayed women’s roles, both within and outside of the home starting in the late seventeenth century and ending in the early nineteenth century. The Women of the House follows the lives of four women throughout that time-period; all of them part of Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse’s dynasty.

The author G.D Anderson once said that "Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." Throughout all of documented human history, patriarchal values and beliefs have been a dominant factor in society, literature, and culture. Forever seen as inferior, the strength that women truly have has had to hide behind the thought that a man is necessary for anything to succeed. Shirley Jackson is the author of the gothic novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle; a story about a young girl and her sister, who are both absolutely despised and ostracized from the people who live in the village around them. The two Blackwood sisters could not be more different in both personality and values, but in the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Jackson uses her platform to express how even the most contrasting natures of femininity are able to come together to be self-sufficient despite opposition and aggression from male figures.

This novel’s misogynistic perspective divulges the social-turmoil America experienced after World War II. During this period, a multitude of male American population enlisted to join the war consequently, women took on stereotypical ‘male jobs’. When the war ended, veterans returned home and expected women to return to their traditional duties, an expectation they challenged. As a result, this period witnessed a power-imbalance between the pre-existing patriarchal mindset and matriarchy rule which gave birth to the second wave feminism. Kesey exemplifies this by portraying dominating female characters as castrators and overpowering figures who emasculate and damage men, notably in Mrs Bibbit’s over-protecting and condescending power which manages

During the 20th century, the women’s rights movement changed the role of women in society for the better, causing a change in the traditional gender roles that culture dictated before the turn of the century. Women won the right to vote in 1919, which was a major turning point in the respect of women as equal members of society as compared to men. In addition to this newfound right, women also took steps to become part of the work force rather than stay home and raise the children like traditional housewives of the time. This sudden interest was sparked by the two major wars that were fought during the 20th century, each causing women to feel that it was their duty to fill in for men while they were fighting for our country. Another significant feature of this time period was the exploration of sexuality for women, especially in the case of determining whether or not a woman was a lesbian. Given these issues, John Dos Passos and Patricia Highsmith both wrote novels that touched on the issues of being a woman during the 20th century and the certain rights that one had as a woman in society. In their respective works, Dos Passos and Highsmith explore the view of women through the characters of Janey and Therese Belivet, which portrays the distinct nature of women that are defying the traditional gender norms of the time.

This marital relationship is constantly evidence as a major issue for the feminist movement. These female characters are so often made up to rely on their husbands. They are constantly seen as dumb, ditzy, and mentally unhinged, or struggling with staying in reality all of the time (Hall). They are given some weak characteristics that puts them at the mercy of a man. The Feminist Literary Theory allows for this issue to be turned around.

During my third year of high school I became acutely aware of the world-wide issue regarding Women’s rights. I made an attempt to look over many of the cultural norms that I had previously believed as just being "the natural order of things” and quite normal. One of the many paths I took to further expand my awareness of the female psyche involved women's literature. That is why I spent an entire weekend of my life in bed--sobbing, laughing, feeling sometimes completely confused, and often, incredibly irritable and distraught. On that cold and rainy Friday night I had decided to read "The Women's Room” by Marilyn French.

Women in all literary works play very important roles in the development and progress of male protagonists, such as those in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Homer’s The Odyssey. Even though in both Ancient Greece and modern cultures women are not necessarily considered of any value, they are still very important characters to the development of the men and their journeys whether it is emotionally or physically. For Holden in The Catcher in the Rye, most women lead to confusing situations where he then has to come up with lies to feel comfortable with himself; each of those lies reflect his inner self and everything he wishes his life could be like. One of the only exceptions to this trend is his sister Phoebe. Holden does not

In the short story ‘The Shining Houses’, the author Alice Munro, portrays the message that in our society it is difficult for women to state and hold their own opinions due to the stereotypes that revolve around women. Munro uses examples of domesticity, hysteria and weakness and ….. to support this argument. Right from the very beginning of the story women are shown to have played the role of a typical housewife, staying at home, waiting for their husbands to come back from work and taking care of their husbands and their children. Twelve years ago Mr. Fullerton is said to have left town and ever since then Mrs. Fullerton has been waiting for her husband to return home.

It is impossible to discuss the role of women in literature without mentioning the influence of feminism. The later in the timeline one reads, the more prominent it becomes. Each new wave of feminism brings with it its own goals, yet it also continues to strive for some of the same goals as past generations because not everything is accomplished all at once. Although “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall and “Rubyfruit Jungle” by Rita Mae Brown, are two starkly different texts that strongly reflect the feminist eras in which they were written, they have some similarities as well.

Hi Starr It was nice to read your essay and your thoughts on movies. You mentioned that the criticism described in movie “Halloween”, is feminist criticism, in 300 biographical whereas in movie frozen is psychoanalytic. I do agree with your points as it shows that women are independent, strong, and intelligent as in of suppose of being weak, helpless, and naïve. According to critic’s point of view female character in the movie was not mainstream, but instead more intelligent, independent and spunky which helped movie very interesting. In movie “300” they focused more on characters and their looks instead of story, critic felt that it is totally unfair for the culture. Use of heavy make-up, costumes, jewelry and unnecessary screams made it worse.