The Fortunate Mistress Sparknotes

As the novel begins we are shown Edna’s life before her escape from society’s standards. At the beginning we are shown that Edna is valued by society because of her physical appearance and is portrayed as a housewife married to a wealthy husband. On only the seventh page of the novel we are shown the lack of individuality women had during this time period. We are first introduced to Edna and Edna’s husband, Leonce. Leonce creates the income for the family as well as viewing his wife more of a possession rather than a partner. Leonce notices Edna is sunburned when she has come back from swimming and views her as “a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage” (7).

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 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.

From my point of view, Jane Austen should be seen as a ‘feminist’ writer. As she wrote in one of her novel Persuasion, she considers that ‘Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything’ (Anne Elliot, in Jane Austen’s Persuasion). Such feminist ideas are expressed in many of her literary works. In her another novel Northanger Abbey, there are various issues discussed, which include not only marriage, social criticism and Gothic, but also feminism as well. The essay is to discuss Jane Austen and her feminist thoughts by analyzing Northanger Abbey.

The title character of Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s novel, Hope Leslie, defies the standards to which women of the era were to adhere. Sedgewick’s novel is set in New England during the 17th century after the Puritans had broken away from the Church of England. Hope Leslie lives in a repressive Puritan society in which women behave passively, submit to the males around them, and live by the Bible. They allow the men of their family to make decisions for them and rarely, if ever, convey an opinion that differs from the status quo. However, Hope Leslie does not conform to the expected behavior of women during that time, behavior that only further expressed the supposed superiority of males. Hope

Voltaire’s Candide is a complex literary work that sheds the light on many themes and exposes different problems of the 18th century. And the subject of women is one that was rarely if ever discussed in a period where male domination was still in its highest. The first evidence of this is the fact that in the entirety of Candide, a novel hugely dominated by male presence and power, exist only three women referred to by names and given bits of back story. Nevertheless, despite taking a back seat to Candide, Pangloss and other male characters, these three women are essential not only from a story related

Why does Charles Foster Kane force Susan Alexander to become an Opera Singer? Why is it so important to him? Kane’s friend Leland states that Kane always has something to prove it is also evident that throughout the movie Kane wants to be loved by the public; when Jim Gettys made it possible for the press to make public that Kane was having an affair the press called the mistress a “singer” as opposed to singer. Kane set out to make his lover Susan into an opera singer because this is to him the only way to recuperate from the scandal and to justify his relationship with Susan. Kane goes as far as to build a theater for Susan to perform in, Susan protested many times due to the bad reviews she was receiving, but Kane was hungry for public attention; Kane put his wife through various lessons and shows to make the public recognize his wife as a singer. We can also see that Kane might also enjoy his wife’s performances, as it is shown that often times he is left as the only person applauding Susan’s performances. The only way Kane was convinced to end Susan’s career was through her suicide attempt but even then he tried to convince her that she needs to fight for the approval of the people, which of course Susan declined.

Presenting literature to the public that is meant to be a commentary on social or political issues, masked under the guise of entertaining and fictional, is a tool implemented by authors and activists for centuries. While not all satire is as overt as Jonathan Swift’s suggestion that we eat the babies, it does not diminish the eyebrow raising suggestions that are conveyed once the meaning has been discovered. In Aphra Behn’s The History of the Nun and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina, the established expectations of the female role within society are brought into question then directly rejected. These expectations establish that women should be deferential to men, morally unblemished, and virtuous at all times. Men, however, are not held to these expectations in the same way. The masculine roles assumed by Isabella and Fantomina demonstrate a private rebellion against the established patriarchal society as it warns against the under-estimation of women and proves that women exist independently.

The feministic movement has been one that has provided many an author with a starting point for novels, films, etc. Through this movement many others began to look into emasculation and if this could be an outcome of feminism. Mary Wilkins’ “The Revolt of Mother” has become a prime example used for this very case according to Michael Grimwood. Grimwood’s journal article delves deep into masculinity and femininity, gender roles and architecture. The author explains how many have used Wilkins’ work as a case for modern feminism; however, he reputes this by using her autobiography as a source demonstrating that it isn’t feminism that drives “Mother” to revolt but “lost patriarchy” that allows her to do so. Although the author acknowledges that this piece can be easily be mistaken for feminism, he argues that the true focus is not on just one character but on both “Mother” and “Father” and how they came to life from her personal experience. His detail and evidence allows the reader to understand how Wilkens’ thought and how she might have assumed life had become. The character’s growth and understanding for one another, as Grimwood explains, could be her deepest desires for what she would have wisher her life to be.

