In history, a woman was the one who would nurture the bodies and minds of her children and husband.

In 1854 Fanny Fern published what was to become not only her most successful works, but one of the most popular and enduring works of English literature during the Antebellum period: Ruth Hall; A Domestic Tale of the Present Time. Though the title – especially to a modern reader – does little to convey the level of thoughtful and heady critique that Fern expounds through this book, it is actually is a strong indictment of the feminine position as the subordinate housewife, mother, and societal agent. However, despite this criticism, it does not seem that Fanny Fern is critical of the institutions of marriage or motherhood as a whole. Her critique is based on the limiting effects of the conventional roles into which wives and mothers fall, and the deleterious consequences these roles have on the personal development and self-actualization of the women who enter into them. Therefore, it is not the institution of marriage or motherhood that Fern is critical of, but rather the expectations and limitations that society assigns to the women who assume these roles.

Gil’s sister, Susan who is married to Nathan is a family with young children. They are teaching their daughter languages, math, etc. at a young age.

Before analyzing “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “The Birth-Mark” by Nathanial Hawthorne, it is important to understand the role that women played in society during the time the short stories were written. In each of the stories the theme relates directly to the expectations that women were held to during that time in history. After reading both of the stories, it is clear that there were several literary elements used to portray the domestic responsibilities of women in society at the time. Analyzing theme, symbols and point of view allowed me to understand how utilizing several different literary devices can make the moral of the story even more understandable.

This story is written in an epistolary format. This first-person narrative gives the reader an intimate portrayal of the social attitudes that were common in Victorian era England. From this perspective the story attacks the oppressed role forced onto women in Victorian society. The nameless narrator of the story is symbolic for all women in the late 1800s, a prisoner of a confining, patriarchal society. Women are expected to bear children, keep house and do only as they are told; in the narrator’s insanity, she defies these roles in possibly the most exaggerated sense.

Through the eyes of the young narrator Jim Burden, childhood innocence unfolds for him and and his friends. He enjoys playing with young Bohemian immigrant, Antonia. after both of their arrivals to the Nebraska prairie, enjoying their time together as equals. Even though she shows signs of great intelligence, all Jim can see is a beautiful. Who in time, will make a great housewive. Despite his young age, he is unaware how blind he is to society’s influence: “Antonia loved to help grandmother I the kitchen and to learn about cooking and housekeeping. She would stand beside her, watching her every movement. We were willing to believe that Mrs. Shimerda was a good housewife in her own country, but she managed poorly under new conditions” (Cather, Page 18). Her interest in cooking could be completely genuine, and in modern times, could be seen as more of a passion rather than a ‘womanly duty’. Despite this fact, Jim only sees what he has been taught, that it’s only natural for a women to be

In the early nineteenth century, privileged women in England had much more freedom than women of a lower class who were unable to afford help with children or household chores and were confined to the home. However, upper class women were still limited to the roles of a reserved, sedulous woman or a superficial socialite, portrayed in Jane Eyre as Eliza and Georgiana Reed. The contrasting personalities of the sisters represent two typical lives of upper class women during this time, and while both Eliza and Georgiana face the same challenges, their vast differences distort their perception of the events, creating opposing experiences during the time of their mother’s death and their separate lives following. As children being raised in a wealthy,

The Victorian era woman was expected to be frail and caring, with women being expected to keep away from dangerous situations. Dickens describes Lucie as weak and pitiful and easily stressed by the thought of any danger. However, Dickens shows non-adherence to gender roles in Madame Defarge’s character. Madame Defarge, is described as being out for blood and ready for a fight, which was uncommon for women in this day. She is poor and has a deep hate for aristocrats.

She also clothed him, fed him, gave up her social life, and a “normal” life to be with him. She did all this and more, when it would've saved her a lot of trouble to just leave. She was always there for Stephen, before and after his disease was progressing. Once Stephen was starting to notice his hands and feet giving out, he still went to class and furthered his studies as much as he could with the little time he thought he had left. He would even crawl up the stairs on his own until he had to move permanently to a wheelchair.

