A Life of Her Own: A Countrywoman in Twentieth Century France by Emilie Carles is a twentieth century memoir of her life in France, from her village in Val-des-Pres, as a peasant girl, to Paris, as a student and also as a rebel against the idea of war. For she gives the readers of today an inside look at her life before and during both World Wars, World War I and World War II. In this critique of Emilie Carles’, A Life of Her Own: A Countrywoman in Twentieth Century France; which was translated by Avriel H. Goldberger, I will analyze her reason for writing the autobiography, her use of data, and her diction. Emilie’s reason for writing her life story was to present her life as a French countrywoman during the 1900’s to the lives of those outside of France, for she wanted to give her audience a visual of her pains and glories through her own living words before she passed away in 1979. I loved how she painted the picture of the peasant life in every page, especially at the beginning. For she illustrated how the people in her village were struggling financially and were not worried about the health of their family members and themselves, instead the men in the families were more …show more content…
An excellent example of this was expressed when she told the story about her fall from two-stories, nearly killing herself, and how her father was not concern about her wellbeing; instead, he continued to go get the bull from the fair while her
The controversial story of Martin Guerre becomes intensified as historian Natalie Davis and Robert Finlay makes their persuasive argument. Davis presents the story in a humorous way, portraying Bertrande sympathetically and developing her as an “honorable” figure. In the sixteenth century France, honor is a central aspect of women's identity and reputation. To gain honor, the woman remained faithful to their husband and followed the strict rules of Canon law, married women were not allowed to remarry or make a relationship with other men without the proof of husband’s death (Davis, Martin 20). However, presenting Bertrande de Rols as a strong assertive woman Davis intentionally reveals that Bertrande is capable of doing more than the housework.
She uses unique words and phrases, metaphors and descriptions, and witty but informative tone. She opens the readers’ minds up to what the world we are living in is becoming. It is everyone for themselves, therefore every individual should become educated on every subject that they can handle. There is no possible way someone should overeducate themselves; it is just an impossibility. Imagine what life would be like if eventually everyone only knew about what their degree was in. There would not be many conversations, no improvement in the quality of life, a shorter survival rate, etc. The worst feeling in the world is feeling useless or worthless which could happen if you do not expand your knowledge. Go out in the world and learn what can be learned by observing, reading, studying, listening, asking, tasting, touching, smelling, or anything that helps you learn. The world needs more intelligence in every area. It is time that we take a stand and educate ourselves and others as much as we possibly
The novel My Story by Elizabeth Smart is a nonfiction book that tells Smart’s experience as she was kidnapped and stolen away from her family for nine months. A man named Brian David Mitchell took Elizabeth out of her own bed one June night in 2002. This story displays how Elizabeth felt in these moments and all of those after the initial kidnapping in the nine months following. Elizabeth is forced into doing things that oppose her religion and her own morals and is moved out of her state and back before she is finally returned to her family. The reader is able to feel her pain and encounter the horrors that Mitchell and his wife inflict upon Elizabeth.
She was like a motivator she wanted the readers to understand that instances in her life, for example, making the tortillas or leaving home at an early age was never an excuse for her. She wanted people to follow in her footsteps and to reach their goals in life. She also talks about all her achievements, even though she was not very confident about her work. She makes connections between different events throughout the biography, to other information, which helps the reader learn more about her, and where she comes
What are your thoughts on the text so far, based on your perceptions of poverty do you think the author illustrated it accurately? I believe that she did a good job illustrating the ways she was dealing with poverty. She also gave great example on the different jobs and things she had to overcome so she could get a better life.
Sohn, Anne-Marie. "Between the Wars in France and England." A History of Women in the West, Volume V Toward a Cultural Identity in the Twentieth Century (History of Women in the West). By Georges Duby. Vol. 5. New York: Belkn
It takes a great amount of bravery to criticize one’s country. It takes an even greater amount to suggest that this criticism stems from gender inequality that one’s society so willingly accepts. Renowned French novelist Françoise de Graffigny took the initiative to point out the caustic gender inequality that was so pervasive throughout French society by use of her novel Letters From a Peruvian Woman. In this novel, Graffigny criticizes various aspects of gender inequality in French society through the lens of Zilia, a Peruvian woman and Other who found herself captured and forced into French society. Through Zilia’s encounters, Graffigny molds the opinion that the ills in French society are caused by the harsh treatment of its female citizens. Françoise de Graffigny uses Zilia from Letters from a Peruvian Woman to critique the inferior role of women in French society and the destruction it entailed in regards to the lack of education among women, the damaging restraints that marriage created for women, and the unjust, presumed behavior for women.
She realises her role as the wife of Martin Guerre, “she understood her position in the household, [a] part of [the] structure.” However, once Martin defects from the manor, she is subservient to the condemnation she receives from Monsier Guerre anger that “[his] son should become a thief is [his] greatest shame.” Bertrande’s plight mirrors the issue of a woman’s place in society and challenging the ideology of a restricted homemaker role with a lack of control over life choices and education. Lewis considers the strength needed in order to defy the constraints society places one into and the potential a woman has to independence. Lewis teaches her readers the tenacity one must have in adversity, disregarding the restrictions placed upon a person’s gender.
In Marie de France’s short story, “Lanval”, it is obvious that the state was in control of many lives. Throughout the
The target audience of the novel is the modern world, the people living today that did not live through the war and do not know of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup. This is first made aware by the separation of characters in the novel; a young girl experiencing the horrors of World War II, and a journalist of the modern world researching the roundup. Writing the novel with this structure allows the reader to feel for the children who suffered because of the war, while putting them in the shoes of the journalist, discovering the unknown events of France in 1942. The cultural assumptions made in Julia’s perspective reflect the time period in which she lives, the modern world. While her point of view comes from the early 2000’s, the ideas are still well-known
World War I changed the landscape of Europe, particularly France, like no war had ever before. The memoir, A Life of Her Own, depicts the experiences of Emilie Carles, a politically active French women. The memoir depicts the country’s history throughout, not only World War I, but most of the 20th century. Carles brother, Joseph, was caught in a German Prisoner of War camp for a good portion of the war. While there, he would write to the Carles and documented the horrors of war. The article A Republic of Letters: The Epistolary Tradition in France during World War I accurately demonstrates the letters exchanged between Joseph and his family throughout the duration of the war. The French economy needed an influx of workers to cope with the departure of abled bodied men while the war took place. For example, The Carles had to sacrifice any leisure time they had to deal with losing another worker on the family farm. These workers were replaced by immigrants. The impact of these new laborers is documented in Workers in France during World War I. The story of Emilie Carles and her family was just one of many examples of families that were dismantled emotionally and economically due to World War I.
She did not listen to anything society infringed upon her. She had a dream of money and carried it through when she opened her own dress shop. She did not let the stereotypical views upon the hired girls stand in her way of her dream. She was determined to reach her goal and with all of her hard work she did just that.
I instantly imagine everyone barefoot, no actual floors in the houses and take a long time to cook food. This young girl just wanted a simple education, and there could have been so many things to hold her down such as living in poverty, not having clean clothes, a place to shower but instead she fought through and still desired a basic education instead of letting all these things hold her down which I think is really inspirational because she kept going and even drank from a dirty puddle when she knew it would make her sick. She risked her mother getting in trouble and her own health just to get an
In her book she challenges the government of France and their ideas that women should not be exposed to the same education as men. She gives warning that women will not forever be satisfied with only domestic concerns, and she demands justice for the female race.
In this essay we will look into her life through three of her poems in