Stereotypes Of Women Writers

The female sex was believed to have been much weaker, not as intelligent, and inferior to the male sex. This led men to believe that women were incapable of performing activities seen as masculine. Writing is one of them: “writing, reading, and thinking are not only alien but also inimical to ‘female’ characteristics” (Gilbert and Gubar). Anything that was not seen as a woman's thing automatically became for men and men alone. Due to “invention” and “creation” not being one of the few things women could do, women were believed as incapable of writing. If a woman did, somehow, succeed in writing, it was freakish and unfeminine, and often even stolen, since, after all, it was a male’s characteristic (Gilbert and Gubar). Whenever a woman would write, men would see it as an attempt to cross boundaries placed my nature. Crossing boundaries seemed to men as a rebellion against authority (men) and “[…] in patriarchal culture, female speech and female ‘presumption’ –that is, angry revolt against male domination– are inextricably linked and inevitably daemonic” (Gilbert and Gubar). Undoubtedly, the life of female writers was very risky. Like Robert Southey said, "Literature is not the business of a woman's life, and it cannot be" (Gilbert and Gubar). And yet, Shelley proved them wrong by supporting herself financially through her writing.

The literary world during this time period was dominated by men, but the world was changing, and women began to make a name for themselves as creative and legitimate writers. During the time in history women were also fighting for their rights to be heard and treated equally among men. Also, the issue of slavery was at its peak as the country became divided behind the issue, and the prospect of a civil war was becoming more of a reality.

An expecting couple awaits to discover the gender of their baby. The nurse announces that it’s a girl. The couple is extremely excited, but do they truly grasp the weight of what this implies? Gender is not simply a physical trait, as it affects nearly every aspect of a person’s life. Stereotypes repress the potential in all men and women. The same stereotypes are found throughout literature such as Medea by Euripides, Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, “Sonnets” by Shakespeare, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Frederick Waterman’s “The Best Man Wins”. A common thread between these pieces is that power can be gained by those who are suppressed by defying gender stereotypes and social hierarchies.

What was the significance of women writers during this era of literature? What did their female characters “suggest” about human beings (particularly women)?

The majority of published writers were men and the portrayal of women in literature was unsurprisingly one-sided. In the ancient world literacy was severely limited, and the majority of those who could write were male. Women in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries were challenged with expressing themselves in a patriarchal society which refused to grant worth to women's views. Cultural and political events during these centuries increased attention to women's issues such as education reform, and by the end of the eighteenth century, women were increasingly able to speak out against injustices.

Virginia Woolf saw it the same way; in how women of a time before the eighteenth century had little to no history of prominent women as literary artists or in general. In her essay, Woolf states that there is very little mention in history of women, and if mentioned they usually happen to be a royal lady such as an Elizabeth or Mary. A middle-class woman could never participate in such a movement of acknowledgment, even if she had brains and character to dispense. No average Elizabethan woman ever just wrote her story, regardless of the circumstance of the era, because she would have been “snubbed, slapped, lectured, and exhorted”(Jacobus 702). It was proven that there are just few exceptions in evidence, such as women’s letters (Jacobus 695-696).

Wall first discusses the obstacles that female writers of the 16th century faced when seeking publication. One major obstacle was the gender stereotypes of this period. Women were expected remain in the home, while caring for her children and husband. It was considered unacceptable for a woman of this period to have a career or economic prospects of her own, since men were in complete control. In addition to the gender barriers, female and male writers alike each faced publication obstacles due to social class conflicts. Writing was seen as a lower class activity, Wall writes, so it was considered beneath one’s social class to participate in it. As a result, “the female writer could become a ‘fallen’ woman in a double sense: branded as a harlot or a member of the un-elite” (Wall 36). Such a negative stigma surely constricted female writers even further, so they sought other ways to publish their work.

Women in today's society are still being held accountable by stereotypes. For example, how women get hired in the work environment, how they drive on the streets and strength. Stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Meaning stereotype of women can be fixed widely.

Right from the start, as early as the beginnings of human life on Earth, women have been symbolized as people of the lower class, not holding much importance, compared to men. To present day, that concept is still alive and in existence. The situation concerning this area should be more valued and shown importance towards. Does it ever not come to mind that many women are showing more abilities and grand skills than most men and yet and still, how is it possible that men are earning the higher wage? As a female myself, it’s mind-blowing that only 1 percent of the world’s wealth is held by women, and the rest of 99 percent is dominated by males. From all sorts of fields such as arts and entertainment, business, law, sports, etc., women are paid less than what the men are given. The huge imbalance between the numbers convey a great deal of biasness and discrimination. Many say, “When women lead, their

Women writers, this is to say, have been treated differently from men because they were women; and this has affected how they developed.

"For most of history, anonymous was a woman", quotes Virginia Woolf. (1) Throughout history, women’s lives were restricted to domesticity and family, and they were left oppressed and without political voice. Over the decades the roles of women have dramatically changed from chattels belonging to their husbands to gaining independence. Women became famous activists, thinkers, writers, and artists, like Frida Kahlo who was an important figure for women’s independence. The price women paid in their fight for equality was to die or be imprisoned along with men, and they were largely forgotten in written history. However, the roles they took on were wide-ranging which included working in factories, tending the troops, taking care of children

this point in time, as they were believed to be inferior to men. The works of female authors were not as

There is no doubt that certain books children read are made especially for boys or for girls. Like any developmental form of entertainment, from toys to movies, children's books are often littered with hints that dictate whether they were originally meant for male or female enjoyment. Sometimes these hints can be as simple as the specific gender of the main characters, for example Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series calls for a female audience while the extremely similar yet sexually opposite Hardy Boys mysteries fall into the hands of boys, yet other times more important factors decide who the book will best be suited for. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and Katherine Patersons's The Great Gilly Hopkins are books for a boy and a

Throughout the essay, the narrator is very intricate in describing women as a social class. They are generally poor and considered lower class. As a way to describe the money truly needed to write the narrator writes, “Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. Poetry depends upon intellectual freedom. And women have always been poor, not for two hundred years merely, but from the beginning of time . . .” (DeShazer 69). This explains why women write novels and fail to succeed at writing poems. In writing novels, it is easier to compete with interruptions, while poetry must be one straight long shot. With no money, women will be forced to remain second to the males in society. Therefore, the financial discrepancy between men and women at this time only held the myth to be true that women are less successful writers than men.

From Enheduanna to Jane Austen to Charlotte Bronte to J.K. Rowling. Woman have proved over and over again that the role of author and/or writer can suit females just as much as any man. Mansfield encouraged women to write and used herself as an example with her own writing to try to attract more female authors. Often, women are pictures as just people who birth babies, cook, clean, shopped and stayed around as house wives. Sometimes, they did not have a wide span of education. Even in the early 1900’s women didn’t often go to college, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that women began to attend college in equal numbers to men. Poet laureate Robert Southey said “Literature cannot be the business of a women’s life.” One of the key assumptions that Mansfield and other women modernists faced was the habit of presenting narrative fiction through male eyes and according to male values. Mansfield herself strived for everyone (not limited to just women) to do whatever they wanted. She encouraged people to break rules and branch out.