Historically, governments, the medical establishment, and religion have challenged and impeded women from attaining a sense of power or a position of authority in society. From witch hunts to the system of coverture to the current sexualisation of women in media, certain conventional gender roles and stereotypes have been imposed upon women. Women have been depicted as “natural desires”, “the lower sex”, “bossy”, “innocent”, “passive”, “sexual objects”, but never or not too often as “strong”, “powerful”, or “the equal sex”. In the 19th and 20th centuries, women were oppressed and deprived of the fundamental principles that a man was reserved to. From marriage and sexuality to education and employment, women were undermined and intended to play a subordinate role to men. This oppressive gender ideology was present in some of the most significant books that were published during the time period such as Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Because of stereotypical Victorian ideals of motherhood, marriage, and femininity, female characters are expected to sacrifice certain aspects of their life—whether it’s ambitions, passion, or the liberty of choice—to take on the roles of a typical housewife and mother. However the characters’ reluctance to conform to these ideals and to male dominance emphasizes their strong internal values and independence, a trait that was rare in women in the

When Stephen leaves for Tarumi he is apart from his family. Without them watching over him he is able to come across more mature thoughts in his stay. "I tried to comprehend what it meant to die, to move on to an

“From all this rage,” observes Esther Summerson as she awaits the passing of the storm over the grounds of Sir Deadlock, “upon the smallest flower and leaf there was already a freshness poured” (228). No doubt Esther’s, the protagonist of Dickens’ Bleak House, insights are stereotypically appropriate for a female in the Victorian novelthat is, they’re generally polite, empathetic, and tactfulhowever, Esther’s considerations are markedly romantic in a way which transcends the semi-concrete framework that most Victorian female characters are made to exist in. In the same scene in which Esther watches the storm from the lodge, she reveals that indeed she stands “thinking with awe” of the “tremendous,” “beneficent,” powers governing “our

For a lady in the Victorian era, thinking independently and unreservedly often leads to trouble. Dicken’s character Gradgrind even instructs his daughter against such pastimes, saying “’Louisa, never wonder!’” (Dickens 89). The Victorian view of womanhood in Hard Times presents the ideal version of femininity as submissive, compassionate, and always content with her station, particularly in regards to her status beneath her husband. Sissy, the poor but kind orphan in the novel, acts with sensitivity and often naivety, which rewards her in the end. Louisa challenges this role with her initial inability to sympathize. Intelligent but aloof, she is taught to abide strictly to the rule of fact by her utilitarian father Gradgrind. This strict avidness to ignoring emotion and curiosity lead Louisa to repress her identity so she can conform to her father’s principles. Her deficit of empathy, ample education, and abundance of detachment all lead to her failure to attain the ideal of Victorian womanhood. A woman that does not follow the rules society sets

"It has often been remarked that woman have a curious power of divining the characters of men"(75). This quotation from The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens reflects the opposite of what a typical Dickensian society is supposedly based upon. In this standard society, the plot would be based around the life of a dominant male. Although the title reflects a male name, the movement in the novel is directly related to the exploits of a particular character, Rosa Bud. Fondly called Rosebud by her peers, she is the apple of every man 's eye and the envy of every woman 's. She takes control in the plot not because she evidences forceful or masculine qualities, but because the powerful characters in Cloisterham, males, are all in love or

Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Bronte). During the beginning of her time at Thornfield, Jane begins to yearn for a life that differs from societies boundaries. She begins to doubt her fears the red-room instilled in her, therefore making Jane

The women in the novel, Great Expectations, are not given the ample opportunities that they would have liked in order to live out their lifelong dreams and hopes. Instead, they have some type of devastating impact that has been brought upon them through a situation that they themselves cannot help. This is evident in the lives of Mrs. Joe, a mere teenager who is forced to raise her brother in a time that is hard to support herself, and Miss Havisham, an elderly woman who’s dreams were torn away when she was left at the altar. Dickens’ female characters do not fit into the ideals of Victorian society as a wife and mother, which causes them to be destructive to themselves and/or men.