Essay on The Immortal Villain of Washington Square

Mrs. Fletcher sees this gift as a blight on her body; the perception leading her to say “I don’t like children that much…I’m almost tempted not to have this one,” (). Welty points to vanity as the destroyer of beauty. The evil-mindedness of self-love breaks even the sacrosanct bond of motherhood.

The culture of set societal rules and conventions urges Catherine to be with Edgar, compelling her to be ‘the greatest woman of the neighbourhood’ due to them being relatively firm in their gentry’s status. This suggests the importance of her social status against the nature of her love for Heathcliff stating, ‘we would be beggars’, through employing the word ‘beggars’ the reader crafts the idea of her belief that she won’t survive without her status. Catherine admits ‘It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him’ Thus implying a swelling sense of her vanity and pride; enough to enjoy the position she gains from being married to Edgar despite her admiration for Heathcliff, being ‘more than (herself) than (she is)’and

Through use of indirect characterization, Lily’s words and actions reveal a pivotal part of her character: her clever intelligence. This first becomes evident after her African American friend, Rosaleen, spills a cup of her snuff spit on the shoes of a racist white man that was provoking her. The minister at her church is

Fitting with the common theme between the two novels of the judgment of others, each heroine falls victim to a horrible misjudgment of the character of another. After discovering that the engagement between her brother and her friend Isabella has been broken, Catherine finds she has grossly misjudged her friend’s character, and thinks, “She was ashamed of Isabella, ashamed of ever having loved her” (Northanger 150). Elizabeth, on the other hand, finds her attachment the Wickham wholly inappropriate after receiving her letter from Mr. Darcy. After digesting the shocking contents of the letter, Elizabeth “grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd” (Pride 156). And indeed, as suggested by Elizabeth’s mention of Darcy, this misjudgment goes on to affect each girl’s attachment to her future husband.

In Hannah W. Foster’s, The Coquette, Eliza Wharton is portrayed as a woman of status, above average intelligence and education, with a flirtatious nature. Though the author does not cast her in an antagonistic light, her manner is painted as foolish, flippant to 18th century social conventions, and lacking in forethought. As such, The Coquette should be viewed as a literary warning for young women of the day, especially those who may have shared undesirable attributes with Eliza. It is the novel’s intent, by way of Eliza’s thoughts and actions, to discourage young women from pursuing a fleeting and non-virtuous lifestyle. Through the novel, Foster acts as a moral guide to young women by persuading them to obey social conventions like entering into dutiful marriage, refraining from political and public

Catherine is forced to do lady tasks that she thinks are unbearable. "I can stand no more of lady-tasks, endless mindless sewing, hemming, and doctoring" (10). This quote shows

Lucy lectures Eliza on her “coquettish” ways and suggests that she be cautious in her attempt to rebel (7). However, Eliza does not heed Lucy’s advice and continues her quest for her ideal husband.

When reading House of Mirth, Lily Bart seems to be a victim of circumstance, and readers watch her life seem to crumble around her. From the beginning, Lily was depicted as an overwhelmingly gorgeous woman; however, she has an overwhelmingly massive downfall: her dependence on wealth and social status. As outsiders, readers understand that money comes and goes, and social status is far from the most important things in life; however, Lily would disagree. Being born into high-society, Lily quickly developed a fondness for the extravagant things in life while fearing, and almost hating, dinginess (Wharton, 30-35). However, as the story progresses, she loses all the little money she has to fuel her gambling addiction, as if metaphorically

Many look to George Washington for the great things he accomplished in his lifetime. Winning the War for American Independence, being the first president, and shaping the way the Constitution was written and how the federal government was formed are all attributable to him. However, from his youth, he was a man whose focus on the little details in his life predicted his behavior in grander situations as they were presented to him.

Mrs. Hopewell is a hard working widow who assumes the male role by being the primary care-giver and supporter to her special needs daughter. Hulga, despite her independence streak is determined to make a life on her own; she gives almost a reversed protest against her mother despite the care she receives. Her education does not lead her to live a more successful life, she fails to live up to her mother’s example and expectation that Hulga’s sisters, Glynese and Carramae, have already successfully copied. O’Connor writes that “Glynese, a redhead, was eighteen and had many admirers; Carramae, a blonde, was only fifteen but already married and pregnant” (151).

The disorderly atmosphere of Wuthering Heights, generated by Heathcliff’s raucous behavior causes Catherine to gravitate towards a more uncivilized and mannerless version of herself. Several times, Catherine snaps at others and throws furious tantrums, as she scolds and even slaps Nelly for cleaning in Edgar’s prescence. The rambunctious setting of Wuthering Heights conjures a different Catherine, where, “to pracise politeness...would only be laughed at,” influencing her to act on rebellious

Mullen describes Lily’s situation as “Lily Bart has been predominantly framed as a tragic victim caught within the irresistible market forces of capitalism and the fatal contradictions of gender and class politics” (45). The novel, “The House of Mirth” filled with nuances of gender and class politics. Mullen points out a weakness in Lily’s character, her position in the forces of the capitalist circle. The females in the novel face the pressures from the social circle as well. Lily is a product of her culture and upbringing. Success is measured by the capital worth and how one would survive in their social class. Unfortunately, Lily didn’t have to chance to remain in her former social class circle, after trying to pay off her debts. She died the night that she received her

       As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist.  Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be.  She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170).  However, in a time

“Malice- a desire to harm others or to see others suffer; intent, without just cause or reason, to commit an unlawful act injurious to another or others” (“malice”). Malicious characters or groups play a central role in many literary works, like the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, O’Brien in 1984, and white society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These characters threaten, attack, trick, and persecute the main character or another central character within their story. They add to the plot and tension of the work. Another malicious character is Iago, the villain in one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Othello. In this play Iago sets out to destroy Othello for multiple reasons, most of which are

Soon after her own arrival in Bath, Catherine is followed by her brother James and Isabella’s brother John Thorpe. At the initial meeting with the boys, Catherine is mistaken on two different points, still being ignorant in her perceptions of other people. Although slightly thrown off by John’s manners, Catherine is unable to formulate her own negative opinion of him, too affected by the opinions of Isabella and James, and “her judgment was further brought off by Isabella’s assuring her…that John thought her the most charming girl in the world” (Austen 48). For Catherine, it is easier and more natural to accept the opinions of someone like Isabella, a mentor figure. Also, in the same scene, Catherine makes the assumption that her brother James has journeyed “so far on purpose to see me” (49). Catherine hastily jumps to this false conclusion, not having the experience to detect James’ continuous questions and compliments of Isabella as a sign of his true motives for coming to town: to visit the “prettiest girl in Bath” (49).