Feminist Theory : The Beginnings Of Feminism

She possesses great vulnerability as victim to Apollo, who gave her powers, Agamemnon, her kidnapper, and Clytemnestra, her murderer. The first group of people she spoke to were the Chorus, who acted as the voice of the common man throughout the trilogy. She described her visions, in detail, of the future. Cassandra tells the chorus how she deceived Apollo by promising to marry him in exchange for prophetic powers but backed out. Upon realizing her deceit, Apollo cursed her so that no one would believe her prophecies. She wails that the House of Atreus is cursed because of the blood-soaked hands of the past fathers. She predicts that Clytemnestra will kill Agamemnon and describes the frantic splashing of Agamemnon in the bath tub while Clytemnestra stabs him. She also predicts her own murder at the hands of two butchers, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Cassandra, uninvolved in the family’s ordeals, fears for her own life but then soon realizes that fate is inexorable and accepts her death with courage. The Chorus doesn’t understand her utterances, but know that they are full of sorrow. She also foretells Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, will avenge his father’s death by murdering his mother. Cassandra isn’t presented as a citizen but rather as an unstable, dirty (matter out of place) slave. Carson situates women as “pollutable, polluted, and polluting in several ways at once” resulting in the male fearing the woman for lack of personal boundary

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

Wieldy Women Throughout history, women have always been underrated and not given enough credit for their accomplishments. They were expected to stay at home, take care of their children, cook, clean, and be subservient to their husband, all the while with a smile on their face. But in The Odyssey written by Homer, women wield their power over and out smart men all over the board. Calypso, Penelope, and Circe all have a great influence over men and their actions.

Throughout the history of the world women have often been subjected to fewer rights and to a lower social class than that of men. In most societies the traditional role of the woman was the role of wife, mother, and caretaker. Women endured this type of prejudiced behavior since the dawn of time until the first women’s movements began to develop during the 1800’s in the United States and Europe. These women’s movements are often referred to as feminist movements or feminism. The development of feminism in the 1800’s was a very crucial part of history because women began the long road of gaining women’s rights with the Seneca Falls Convention, the founding of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the first National Women’s

During the late 1800s and early 1900s the feminist movement grew rapidly, beginning the era which would greatly impact the way women were perceived in society. Literature shows to be a direct reflection of the societal belief during the two reform eras in the late 1800s leading up to the 1930s. The most influential to literature of the time period was the second reform era which pushed for progressivism for a utopian society in which women could actively resist the roles of females being essentially required to live as “the common housewife”. Being stripped from their rights, women did not have the option of becoming independent and educated or becoming employed in a job of their choosings. Remaining at home women were not granted the equal rights of those that a white man held. Males seen as superior to females granted for women to marry at a young ages, bare children and obey to their husbands commands keeping them content with their doings. Traditional women roles at the time uniformly restricted them to their duties

While frantically celebrating her appalling marriage to King Agamemnon, giving praise to Hymen, the god of marriage, she says, “O Mother, crown my triumph with a wreath” (I, i, 361). Here she does not show signs of terrible heartache about being sent to a bridal bed that will ruin her life’s work and sacrifice her virginity. Until she begins to tell her mother how she will try to take revenge for her family does she show pain by saying, “I shall kill [Agamemnon] mother, lay his house as low as he laid ours, make him pay for all he made my father suffer, brothers . . .”(I, i, 367-369). Raving, she prophecies, “If Apollo lives, my marriage will be bloodier than Helen’s,” and in time we see that she is right with the fall of Greece (I, i, 364-365). She also makes an interesting point on the defeat of Troy. She explains that the Greeks are just there to fight and conquer, and that their families are not there to soften their hearts. The Trojans fight as a family for their people. The Trojans have lost, but they died with great honor trying to save and protect their country and kinsmen. Cassandra refers to those soldiers, her family, who fought with a final divination, “Brothers, in Troy’s earth laid, my father, a little time and I am with you. You dead, I shall come to you a victor. Those ruined by my hand who ruined us” (I, i, 469-472). Even though she is portrayed as mad, the evidence of her wisdom, whether it be given to her by the god she has devoted her life, or just insane predictions, shows us that women could be intelligent and know of things to come just as men. Giving us our second example of feminism, Cassandra shows her intellect equivalent to

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

Prior to the events of the tragedy, Apollo cursed Cassandra by making her prophecies unintelligible to mortals because of her dishonesty in childbearing. Although Cassandra possesses the divine power of foresight, her inability to communicate her knowledge and the unwillingness of the Chorus to heed her warnings leads to her destiny of a premature death. Cassandra’s plight parallels that of the women of Ancient Greece. The suppressive, androcentric society of Ancient Greece silenced woman despite their equivalent potential for success by removing their access to education. Women lacked a say in political affairs and in marriage.

The role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and showing them in a maligned light. The women are portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. These characteristics have been integrated into today’s society and [have] built the standards and defined the moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, powerful and strong women are not as well celebrated, such as Athena. Homer’s The Odyssey construes the positive and negative role of women through the epic poem. The women in the poem are depicted through the contrasting actions of Penelope and the maids, in addition with the opposite personalities between the goddess Athena and the nymph Calypso.

Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based on and motivated by the experiences of women. While generally providing a critique of social relations, many proponents of feminism also focus on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues.

Its main characters are women each with differently complex personnalities. Hecabe was the queen of Troja, her situation makes her a tragic character and atracts pity. On the other hand, her daughter the princess Cassandra is dedicated to the gods; she bears the curse of having the ability if foresight yet never being trusted, thrown onto her by the god Apollo. Finaly Hecabe's daughter-in-law Andromache, proud and noble. The protagonists being so different, they each will have a different approach to the play's events. Furthermore Menelaus, one of the play's two male characters, is considered weak in contrast with the strong female personnalities present. The trojan women also question the god's power and men dependence on them. The gods in the play are depicted as flawed, therefore assimilated with simple

Women have always been recognized for their strong influence on the actions of men. Because of his love for Delia, Samson told his secret of his power and ended up losing it. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth urged Macbeth to commit murder. More recently, Eleanor Roosevelt strongly influenced the decisions that Franklin D. Roosevelt made. Women of Homer's epic, The Iliad, were considered primary instigators of the Trojan war. The characteristics attributed to women in ancient Greek mythology may have been key to the outbreak of the war. But many ask why Homer would choose to reflect so deeply on the feminine roles of this war fought by men.

First wave European feminism sought to fight for women's suffrage and the liberal women's rights movements, while the second wave fought for the empowerment of women and differential rights in society, and third wave currently challenges both second wave feminism and patriarchy through a desire to embrace diversity and an idea of universal womanhood. The principal goals in emerging Ukrainian feminist movements was to reveal the conditions that women in Ukrainian society endured. The Ukrainian society held, and still holds, an emphasis on the political view of national solidarity, this was also prevalent through the feminist movements, and dominated over the solidarity of women . In the Ukraine, an exhibitionist feminist protest group

Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.