Non Duality

As C. Sykes examines Victorian literature in his essay, he recognizes that many authors reveal gender issues. While some define characters by his or “her marital status,” others reveal inequality through “female capabilities” (Sykes). Victorian literature, like Bronte’s Jane Eyre, reveal gender

In its simplest form, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman, Jane Eyre, who grows up poor, makes the decision to be independent, does so, and, eventually, marries rich. The novel follows her from her childhood to her reunion with the love of her life and she, throughout it, deals with classism and sexism and exhibits her own form of feminism. By the end, it becomes clear that, with this semi-autobiographical novel, Charlotte Bronte was providing a criticism on society’s discrimination toward those of a lower class, a subtle argument against the male-dominated society’s treatment of women, and an even subtler call to action for women to find their own agency outside of the men in their lives. On another end, however,

In Ian McEwan’s ‘Enduring Love’, Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ and Sylvia Plath’s ‘Ariel’ Collection, the themes of gender and identity are clearly linked. Kesey and McEwan explore gender and identity through the male perspective and consequently present themselves as misogynists through their texts in their deleterious portrayal of women who do not adhere to what tradition dictates is ‘ideal’. Plath, on the other hand, presents the female perspective, providing readers with an alternative view, that of the female sufferer. However, in her portrayal of men, Plath comes across as a misandrist, and hence readers are exposed to biased views from both the male and female perspective. All three writers incorporate controversial matters in their exploration of gender and identity and depict how sexual identity is constrained due to society’s norms and values, and events that had occurred and influenced opinion.

Straight society has traditionally been more lenient to lesbianism than homosexuality among men (Barnet and Cain, 128). In addition, lesbian literary theory has the tendency of seeing its affinities more with the feminist theory as compared with the gay theory. Through the reading, I realized that the emphasis on gay and lesbian criticism is usually on gender, that is female or male, as opposed to sexuality. I believe that comprehensive examination of issues relating to gender can help in illuminating literary works. It is also notable that critics also write as activists, with their findings being focused on not only helping readers to understand and enjoy their works, but also change their view of sexuality (Barnet and Cain,

Throughout the course of the quarter we read various novels in which the issue of gender arose significantly, whether it was opposing or accepting gender normalities, cross dressing, or a patriarchal society, the topic was present. In William Shakespeare’s, Twelfth Night, gender is presented in two ways: the first way is Viola, who cross-dresses as a man to hide her identity and wealth and the second, is when the women in the play go after what they desire, even if it goes against the normalities of gender in the Elizabethan Era. In Frances Burney’s, Evelina, women give into the expected subordination towards men as it expected in the novel’s patriarchal society. But in Virginia Woolf’s novel, To the Lighthouse, we see a shift in that Lily

Daphne Du Maurier and Charlotte Brontë present their narrators as a stereotypical representation of females during Victorian period. Throughout history the archetypes of the heroine have vastly changed from being dependant victims to independent strong females. Jane Eyre and the narrator are both oppressed by patriarchy, where men were the makers and enforcers of social and political rules. The unnamed narrator and Jane could be seen as a microcosm of their respective societies, as females were demarcated as “timid”, “dependent” (AQA Critical Anthology) unlike males who were physically and mentally strong. Both Brontë and Du Maurier instantly evoke sympathy for the characters by representing them as weak, indecisive and timid through;

This creates a critique of gender roles in society, which fights with the maintenance of the overarching goals of the novel both through the expression of traditional femininity and masculinity and radical noncompliant depictions. Neither author subscribes to feminism explicitly,

Literary works deal with subjects that still in readers' minds even after reading the works. One of the most sensible subjects is the relationship between men and women. Literary works, as the contrast to the belief that claims every relation has a happy end, portray relations as one of struggle and oppression. This paper shows how in Pride and Prejudice, it goes under hard circumstances, but in the end, it ends in a happy end. On the other hand, this paper shows how in Romeo and Juliet, the relationship between men and women is portrayed as one of oppression with a bad end.

I believe that within every person there is a duality in their nature. I'm not just insinuating the traditional devil and angel on the shoulder analogy but a deeper duality that is reflected by our actions, words and other interactions with individuals or peoples.

25. It doesn't matter how gracious the words are. And it does matter how beautiful the flower is. It's the idea that you are in someone's thoughts. - Nate Berkus on the gesture someone makes for you after tragedy.

Although we see many shifts taking place in Britain between the Romantic and Victorian periods, such as the abolishment of slavery, the discoveries by astronomers and biologists, “as well as this being at the highest point of development as a world power” (1017). Throughout the Romantic and Victorian periods of British history, we also witness the emergence of an inner consciousness of women, which denounced those accepted by society at the time. This is illustrated through observing the parallels and contrasts within the writings of Harriet Martineau and Dorothy Wordsworth. The inner reflections of these women writers not only rejects the “Angel in the House” ideal placed upon women, which is found in “The Paragon” by , but also contradicts those illustrated in “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover.” One can also see that the new emerging consciousness of women was a reflection of the social unrest during these time periods.

Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Brontë. It is distinctly a female Bildungsroman, as it follows the progress and growth of Jane’s character on her quest for selfhood and independence in a society that tries its best to impress upon her the roles and expectations of women in the Victorian era (which is neatly packaged in the figure of the ‘Angel-in-the-house’.) This is something with which this essay seeks to engage by looking at female figures which feature prominently in Jane’s life, how those who embrace the figure of ‘Angel-in-the-house’ are treated and viewed, versus those who do not. Furthermore, important male figures will also be looked at in order to understand Jane’s own feelings to the ‘Angel-in-the-house’ figure and how she approaches it, as well as how the Byronic hero might relate – if it even does.

Equality is a given. The oldest and most relevant discussion on equality lies with the difference of sex; man versus woman. In the eighteenth century, society very much male dominated. Women were expected to obey a man 's commands and were treated inferior to their male superior. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between men and women in society. Charlotte Bronte 's novel Jane Eyre embraces many views in opposition to the Victorian gender limitations. Ultimately, the reader can see the author develops a variety of characters who not only represent but also challenge the established gender norms existing in the 1800s.

The novels Hard Times (1854) written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and Pride and Prejudice (1813) written by Jane Austen (1775-1817) are two very distinct literary works, written and published in two completely different eras. While Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in the Georgian era, Dickens’s novel Hard Times is a part of the Victorian age. These novels represent disparate worlds,that of rigid and utilitarian aspects on one hand and domestic concerns over marriage and property on the other. These novels represent women in a certain light, quite different from the each other, but the same. This paper thus aims to analyse the portrayal of female characters by Dickens and Austen in the aforementioned novels, in view of their gender identities

Thus, an analysis of literature, deemed as a cultural artifact, must understand the universal elements and also identify unique characteristics that reflect the culture that originated that specific work of art. In this dissertation I demonstrated that these novels, as narratives, share common or universal elements in heroines’ description that first originated with Samuel Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded. Because characters interpret and mimic real