Fire on the Mountain and That Long Silence as a Feminist novels
Anita Desai and Shashi Deshpande both are the feminist authors. The word Feminism means getting the same rights for women as enjoyed by men. This word originated from the latin word ‘femina’ meaning ‘woman’ that’s mainly focused on women’s rights, status and power at par with men on the grounds of equality of sexes. Feminism was a great movement fights for women’s equal rights. However, there is a difference between Indian feminism and Western feminism in terms of traditions and norms, culture and society, life and living styles. Indian Feminism never tried to change the overall system and never denies religion. It only demands social reformation, the equal treatment and respect,
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Self awareness or personal consciousness is the main theme of Fire on the Mountain. This novels describes the struggle for identity, liberate herself from the various roles of women, to attain a state of free and creative individuality. These all are the features that make this novel as a feminist …show more content…
Their novel revolves around the feminism. Their protagonist struggles for their status and rights, however firstly they are haunted by past memories or experiences but at the end of the novel they realize their selves. They gave another version of history from women’s point of view. Both the writers successfully conveys the message that no one going to fight for their rights, only women can do by realizing their own selves and their inner strength because everyone deserves a fair chance no one is better than other, everyone has their own qualities. So it is necessary that women also get fair chance and equal treatment. All these things are represented by both the writers and that’s why their novel called as a Feminist
Feminists at this time had a feeling of empowerment with a selfish attitude putting their needs over everything else. In Document A Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is a strong example of this. It states “ once she begins to see through the delusions of the feminine mystique and realizes her husband nor her children, nor the things in her house, nor sex, nor being like all the other women, can give her a self-she often finds the solution much easier than she anticipated.” Feminists believed their roles as wives and mothers were not enough and “unfulfilling” and they deserved more. This idea also threatened American democracy and put pressure on the American Government. In Document F the percentage of Women’s jobs are shown, “75% of Women are in routine clerical, sales, or factory jobs or they are household workers, cleaning women” and also “There is no civil rights movement to speak for Women, as there has been for Negroes and other victims of discrimination, The National Organization for Women must therefore begin to speak.” Feminists believed they needed to put pressure on the Government like the African Americans did to get what they
Being that the majority of the characters in the novel are male, as the reader, you might not quit grasp the concept of feminism right away. Feminism is widespread throughout the story and gradually portrays a clear image of what life was like for women. Some women go along with the concept by obeying and others go against it and live their own way. This, in so many ways, allows for understanding of the life of women during this time.
Feminism is the advocating for social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men (Random House College Dictionary). This story depicts just that. It is about a society made entirely of women with no need for men. We see the perspective of men through the eyes of our narrator. He gives us the point of view from three different men about women. Herland takes the traditional stereotypes about women and reverses them entirely. Everything that was once regarded by feminine and masculine standards was taken away. The women had short hair and athletic bodies. Their clothing was not provocative but built for comfort and convenience. They were not coy and flirtatious. They did not need men.
However, many women did not have the courage to stand up for themselves, and kept living miserable, and boring lives. They were not allowed to voice their opinions, or have any rights. The main character, Edna, portrays the motherly woman, who does not like the tasks society has deemed acceptable for women. Moreover, as Edna begins to become free she is more rebellious and begins to question everything. According to “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “ It is the story of a woman of one race and class who is able to dream of total personal freedom because an important piece of that highly individualistic ideal… has been brought to her.” This means that this novel follows the theme of many other works of literature, in that a heroine is trying to seek free control because she knows she can obtain freedom. Women’s roles play a key factor to the feminism shown throughout the novel.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting
Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer.
Feminist theory began in the late 18th century, the main goal was to diminish sexism in society and create equality for men and women. Throughout the years, women have succeeded in gaining equal rights. Unfortunately, there are still issues today. For instance, women are paid 78% of what men are paid. One novel that portrays the argument of Feminism is House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. To begin with, Men are characterized as violent and destructive beings while women are forgiving and possess magic. All the women in the book have names that mean light. Finally, the men in the book have all the power while women remain submissive.
Feminist Criticism is described as literary criticism to presents different perspectives on how literature discusses issues of gender, focusing on education, financial and social difference in a male dominated society. Critics revolve around power relation between the two genders. They also review how females are represented in different texts and literature and how such representation is sufficient. In addition, feminist critics in politics present literature that seeks to raise consciousness about the important role of women and highlight how language is misused to marginalize women. Influential figures of this form of criticism are George Eliot and Margaret Fuller. They are two who mainly came up with the idea of Feminist Criticism and the basic principles followed by others today. Some famous authors who wrote through the lens of Feminist Criticism are Ellen Moers, Alice Walker, and Tillie Olsen... These writer’s focus on inequality between women and men. Many stories have been written using this thought process as the catalysts for the work.
Writer Ngozi Adichie says a feminist is a “person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes,” meaning both sexes are treated equally. “Cinderella” does not portray women as equal to men, rather it suggests that a woman’s value highly depends on a man and teaches girls to become patient victims. For instance, it places attention on a woman’s chastity, beauty, passiveness, as the story accepts abuse, discourages powerful women, and insists on a double standard.
The first thing that I saw in a Feminism perspective is that the main characters in the novel is played by women, the first character is a young girl (Mariam) and the second character a girl who is growing up in a less fortunate condition. While reading the novel I found that it was obvious that in the novel, “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, men have more rights than women and that can be seen by the fact that men have authority over women. In the novel it was also a fact in the men’s eyes that the women belong at
Feminism is a medium or we can say a movement whose aim is to spread a
The word “feminist” has caused turmoil wherever it is uttered. It has gained a negative connotation, and is often mistaken with misandry. While these claims may be true for a minimal number of feminists, the truth is that in order to get an accurate representation on what feminists actually believe one would have to go to the source. The two main problems with that, are that first of all, it is “not rigidly structured or led by a single figure or group”, and most importantly there is not just one kind of feminism, there are hundreds in each aspect of our life (Tavaana, 2014). The most under represented group within feminism is the kind that is in the government. Not all have the same theories, and therefore, do not have the same
The idea of “Feminism” is seen in the eyes of many as “women who want to be more masculine” whenever its true meaning is just women who want equality and the same respect and opportunities that men have. This belief has been built up over time through many different perspectives which is why it had turned into the negative idea of what it is. This idea of “Feminism” affected the social hierarchy and system where people were categorized based upon their sex and the social impact it made created and resolved multiple social issues. The idea of “Feminism” impacted the interactions between men and women and the morals of society and through this created power in women as well introduce a long needed new peace amongst the sexes.
According to the dictionary, “feminism” is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Many stories have been written to denounce the difference between the two sexes. Indeed, one of the main themes of both the The Handmaid’s Tale and The Scarlet Letter is feminism. The Scarlet Letter was a book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 and it tells the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed adultery while she was married to a man named Chillingworth. Adultery frowned upon by the Puritans and was harshly punished. On the other hand, The Handmaid’s Tale, the other book is about a dystopian future with the Republic of Gilead. Women are very restricted and have to abide by her Commander with whom she has sex. In both stories, the message of feminism is very important for the reader. Hester is treated as a spectacle who will make her more powerful, while in the Handmaid’s Tale women are seen as objects merely, “baby-making machines.”
Feminism in India is a set of movements which defining, establishing and defending equal political, economic and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women. Feminist criticism was not inaugurated until late in the 1960s.Behind it, however lie two centuries of struggle for the recognition of women’s cultural roles and achievements and for women’s social and political rights marked by such books as Mary Wollstone Craft’s A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women (1792), John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection Of Women (1869), and the American Margaret Fuller’s Women in The Nineteenth Century