From Blackstock to Nowhere: Relationships and Power Dynamics in Two Retellings of the Ballad of Tam Lin The Scottish folk ballad “Tam Lin” is a very popular ballad which has inspired many contemporary writers and artists to create their own retellings and reinterpretations. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones and Tam Lin by Pamela Dean are two of these retellings. In these novels, Jones and Dean have masterfully brought the events and characters of the traditional ballad into the modern world. Although both novels have drawn from the same source there are a number of distinct differences between the two, especially when it comes to the relationship between their Janet and Tam Lin characters (Polly Whittacker and Tom Lynn in Fire and Hemlock, and Janet Carter and Thomas Lane in Tam Lin), and the balance of power between them throughout the narrative. While Jones’ novel is very much centered around the idea of “Tam Lin” being one of the rare few folk ballads or tales with a female hero and is structured as such to give Polly a position of power and equality in the relationship by the end, Dean seems to approach her retelling of the ballad from a different direction, questioning whether Janet really is as empowered by her role as the hero as it may seem at first. In both novels, the first meeting between the Janet and Tam Lin characters sets a strong base for their initial relationship, especially regarding the power dynamics within that relationship. In the ballad of Tam
One artistic aspect of the book is that Stockett chose to tell the story from three different women’s perspectives. Using this stylistic technique helps keep the reader more engaged in the book. Each woman, whether it be Aibileen, Minny, or Skeeter, uses a
The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century
The Portrayal of the Plight of Women by the Author, In Their Particular Period of Time
As a senior revising and expanding this essay, I realized how much I have grown as a writer and a student of literature. When I began revising, I realized that the focus of the paper needed to be narrowed and focused more on the play Arcadia, in which Thomasina is the exception to the types of women characters stereotypically
Flannery O’Connor introduces her reader’s too unique short stories. They are “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, having too similar characters in different setting, but with the same symbolic meaning. The comparison between Hugla from “Good Country People” to the grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to find” is interesting, because they both suffer the same fate. In every short story O’Connor has created a intellectual individual who comes to a realization that their beliefs in there ability to control their lives and the lives of other are false. They enviably become the vulnerable, whereas they assumed it would be different. O’Connor has placed two misguide characters, that deem themselves to be manipulative and compulsive. At the end up of each short story they become vulnerable. Hugla from “Good Country People” and the grandmother from “A Good
Gwen Harwood’s poetry is very powerful for its ability to question the social conventions of its time, positioning the reader to see things in new ways. During the 1960’s, a wave of feminism swept across Australian society, challenging the dominant patriarchal ideologies of the time. Gwen Harwood’s poems ‘Burning Sappho’ and ‘Suburban Sonnet’ are two texts that challenge the dominant image of the happy, gentle, but ultimately subservient housewife. Instead, ‘Burning Sappho’ is powerful in constructing the mother as violent to reject the restraints placed on her by society, whilst Suburban Sonnet addresses the mental impact of the female gender’s confinement to the maternal and domestic sphere. Harwood employs a range of language and
The presentation of femininity in Doctorow's Welcome to Hard Times is a strong departure from the heroine of Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage. Through the metaphor of the gun as the embodiment of masculinity, both authors closely examine the complexities of the sexualized relationship of a frontierswoman to the men of her society. Doctorow mirrors the tensions present in Grey's novel though Molly acts as an extraordinarily different vision of what the West required of a woman than Jane Withersteen. Both novels reach a sexual climax as the heroine engages the men of her society in a violent action of blood and birth.
Susan Glaspell’s one-act play covers issues regarding female oppression and patriarchal domination. The play still exists as a fascinating hybrid of murder mystery and social commentary on the oppression of women. When Margaret Hossack was charged with the murder of her sixty year old husband John, the man she had been married to for thirty three years. Killed by two blows to his head with an ax, John Hossack was thought to be a cold mannered and difficult man to be married to, but he didn’t deserve his
Women have always played key roles in literature, from the strong heroine to the damsel in distress. Common in works published before the 21st century, and even after, women are written as the caregivers, and the homemakers for their husbands. Literary women will often play the submissive role in society and in their marriages. These women react differently to their role; some remain submissive, some are rebellious, some are breaking free, and some go down as a result of their submission.
In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, both authors introduce female protagonists that are confined by men’s authority. By displaying the protagonist's transformation, Glaspell and Faulkner highlight the repercussions of gender roles, to show that when women are trapped, they will go to great lengths to retaliate against their oppressors.
There are many instances throughout literature where two pieces, told by two different narrators, and telling two different stories can be found to have similar textual qualities. This instance can be shown between A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson herself and Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson. The stories depict the great suffering of two individuals who express similar qualities in their writings; the qualities being that each piece is a captivity narrative, there is a struggle with faith, and a silenced sexual subtext.
Susan Glaspell is the author of Trifles and “A Jury of Her Peers.” The two stories follow two women who were brought out to a certain, Mrs. Wright’s, house to collect some things after the death of Mr. Wright. Trifles and “A Jury of Her Peers” differ in point of view (P.O.V) and genre, but they share very similar story details. The P.OV. can change how a story is presented to its reader(s).
Tamora Pierce is an exemplary young adult fantasy novelist and after completing one of her novels, readers are left with a satisfied feeling of completing a grand adventure. She ties her novels together, intertwining characters or places from past plot lines into her newer pieces of writing. Pierce gives her female readers a young same gendered role model, especially in this series, who strives for greatness and always stands up for herself as a young
Every so often, in literature a repetitive theme is the classic war. Known as love against responsibilities. A character like the Weaving Maiden, conflicts with her duties and tasks because of love. The author, Grace James captivates the reader by using tone, imagery and symbols throughout her short story.
The theme of female struggle against male dominancy is presented throughout the novel and the narrator,