... with their consequences of their actions. Matthew Lewis portrays female sexuality as a form of power throughout "The Monk" to advocate that a woman is only able to obtain the power to make her own decisions after she has shed her virtue and becomes aware of the position she holds. Several female characters such as Antonia, Agnes, and Matilda among many others display ... have true power and strength to benefit herself, she must not only explore her sexuality but accept it and thrive in it. A woman becomes sexually empowered when she takes ownership of her own sexuality, makes her own ch...

• Word Count: 1567
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... contribute much to my felicity." (Austen 82). He wanted a wife with money and education, but wanted her to forget about her own opinions and ideas. Like many men during the period, Mr. Collins only cared for women that were submissive and compliant to the higher power. Since men set many expectations, women started to learn what they needed at a very young age. ... that women were incompetent and needed a babysitter opposed to an equal. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin created a character that " apprehended instinctively the dual life- that outward existence which conforms, the inward life ...

• Word Count: 1708
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... : agency and structure. Agency is what made Elizabeth Marsh control her own life decisions about travelling abroad but not about choosing who she was to marry. She had no choice but to marry James Crisp because her father's desires of him over-balanced every other consideration, showing readers that the male viewpoints dominated the female's viewpoints and decisions.20 At this point, Elizabeth Marsh ... could no longer expect much real choice over whom she was to marry, diminishing the control of her own decisions.21 On the other hand, structure is what explains the laws of the society a...

• Word Count: 1708
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... was often unjust toward me, cruel, and-he wasn't faithful, but I shall be faithful to the grave and prove to him how I can love" (1902). If her husband wasn't faithful, then it raises the question of why she still would be now after he has died. She says that she wants to ... fledging, no sentimental young puppy. For me there is no weaker sex!" (2031). Again he is misogynistic saying that she is the weaker sex, but he more than happy to challenge her with a duel as well. But he later finds that he thinks she is a real women, he thinks she's attractive because ... I-I'm almost in love!"...

• Word Count: 1349
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... public disgrace, nothing I haven't seen in your grief and mine. (1–8) Antigone is referring to the familial grief that seems to be "handed down" from her father (Oedipus) to his son, her brother (Polynices). Antigone is a powerful woman who cites her own experiences of suffering as a basis for her power. She admits that she has nothing to lose by speaking against Creon, and that ... for gender equality-a sign, maybe a first, of feminism. Antigone begins the play by stating her defiance towards men's authority and later through her actions completes her desire to disobey Creon and his ri...

• Word Count: 2088
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... increasingly upset and twitchy as Francis becomes more direct as she knows she's losing her power. While Margot is inherently attracted to a traditional man like Robert Wilson, her whole life is built around her ability to control Francis. She fears for her future now that he's come into her own, and knows this is the end of her power unless she makes a desperate grab to get it back ... . Her shooting Francis is supposed to be a moment of true aggression, the ultimate power exchange, but it's diluted from her place in the van, her dishonorable way of ... shooting him from behind, and he...

• Word Count: 1269
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... nervous." When she says this it seems as if she is afraid to have herself go near the baby or John has convinced her she is not well enough to with the baby. Even though she cannot be near the child for her own reasons she still wants what is best for the baby even when she is not near. She says "There`s one comfort ... and in a good state but then lets her husband, her child and room with yellow wallpaper destroy her and change her insanity. Her husband began to drag her down by controlling her and taking away her own rights over herself. Next, her child affected her sanity by her deve...

• Word Count: 1251
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... can make a name for herself in society is through her husband, Armand's name "who is of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana" (Chopin). Desiree's origin is unidentified and as a result when her baby is revealed to be somewhat black the guilt is placed on her genes, giving Desiree no chance of creating her own personality. In the nineteenth century women could not reach their full potential ... knew that she could now begin to live her life to the fullest. She was now free from the man that controlled the relationship. In "Story of an Hour", marriage gives the impression that the male ha...

