Magical Feminism

When one closes their eyes and hears the word feminist, one can imagine seeing a mob full of women marching down the street burning their brassieres while chanting anti-male chants, while holding signs that sheds light on the unfair treatment women were exposed to for several decades. On the other hand, if one closes their eyes, and hears the word feminine, one can imagine seeing either a dainty female looking sweet and innocent, something like a princess, or a lady with “tasteful” sex appeal. These images along with other images associated with femininity and feminist comes from how the media, new papers, and stories portray them. Looking on the surface, they seem quite the opposite in nature. In Claire Miye Stanford’s essay “You’ve Got the Wrong Song: Nashville and Country Music Feminism” Stanford poses a question, “Can a show that is so ostensibly interested in the ‘feminine’…also be feminist?” (Stanford 277). At first glance, one would disagree, but more TV shows are portraying their leading women as a feminine feminist. Shows like Nashville, Insecure, and Orange is the New Black are breaking the boundaries and changing the views on what the new feminine feminist looks like.

The two publications that best contextualize gender are the Lowell Offering and the Godey’s Lady Book periodicals as the articles found in both magazines depict traditional gender roles for males and females. For the Lowell Offering, this is best seen in the article entitled, “Woman’s Proper Sphere”, which focuses on the thoughts associated with oppression like, “Is it ambitious wish to shine as man’s equal, in the same scenes in which he mingles” or “Does she wish for a more extensive influence, than that which emanates from a woman’s home?” Yet these progressive questions are met with answers like “How necessary, then, that she should understand these pursuits (of men), that she may truly sympathize with and encourage those, with whom she may be associated. In this way…her influence must and

Lila Abu-Lughod also writes about feminism in regard to culture. “ It has been important for most feminists to locate sex differences in culture, not biology or nature,” (Abu-Lughod, p. 144). There have been many cultural differences between women and men, “ a different voice” perhaps from Anglo-American feminist Gilligan and her followers, (Abu-Lughod, p. 145), as well as an explanation of the differences, “ whether through a socially informed psychoanalytic theory, a Marxist-derived theory of the effects of the division of labour and women’s role in social reproduction, an analysis of maternal practice or even a theory of sexual exploitation,” (Abu-Lughod, p. 145).

Feminism, is a term that is widely misunderstood; some consider feminists as man haters, while others consider feminism as just another way for a woman to complain. Ultimately, feminism is a term that strives for equality for all. Margery Kempe, in The Book Of Margery Kempe, at first glance seems to be overly dramatic and manipulative as a way to garnish the public’s attention but is there more than meets the eye when it comes to Margery Kempe? I will argue that, Margery Kempe, in, The Book Of Margery Kempe, Book One, is in fact a feminist who uses her faith as a way to fight against ownership and inertness thus gaining independence and freedom from the patriarchal society.

The feminist lens is trying to force gender equality through works of literature. In literature your gender can play a part even if you are not aware of it (Brizee & Tompkins). There are a lot of viewpoints to the feminist lens like how men oppress women such as socially, politically, psychologically, or economically. There is also that in literature women could be distinguished by their difference from men whether it be his standards or his ethics. Patriarchal ideology is the idea that Eve was the starting point of all sins and even death (Brizee & Tompkins). A lot of works of literature have been the inspiration of the women’s right movement in the early 1900s which eventually led to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

From the first lines of The House of the Spirits, Allende uses the technique of a feminized magical realism to pull the reader into a political-historical novel. Alba Trueba from Allende’s The House of the Spirits is an effective example of this revolutionary female narration. Her story, which includes her female relatives’ viewpoints and excludes Trueba’s version, is a direct block to Trueba’s egotistic, stiff, and not exactly true version of events. Her woman-centered narration is, further, a symbol of the triumph of women’s expression and their revision of patriarchal and authoritarian history. Alba watches the military erase history and devastate the country, but she in turn uses her power of writing to resist. Alba and her female, therefore,

Being that the majority of the characters in the novel are male, as the reader, you might not quit grasp the concept of feminism right away. Feminism is widespread throughout the story and gradually portrays a clear image of what life was like for women. Some women go along with the concept by obeying and others go against it and live their own way. This, in so many ways, allows for understanding of the life of women during this time.

These women give birth to a recognizable set of feminist conventions based on the existing conventional lexicon. It is wrong to insist that a truly "female" voice can only be heard and respected in its independence and separation from the once "male" canon. It seems that the only chance for independence would come from the creation of a new language, concretely female and "Amazonian". It must be understood that it is no flaw of "feminist convention" to be seen in relation to male convention; in fact it is necessary, for what is the male without the female, or the female without the male? There was no "male" voice until a female movement emerged to pose opposition to it. The "male" voice which we now identify, before the feminist movement, had simply been the "canon", the sanctioned and the status quo. The relationship of the female to male voices gives strength to both, makes each more distinct and profound. The language they use is the same. This language's maleness derives from the ways in which "men" have insisted it be used. For example, "penis" as a signifier of power was surely an idea purported by a man. It would be silly to say that at the genesis of our English language,

Female characters in feminist literature are constantly highlighted as the protagonist who does not agree to the stereotypic treatment of women in society and refused to be treated the same instead they are prepared to make their own choices, to express their own decisions as well as dealing with the outcomes of their actions. Although every woman is a daughter, a mother, a sister or a wife, any work of feminist literature first deals with her as a woman. The identity of these female characters is not determined by these relationships, roles, or stereotypes. Rather, it is their choices and beliefs that define their identity and they are then associated with these roles. Firstly, there is a big difference between the main female characters; Ofelia, Carmen, and Mercedes. There is an inner conflict towards pregnancy itself where the infant is also the cause of the mother 's worries and sick wellbeing, which is symbolized in Ofelia 's land of magic by

Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed

With their opposing strength the women in the novel, are able to create an omniscient matriarchal environment. This environment continues to follow the men everywhere they go throughout the novel. With each individual male character, there is a specific woman in their life that

Feminist theory began in the late 18th century, the main goal was to diminish sexism in society and create equality for men and women. Throughout the years, women have succeeded in gaining equal rights. Unfortunately, there are still issues today. For instance, women are paid 78% of what men are paid. One novel that portrays the argument of Feminism is House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. To begin with, Men are characterized as violent and destructive beings while women are forgiving and possess magic. All the women in the book have names that mean light. Finally, the men in the book have all the power while women remain submissive.

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

Women’s rights have been a question greatly discussed for quite some time, and the debate is still continuing despite the possibilities offered to women today. Feminism nowadays has evolved into a movement in a number of directions, starting with women equality and ending with homosexuality. However, feminism originally is an ideology that is based on equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism theory deals with analysing women’s social roles and experiences in relation to gender inequality. Traces of this ideology are vastly represented and can be found in a number of literary works, as notable examples are novels written by female authors (the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and others) during the Age

Lastly, “femininity” refers to behavioural activities or interests that are assigned to the female sex, such as cleaning and cooking (Beauvoir, 617). Although many critics have read her text and become confused due to her stylistic choice to fuse her voice with the voices of famous men, it can be said that the text ultimately leads the reader to begin to question what society sees as a woman (Zerilli, 1-2). Despite Beauvoir’s The Second Sex appearing to recognize the oppression of women throughout the world without giving an actual solution, I will argue that Beauvoir’s evaluation of each “natural” aspect of female oppression allows readers to recognize that the only thing holding themselves back as a woman is society’s unnatural definition of their body, relation to men, and personal freedoms. Of course, when it comes to one's freedom, it is difficult to obtain when your body feels like a