Withered Arm Analysis Essay

Geoffrey Chaucer’s skills of observation give us some insight on what people thought women were like in the medieval times. The author has described some of his female characters as being honest, loyal, caring, and beautiful. Other female characters are controlling, promiscuous, and plotting. In Chaucer’s novel, the Canterbury Tales, there are four stories that describe two different stereotypical views on women.

Gertrude also portrays Marxism. She does not delay long after her former husband’s death to “marry

Despite this, Gertrude says she was “scared to death”; in her case,“death” does not refer to her life ending since her husband “didn’t care what color it turned out,” but instead, her respectable position in society

Women have been the victim of unfair stereotypes and placed at different standards than men since the beginning of time. The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy and One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker take an in depth look at how women are viewed by the opposite gender. Although they take a different approach and have contrasting poetry styles, the theme that is portrayed is prominent for both. Hardy’s poem portrays a woman living in the Victorian Era where the norm was to be married and faithful. The character ‘Melia lives in an individualistic way and is not only unmarried, but has participated in sexual activities before marriage. With this liveliness comes riches and prosperity, but also social backlash. One Perfect Rose tells the story of a woman who receives a rose as a gift from her love interest. The unnamed persona is displeased with this rose because it is typical and thoughtless. The classic gift that men give to women is a rose, which is looked at as a romantic gesture. This poem’s purpose is to show the audience that not every girl’s dream gift is a “perfect rose.” The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy and One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker explore how two women break away from typical stereotypes and long for a more unconventional way of life.

In The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the stereotypes and roles in society are reexamined and made new through the characters in the book. Chaucer discusses different stereotypes and separates his characters from the social norm by giving them highly ironic and/or unusual characteristics. Specifically, in the stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer examines stereotypes of women and men and attempts to define their basic wants and needs.

Aylin Mares James McGee AP Literature and Composition 15 January 2016 Lit Notes based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet The supernatural forces on earth- In the introduction of the play there is an appearance of a ghost. The state of the ghost sets a tone in Hamlet in a sense of dread and despair. The existence of the ghost declares the murder of the previous king and encourages Hamlet to take revenge.

At the start of this short story the narrator is depicted as a sick woman, and her husband says there nothing wrong but prescribes her with multiple medications demonstrating, John’s her husband, control over her with symbolically depicting hero own incapability of action without his guidance. “There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word,” Gilman expresses that writing or even having an individualist thought as a wife and a women is a prohibited action created in the women’s psyche by males in their life and contributes domestication. It portrays the message of women of the Victorian period should only be dependent to their husbands and not rely on their own hard work, which contributes to overall oppression of women. Also it shows how economically women of the time, like our narrator in this short story, were not able to even have a paying job and only relied upon as wives. At the beginning of this short story, John, the portrayed villain, of this story buys a house that comes with many rooms but also a nursery which implies that John, coming from high standing, want his wife to live the ideals women life of taking care of the household and creating offspring which contributes to the true ideals of men domesticating women in Victorian society. The idea of males domesticating females also

On that account, another important aspect that the novel brings to our attention is the way in which women were becoming objects of display. Again Blanche’s example epitomizes the upper-class women that Victorian society was encouraging: “Creatures so absorbed in care about their pretty faces, and their white hands, and their small feet”, considered to be their “legitimate appanage and heritage!” (Brontë, 340), that made them give no second thoughts to their role as free, intellectual human beings. These were the expectations of nineteenth-century aristocratic women, and as Brontë clearly points out, Blanche embodies perfectly such qualities that endeavor her to become an object. Her time at Thornfield was never spent with productive activities that would enrich the mind, such as reading or writing, but in idle amusements. Constantly we see how Blanche exhibits her qualities and value through forms of self-display, so as to make herself more attractive to men: “both her words and her air seemed intended to excite not only the admiration, but the amazement of her auditors: she was evidently bent on striking them as something very dashing and daring indeed.” (Brontë, 339)

As in “A Rose for Emily,” Gertrude can also be considered as a lady, which grants her powers which other women do not have in the society. She is able to get away with marrying her brother-in-law after the death of her husband, and no one in the society dare say anything. Although she is not a victim of class structures, she is still affected by gender issues. One instance where this is the case is in the beginning of the play where Hamlet is angry about the marriage of her mother and Claudius. Instead of mentioning, "Frailty, thy name is Gertrude!"

Due to Hamlet’s psychological state, he felt confused and betrayed by his mother. His mother marrying his dead father’s brother opened gates to his madness. To Hamlet’s mind, women represent frailty; they are weak and regard them as an embodiment of weakness. He referred to his mother as a morally and spiritually weak woman as her incestuous inconstancy drove her to remarry immediately after her husband’s death and that she committed a sin. The most notable frailty of Gertrude seems to be that, whether by nature or nurture, she cannot exist without men. He recorded saying that Gertrude, “a little month or ere those shoes were old, with which she followed mo poor father’s body” (1.2.147-148). She needs a man as her guide to her perception

Great writers convey their message without bluntly stating it to their audience. Hardy’s insightful poetry conjures the minds of his audience and encourages them to reflect on how inhumane the social classes were and how poorly women were treated without every saying it. Because of its’ simplicity and relatability Hardy’s clever use of an everyday conversation between two women is more powerful than any lengthy lecture or straightforward statement he could have given.

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is perhaps one of his most intriguing and scandalous pieces of work. One character who is liable for much of this excitement and outrage is Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. To some readers and critics, Gertrude is conceived as an erratic, superficial and sensual woman. Others discern the Queen as an earnest, intellectual and sagacious woman whose tragic fault is her yearning for sexual satisfaction. Throughout the text, there are several legitimate arguments for both sides, but in the end, Hamlet seems to sum up the Queen’s true persona with the words “Frailty, thy name is woman”. Evidence of Gertrude’s true nature can be found in many instances through out the play such

Gertrude and Hamlet not only had a very unique relationship, but it is nothing like we see in present time. They share a type of love/hate relationship because Gertrude married her husband's brother as soon as her husband passed away, which causes conflict with Hamlet. The marriage between Gertrude and Claudius is one of the key roots for Hamlet’s madness and frustration. One thing that is very odd with Gertrude and Hamlet’s relationship is how he is so concerned with who his mother is being intimate with, this also raises a red flag in my eyes because a son should not be worried about his mother’s “intimate life.” Gertrude, being so concerned about her sexual life, drives Hamlet mad because he cannot stand to see his mother draped over another

The power struggle between man and woman has been tangible since the time of Adam and Eve. In Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a plethora of characters share stories that reflect their personalities and lives. Several of these stories revolve around the female position and focuses on the role they play in society. Although women are usually seen as subordinate to the male, in Canterbury Tales, they are portrayed as independent human beings. The Wife of Bath embodies her independence through her dominance over her first three husbands in marriage. Additionally, Alison from “The Miller’s Tale” is representative of this strong female character, for her denial towards the males in her lives, manifests how independent she is.

was the husband of Gertrude, who in turn, went to look for him and found other men