• Word Count: 1578
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of awakenings, she begins to realize that societal expectations are not how she wants to live her life. Literature containing how women should and should not act was very well known by women and men alike during the nineteenth-century. "The true woman's place was unquestionably her own fireside-as daughter, sister, but most of all as wife and mother, therefore, domesticity was among ... the virtues most prized by women's magazines" (Welter 5). One of the most well-known pieces of literature was "The Cult of True Womanhood" or "Cult of ... she was in was not what she wanted in life. Onc...

• Word Count: 1289
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

... not being entirely sure, when she spoke to him, of the truth of what she said" (Woolf, 2000, p.61). At the same time she also seems submissive and rarely express her own opinions. She seems to feel the need of relying on her husband's opinions, as this is the way a devoted Victorian woman would act. Throughout the novel she is constantly taking an unrealistic view of herself ... by being in the background of her husband, and she fails to go beyond ... the traditional female role in society as a wife and mother ... ...

• Word Count: 1474
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and offspring. But what happens when a woman is faced with the socially accepted perception of women versus her own potential? Will she embrace the womanhood so many before her have or will she fight to preserve her own dignity no matter how rough the journey may be? This is the question that troubles Esther Greenwood in Sylvia Plath's novel "The Bell Jar." Esther Greenwood is a prestigious young college intern who ... was to drown myself then and there"" (Plath 160). Esther never clearly states as to why she's so set on taking her own life and ultimately it seems that she doesn't quite k...

• Word Count: 2257
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... upon very literally, they do belong to someone else. Edna's perceptions of her own body is structured by the detachability of the hand and arm as signs of Léonce's ownership of her " (Stange 878). This quote highlights how Edna saw herself in the beginning of the novel; she saw herself as the property of her husband, Léonce. Later on Edna "begins to discover a self by ... assessment of herself as a propriety being. Her hand and eyes will serve her in her ˜venture' into her ˜work' of sketching and painting. Thus her hands, by remaining attached (and not cut off like those of the woma...

• Word Count: 1838
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... fulfill her own aim, in spite of Petruchio's wishes to tame her. By continuing to fill the role her husband desires of her, she is able to satisfy her own desires and return to Padua. If Katherine continues to focus upon her own wants, she cannot be the tamed shrew Hortensio labels her. Instead, she thinks of herself as a manipulator much like Petruchio. Considering that Katherine acts upon her own desires, her speeches and her behavior ... curiously mirror Petruchio's own behavior earlier in the play. The articulate ... ...

• Word Count: 1463
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... uses key words such as duty and humble wife. We are then quickly confronted with katherina, quick witted, and seemingly willing to do anything to get her own way, even at the expense of her own reputation, and that of her sister and father. In contrast to Kate, Bianca is a model daughter and women. She is demure, quiet, respectful, and has many suitors, yet ... reprimands, chiding, and humiliation in the course of her chosen rebellion. Bianca however uses her reputation and femininity to manipulate the men around her. Curiously enough, katherina voluntarily accepts the role that society...

• Word Count: 1381
• Approx Pages: 6

... inevitably happened. He needs to protect his own feelings. As Gurov soon learns after he meets her, the woman's name is Anna Serveyevna. She struck me as a very young, nave woman who can sometimes be controlled by men. "She was not sure whether her husband had a post in a Crown Department or under the Provincial Council - and was amused by her own ignorance."" She does not even care ... what her husband's occupation is! She is not happy ... with her marriage. She was shy and did not seem to be comfortable around men. When she had ... ...

• Word Count: 1592
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... often-unfulfilled ambitions - and Victorian constructions of femininity. As Maggie Tulliver approaches adulthood, her spirited temperament brings her into conflict with her family, her community, and her much-loved brother Tom. Still more painfully, she finds her own nature divided between the claims of moral responsibility and her passionate hunger for self-fulfilment. The effect that the immediate family has on a child has changed quite significantly, which may not always be ... for the best. Freedom of speech is expressed more openly and people are encouraged to ... ...

• Word Count: 1369
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... her spoon would enable her to lift her spoon and eat herself, creating the significance of her image in the spoon. Marian feels society if consuming her, but the reference to her image being A . . . upside down . . . . @ (169) suggests she is starting to not recognize herself as she is losing sight of her identity. Lastly, as Marian is bathing in preparation for her engagement party, she notices her body was A . . .no longer quite her own ... .@ (256) and worried A . . . she was dissolving, coming apart layer by layer.@ (256). Marian is nearing the stage of the novel where she felt humani...