However, in other ways, it criticizes society’s presumption about how women, especially married women, should behave. It is said that Du Maurier claimed that critics did not understood Rebecca when it was first published that it is a story about a weak woman under the impact of a strong man. Du Maurier presents her prophetic, feminist thoughts in a mysterious way by applying an uncommon level of psychological depth. NOTES 1 Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca (New York: Pocket Books, 1938), 6 (All subsequent quotations to this novel are to this edition will be incorporated within the text, with the abbreviation. R. Rebecca with page numbers as follows: (R., p. no).

At a moment’s glance, Daniel’s Defoe’s 1719 publication “The Education of Women” looks to be quite progressive for the time period in which it was written. He makes a claim of policy, stating that women should be educated in order to better serve men as companions. It is his justification for his claim that falls flat when viewed under a modern lens – he cares little for the individual benefits a woman may receive from an education, instead focusing on how education will further their ability to please men. That said, Defoe does state that although they should be educated to better serve men, he does not believe they should “Stewards, Cooks, and Slaves.” He believes that “The great distinguishing difference… between men and women, is in their education”, and that women’s souls are “capable of the same accomplishments with men”. The mix of traditional and progressive views present in his essay, as well as the reasoning for such views, make the piece an interesting look into the social views of the Age of Enlightenment.

An example of this notion is shown in Hope Leslie when Governor Winthrop, the landlord, reacts to Hope, the tenant, coming home late and refuses to reveal her reason why: “...Winthrop was not accustomed to have his inquisitorial rights resisted by those in his own household, and he was more struck than pleased by Hope’s moral courage” (184). Evidently, Winthrop’s reaction proves that women with “moral courage” are unladylike because moral courage is a manly trait. On the other hand, Esther Downing, another character in Hope Leslie, embodies the cult of true womanhood. Esther’s mere look at her love interest Everell is described as “a look of...pleased dependence, which is natural... and which men like to inspire, because --perhaps -- it seems to them an instinctive tribute to their natural superiority” (219). So, “Esther’s look … of dependence” confirms that the expectation that all women are supposed to have the same behavior, gestures and personality is meant to not only please men but to also hide their true form. Therefore, the cult of true womanhood presents an internal battle in female writers and Sedgwick presents this womanly struggle through the contrast between Hope and Esther. Society wants women to be quaint housewives but publishing a book defies the cult of true womanhood. Thus, defying the qualities rooted in the cult of true womanhood causes high risk of

In some novels, women either have a trivial role or contribute to the overall meaning of the work. In some fashion, women have an obvious or underlying hand in the grand scheme of the storyline. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is centered around the character of Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth’s character in itself is the embodiment of independence and non-conformity. In every aspect and trait of Elizabeth’s being, she constantly goes against the grain of what society perceives to be proper and correct. Through the use of Elizabeth’s appearance, adherence to social status, and concept of marriage, Jane Austen paints a character that has enough strong-will to challenge the strict social rules.

By being a femme seule and being a mistress, although Roxana hates having to be a mistress because she considers it immoral, Roxana was sexually liberated and had a job. Roxana had control over both her body and finances once she was no longer married or indebted, as society saw it, to a man. These two facts alone lead me to believe that Roxana can and should be considered an eighteenth-century feminist icon even though I believe she would have chosen a different vocation if she had had the opportunity. In the article titled, “"I wou'd be a Man-Woman'': Roxana's Amazonian Threat to the Ideology of Marriage,” author Shawn Lisa Maurer writes, “Despite her powerful arguments for female liberty, Roxana does not begin the novel as a fierce and independent woman. […] Roxana is an Amazon made rather than born. Not an inherent or inherited disposition but rather the harrowing events of her early life—a bad marriage, with subsequent bankruptcy and desertion— have propelled her” (Maurer, 367). Roxana became a mistress due to circumstances beyond her control, and furthermore, as Christina L. Healey points out in her article titled, “‘A perfect Retreat indeed’: Speculation, Surveillance, and Space in Defoe’s Roxana,” “The novel’s focus on domestic spaces and figures—women who become the victims of bad business deals and who cope with their victimization by transforming themselves into ‘women of business’—links the nation’s economic conditions and concerns with domestic instability.

In Daniel Defoe’s “Moll Flanders” we follow a woman named Moll throughout her life. She encounters several serious situations, gets married five times, and has many children that she leaves in the care of their fathers or paternal grandparents. As a society, the first emotion that comes to our minds when we recognize these behaviors in a woman is disgust, after all, how could a woman leave her children? However, if a man did the very same some readers wouldn’t give it a second thought. Defoe’s story brings to light societal concerns regarding women in his time period and how society should address them.