The Laugh Of The Medusa By Helene Cixous

In the opening, she shares her childhood encounters with women in prose with the children’s rhyme “a little girl who had a curl”. This personal anecdote introduces the topic of the portrayal of women in literature, as well as establishes a connection with her audience.

Within ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora Helmer has a strong appetite for knowledge. This is particularly evident in her voracious longing for independence: “But it was great fun, though, sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man”. This knowledge of “being a man”, and what that entails, would be unknown to many women during the Victorian era due to the fiercely patriarchal society that was perpetuated. The desire for knowledge and its inaccessible nature is particularly evident in the lack of further education for women. In fact, in the United Kingdom the first widespread report of female further education was the Edinburgh Seven in 1869. Whilst that instance of knowledge was not destructive, in the case of Nora and ‘A Doll’s House’ her appetite for knowledge is ultimately catastrophic for the Victorian female ideal due to the secrecy she creates around it: “My husband must never know of this”. As a result of this concealment and Nora’s appetite for knowledge, the Victorian ideal unravels and ultimately becomes destructive. Likewise, in Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ an appetite for knowledge is ultimately destructive for the characters within the poem. After tasting the “fruit” of the “Goblin Men” and becoming knowledgeable of the taste and effects of it Laura “knew not was it night or day”. This confusion of time and geographical

All three versions of “The Demon Lover has the same common messages: to be careful in trust, be careful of the vows you make, and that the decisions of the young often come back around negatively. All three pieces exemplify these messages heavily. Of all of the works maintaining these themes, Elizabeth Bowen’s “The Demon Lover” displays these messages the

In both Goblin Market and “The Bloody Chamber”, women face objectification as pornographic objects whose solitary purpose is to be a man’s appealing possession. Evidently, the objectification of women impacted the way each author constructed their texts. Feminist movements aiming to undermine these rigid female and male roles are prominent in the time period of both literary works. Both Christina Rossetti and Angela Carter use strange worlds to differentiate from the typical fairy tale’s predictable conclusion and instead make a statement through the use of a female heroine. Both literary works contrast the archetypal idea that a man must always be the savior

Male seducers are represented as boys sowing their oats -- part of normal living. Seduced females are viewed as weak and treacherous --  a treachery that woman in her "frailty" is unable to avoid. This is a very bizarre message.

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

Christian allegory of temptation, fall, and Redemption. Rossetti does this to challenge the decidedly patriarchal perception of norms within Victorian culture in terms of sexuality to reconstruct the Christian idea of redemption.

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.

Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” proves the ways in which hair was prized as an embodiment of a woman’s sexuality. In Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” hair is used as a form of currency and a vehicle for giving into temptation, eliciting notions of Eve’s original sin. Furthermore, the poem bears resemblance to Eve eating the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. An important similarity between these two is how each story is presented: through third person omniscient. This perspective evades bias and favors morality. However, in Pope’s

Joosen’s thesis revolves around the didactic potential fairy tales hold, arguing the feminist side in criticizing the gender bias and influence that fairy tales have on young children. She goes on to introduce the idea that retelling fairy tales, with a feminist twist, provides a new perspective on the traditional ones, using Sleeping Ugly as an example. Joosen then compares Lieberman’s critiques to the tale – traditional versus transformed. Following, she analyzes the purpose of retellings and problems within the example tale. The writer highlights the idea of “read[ing] against the text” to question the intertextual connections (135). To conclude, Joosen reiterates the argument between the educational and aesthetic aspect of the

Throughout the course of the semester, we have studied various texts, and applied various themes in order to further interpret said texts. As a class, we have studied, and discussed, what makes working class prevalent in a theme, how it is, and was, used in regards to studying the Victorian Era. While the concept of working class issues may not be as prevalent in the Goblin Market as they are in other works, they are still nonetheless, prevalent. One main theme that plays into the issue of working class in the piece is the theme of temptation in the Victorian Era, in which the Goblin Market is based. The Goblin Market piece illustrates many routes women in the Victorian Era had to take just in order to survive in the time period, illustrating class divisions, as well as how class identities clashed together in the piece alone, and more.

Coleridge’s definition of imagination consists of the imagination as the prime agent for all human perception. However, Goblin Market is a story that completely rejects the Romantics’ ideals of the imagination since it is a Victorian text. Thus, the imagination is shown as something associated with being evil and dangerous, which compliments the Victorian ideals while criticizing the Romantics’ admiration of the imagination. The initial setting of the tale dwells upon the nature taking evil and satanic forms due to the destructive tone of the imagination that contradicts the Romantic’s policy of nature being pure and divine in any form it takes. Basically, the initial setting of the tale takes shape with the aid of local folklore about the mysterious mythical creatures that appear with luscious baskets of fruits. The author builds upon this folklore by distancing the characters, such as Laura and Lizzie, from this weird folk culture by introducing the harm inflicted by these goblins on innocent, gullible young girls. Therefore, the author has already contradicted a central tendency of Romanticism, which is to root their stories in relation to inquisitive adventures regarding folk culture and myths. Furthermore, the term used for these imaginative figures is goblins, which is considered by the Oxford dictionary as “a mischievous, ugly, dwarf-like creature of folklore” (Oxford University). Once more, Mrs. Rossetti

A seemingly innocent poem about two sisters’ encounters with goblin men, Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” is a tale of seduction and lust. Behind the lattice of the classic mortal entrapment and escapement from fairyland, “Goblin Market” explores Laura’s desire for heterosexual knowledge, the goblin men’s desire for mortal flesh, and Laura and Lizzie’s desire for homosexual eroticism.

Christina Rossetti’s poem, Goblin Market, was written in the Victorian era during a time of vast social change across Europe. Though the Victorian period was a time of female suppression and order, Rossetti exposed social stigmas and ideologies that are displayed through the journey of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. Despite initial impressions of a childhood fairytale, the suggestive and multi-interpretive use of language signifies an underlying message of erotic sexual commentary and feminist views. In addition, Rossetti conveys moral lessons by illustrating consequences of the goblin’s seduction. Through the sister’s experience with the goblins, the power of sisterhood becomes undeniable. Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market serves as a

The short epic poem the Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti resembles a fairytale because of the goblins and the happy ending of the united sisters, however the metaphors and allegory of fruit is ambiguous for different interpretations of drugs, sexual pleasures, temptation to sin, etc. The poem is broken into four major sections- temptation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Many people had mixed feelings toward the poem; some were even shocked of the Goblin Market because of how dark it is since Rossetti is usually linked to children novels and nurseries. The target audiences is not children but adolescents, as this poem is a merely a stage to warn young women about temptation and desires.