• Word Count: 2155
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... often-unfulfilled ambitions - and Victorian constructions of femininity. As Maggie Tulliver approaches adulthood, her spirited temperament brings her into conflict with her family, her community, and her much-loved brother Tom. Still more painfully, she finds her own nature divided between the claims of moral responsibility and her passionate hunger for self-fulfilment. The effect that the immediate family has on a child has changed quite significantly, which may not always be ... for the best. Freedom of speech is expressed more openly and people are encouraged to ... ...

• Word Count: 1370
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... her life and made it her own. In essence, she took her life away. Whether subconsciously or intentionally, when Edna ended her life, she swam far out into the ocean, aware that she could possibly go too far to return. At the time of her death, Edna thought of her childhood. Images and sounds of her youth overtook her. She became increasingly submissive as the water swept over her. "The touch of the ... sea is sensuous, enfolding the ... Pontellier swam nude to her death, defiant of the laws of society even while taking her own life" (Wagner-Martin, 863). In the end, Edna did not have to...

• Word Count: 1686
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 's arms for comfort; he would pick himself up and go on playing." This seems to correlate with Edna's own life, for throughout the novel she tries to prove that a person who takes the initiative to survive on their own will come out stronger in the end. Furthermore, given her situation, she did not have a choice of whether or not she wanted children; it is simply an ... , this subject serves as another example of how society has attempted to take possession of her in a world that is not her own. Although Edna does not want a man to have possession of her, she still feels the need to have ...

• Word Count: 1885
• Approx Pages: 8

... mother begins over her attempt to punish him for the stolen egg used while practicing his magic tricks. His mother whips him and he becomes so discouraged that he thinks about hanging himself. He obtains his mother's forgiveness only when, on his knees, he begs her and God, to forgive him. Later that night she kissed him and calls him her "own dear laddie- (Davies ... 30) Dunstan is totally confused "how could he reconcile this motherliness with the screeching fury who had pursued me around the kitchen with a whip, flogging me until she was gorged with---what? ---Vengeance ... of Dunst...

• Word Count: 1502
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... forced upon someone has inevitable effects on the other. Similarly, when Katherina agrees the sun is the moon to attend Bianca's wedding and trades a kiss for the permission to attend the reception, a point about a woman using her expected position and duty to her advantage in a marriage is inferred. While remaining "in role", she can satisfy her own desires, using her rightful duties for personal means. However ... resentful of her duties to her husband, but later realises the positive outcomes of compliance. Internally, The Taming of the Shrew carries messages of a woman's role in marri...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , as they remain celibate, because as soon as they marry their land and property becomes her husbands and at his disposal. - Source 3. This would provide protection as they grow their own food and have a secure home. They would have a chance to live a religious life and it gave them the chance of a career. There were also many famous nuns and abbesses. - Source 18 A midwife ... have worked as teachers this shows they were well educated and would have been able to afford their education. -Source 4. The way they were educated shows in another way as well: Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, ke...

• Word Count: 1860
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... awakes' to a whole new world in which she had the courage and the independence to venture outside her structured world, much to the chagrin of her husband. As she became more and more enthralled in finding her identity, she neglects her duties of a mother and a wife. Edna expresses her own sensuality in her painting. For Edna, painting represents a fulfillment of her own desires. The images and emotions she feels flow naturally from heart ... rids herself of all the social confines by removing her clothing. She walks freely into the sea enacting the very scene that Mademoiselle Reisz st...

• Word Count: 2488
• Approx Pages: 10

... miracles, that healed many people. She was the faith of her believers, she was worshiped by many. " She heals by the laying on of hands, by suggestion and copious doses of castor oil and Epsom salts. She heals in the tent and at great distances. She has blessed the water in the barrels for her followers, but she feels her divinity to such an extent that she blesses ... the water hydrants at homes of her followers without moving out of her tent." ( page 103.) Mother Catherine shows how she as a woman was creative by making her own worship place with a tent. How she ... had enough courag...

• Word Count: 1346
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School