The Importance Of Pseudonyms In Literature

In this essay I will discuss and analyze the social forces that influenced American women writers of the period of 1865 to 1912. I will describe the specific roles female authors played in this period and explain how the perspectives of female authors differed from their male contemporaries.

Pseudonymity is the method of producing new compositions in the name of a famous deceased author (Harris, 2014, p.2). This particular method was well-known in the Hellenistic Jewish community and among early Christian writers. Specifically, during 200 BCE to 200 CE, the Jewish writers produced numerous books that were accredited to respected biblical figures that included Daniel, Enoch, Noah, Solomon, and a host of others (Harris, 2014, p.387). Interestingly, some of the books such as Book of Daniel were received into the Hebrew Bible canon, while others such as Enoch were not. Also, other writings that included the Wisdom of Solomon, Baruch, and the apocalyptic 2 Esdras, were considered as deuterocanonical, a representation of the Old Testament’s

There are many female writers, some known better than other. Female writes most of the time focused their stories in experiences or personal point of view on what is going on around them. Other women write fiction of unusual worlds and character that people can relate to with the struggle or experiences. Margaret Atwood the “Canadian nationalist poetess is a prominebt figure concerned with the need for a new language to explore relations between subjects and society“ (Omid, Pyeaam 1). Atwood wrote her first novel called, “The Edible Woman”; this first novel categorized her as feminist, based on the main character of a strong woman. In an interview with Emma Brockes, Atwood affirms, "First of all, what is feminism? Second, which branch of

Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.

In the passage in the excerpt from “I Am a Woman” (1862) by Mary Abigail Dodge, the use of various rhetorical devices are evident throughout the text. The intended purpose of this text is to display her writing skills for an audience that is not keen on women’s influence in the literary sphere. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as diction, imagery, and emotional appeal (pathos), Dodge forms her argument by asserting that women are legitimate writers.

Literary works have become one of the most preferred ways for people to express themselves and voice their concerns and opinions on societal issues. Through such pieces of work, authors are able to educate and critique the society at large, often forcing people to reconsider their views on certain matters. This has an overall effect of pushing them to reconsider the effect of their actions and errors as regards the issues in question. For others, writing about real life situations is most effective in communicating with their readers. Victims of racial discrimination may opt to put their ordeals down in black and white, mush the same way those who find themselves at the receiving end of sexual harassment may choose to write about their experiences. Arguably, the effect achieved is greater, in opposition to that of works of fiction. Even where a book is fictitious, more insight and connection to real life is achieved if the story is built around real life events and situations. Nancy Mairs does excellent in expressing herself through her spiritual autobiography; Waist-High in the World.

Firstly many authors use pen names because of discrimination. For many writers, it’s the only way to get published. In the text, it states, In source 1: ‘What’s in a Name?’ It states, “Many female authors have had to conceal their gender in order to overcome discrimination and get publishers to take them seriously.” This shows that female writers are known as a joke and need to hide their identity to be taken seriously. In source 3: ‘Letter from Robert Southey to Charlotte Bronte’, it states, “Literature cannot be

Whether it is because they think it is easier to be taken seriously or not. In “Doe Season” by David Kaplan, Charlie Spoon is very critical of Andy’s choice to go by Andy when her real name is Andrea. Spoon is condemning of Andy’s choice saying “you’re half boy anyway. You go by a boy’s name”(149).Throughout history many females have gone by male names, this is most easily seen in authors. According to CNN “most female authors purposefully opt for a male pseudonym to appeal to a wider audience” (Lytton). In an interview with CNN Carmela Ciuraru, author of “Nom de plume: A history of pseudonyms”, states that sometimes it’s easier to be taken seriously as a man (CNN). By going by male names female authors prove that regardless of the name on the cover of the book the content is still just as appealing. This is seen in “Doe Season” as well. Regardless of what Andy chooses to go by she proves girls can still hunt just as well as the boys can. Just as the authors proved that no matter what you go by, the book will still sell. Andy challenged social norms by going by a ‘boys’ name , by doing this it proves that girls are just as capable as

Woolf demonstrates how women writers have often failed in this because of our frustration and bitterness with a world that presented to us and our writing not welcome, or even indifference, but hostility (41). She makes it clear that if there is ever going to be a “Shakespeare’s sister,” we must---at least while we are writing---swallow that sense of having been wronged, for it stands as an impediment to our creativity. This is the mental freedom that women writers must attain.

"American literature is male. To read the canon of what is currently considered classic American literature is perforce to identify as male; Our literature neither leaves women alone nor allows them to participate." Judith Fetterley (Walker, 171)

What does it m ~ an to be a woman writer in a culture whose fundamental de finiti ons f li te rary aut hority are , as we hav e seen. both overtl y and

Woolf supports this claim by focusing on the anonymous writer named “Anon” (anonymous), that we as readers have seen so many times in literature. Could this “Anon” have been a woman, this “Anon” that has written so many poems and ballads? From Woolf’s point of view, “whatever she had written would have been twisted and deformed, issuing from a strained and morbid imagination” (54). She does not reach a conclusion as to the lack of women writers before the 18th century, she can only make assumptions on the time period and enlighten her audience to make sure that women are able to express their creativity without any constraints issued by society.

In the early nineteen century, women were not explicitly part of literature. they were used male pseudonym to publish their works. However, later in the century, there was a shift in women’s implication in literature. women began to be publicly recognized as writers, and they were using their writings to advocate for women’s rights and to reject stereotypes that were commonly associated with them. For example, in the early nineteen century, books and novels were mostly describing “piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity” as attributes of a good woman (Fortin). Writings by women were describing women that where rejecting values of the patriarchal society; women that wanted freedom and independence. The writings of Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman exemplify the features of the Feminist phase of female literary tradition. Published respectively in 1892 and 1895, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin are the quintessence of feminist literature. They both used characterization, setting, ad irony to protest a misogynistic society and to request women’s rights and autonomy.

Allusions to Nikolai V. Gogol and his short story "The Overcoat" permeate Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake, beginning with Gogol's being the name the protagonist is called through most of the book. Yet few of the reviewers of the novel mentioned Nikolai Gogol at all in their discussions of the novel, except to describe the protagonist Gogol's loathing of his name, or to quote without comment or explanation Dostoevski's famous line, "We all came out of Gogol's Overcoat." So far, no one has looked beyond the surfaces to examine the significance of the allusions to Gogol that are so much a part of the fabric of Lahiri's novel.

This perhaps explains why so many women changed their name to that of a male to be able to get their work published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For example, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brönte published their work under the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.