Writing Portfolio Sample
Table of Contents:
- Cover page
- Table of contents
- Song lyrics from Aretha Franklin- explanation of song & connection to class
- *Continued- Song lyrics from Aretha Franklin
- Extended Essay- Disney and the Defenseless Trope
- *Continued- Disney and the Defenseless Trope
- *Continued- Disney and the Defenseless Trope
- *Continued- Disney and the Defenseless Trope
- Picture of Women’s Suffrage- connection to class & my thoughts
- Analysis of “Professions for Women” by Virginia Wolfe
- *Continued- Analysis of “Professions for Women” by Virginia Wolfe
- Analysis of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman”
- *Continued- Analysis of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman”
- Analysis of Poem: Apostrophe to Man by Edna St. Vincent Millay
- *Continued- Analysis of Poem
- Shakespeare’s Sister Diversity Assignment
- *Continued- Shakespeare’s Sister Diversity Assignment
- *Continued- Shakespeare’s Sister Diversity Assignment
- Literary Analysis Essay-Fantomina
- *Continued- Literary Analysis Essay-Fantomina
- *Continued- Literary Analysis Essay-Fantomina
- *Continued- Literary Analysis Essay-Fantomina
- *Continued- Literary Analysis Essay-Fantomina
- Works Cited
ENG.234 Writing Portfolio
Respect by Aretha Franklin
What you want
Baby, I got it
What you need
Do you know I got it?
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home
(Just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)
I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
Ain’t gonna do you wrong ’cause I don’t wanna
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)
Baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit)
Yeah (just a little bit)
This song seems to be a clear representation of a woman’s struggle in the home. Throughout the duration of this class, we’ve learned how women struggled to gain rights and freedom outside of the home, let alone gain respect. Women were viewed as the weaker individuals who had to rely on their husbands for everything. Much like the women that we’ve learned about, women during Franklin’s time dealt with similar struggles. She sang this song and made it clear that she and many women around her simply wanted some respect despite being a woman. From the song you can take the lyrics and see that she doesn’t seek to disrespect anyone or any gender but simply wants to be heard. In the lyrics she claims that she has what the man wants and has what he needs, but all she’s asking is for a little respect.
I think it’s very profound that they use the word ask instead of a harsher word like demand. Aretha could have easily taken the lyrics and shaped them, demanding for equality and respect but she does it in a calm and nonconfrontational way. This shows how many women chose to fight for equality was in a more peaceful manner. This sense of peacefulness continues in the next set of lyrics when she sings, “I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone,” and “Ain’t gonna do you wrong ’cause I don’t wanna.” Clearly, she’s trying to convey to the person she’s talking to that she doesn’t wish to harm them or hurt them in any way, but she just wants the same respect that she tries to show to them. Franklin clearly understands that if you want respect, you must also show yourself respectful.
Disney and the Defenseless Trope
Growing up, little girls, especially, have been fascinated with Disney and the beautiful stories that they’ve brought to our TV screens. They’ve brought us animated animals, pirates, fairies, but most famous are probably the princesses. The Disney Princesses are probably the most well-known faces of Disney when it comes to little girls. Throughout the years they’ve brought us new princesses to add to the collection, but with that they’ve brought the same out-of-date ideas to the table. Much like we’ve learned in this class, women throughout history have been viewed as objects that are to be seen and not necessarily heard. Women were viewed as the inferior half of the species who depended on and needed male counterparts to take care of them. Disney, in these princesses’ movies, painted the same low picture of women, despite the time difference. Disney has continued to sell the idea that women should be viewed as beautiful creatures, but that their strength many times still comes from the men around them, much like women were taught years ago.
One movie that really follows the idea that women have to be taken care of is Tangled. Rapunzel is a very beautiful character who from a young age has been trapped in a tower unable to escape from her “mother.” She lives in a day that repeats itself over and over again. She cleans, cooks, brushes her hair, and does those tasks over and over again. Much like this, women throughout history were taught to stay in the home and complete the same tasks over and over because it was considered their “duty.” In the movie Tangled, Mother Gothel also warns Rapunzel of all the danger that the outside world holds and how she’s so much safer within the home. Much like this, parents taught their daughters throughout history that their place is in the home because it’s so much safer for them. These young girls were taught that the workplace wasn’t for them, and it was dangerous because they were so delicate. Finally, the last parallel between this movie and what young girls have had to deal with throughout history is the fact that Rapunzel didn’t escape the tower until she met Flynn Rider. Based on this occurrence alone, Disney shows that Rapunzel needed a man in order to totally fulfill her dreams, and almost shows that she wasn’t strong enough to do it on her own. Much like this, girls throughout history were taught that they were the inferior and weaker part of the human species and that in order to be fulfilled they needed a man. Without having a man in the story of Rapunzel to “save her” she may have never escaped that tower, and without having a man to be married to young girls were taught they’d never be fulfilled or happy.
Another movie that really represents some of the struggles that young girls had to deal with throughout history is The Little Mermaid. Throughout history women and girls had little to no rights and they were forced to depend on men for everything. Women were unable to own property or items, with everything they possessed belonging to their nearest male relative. Women were forced to follow what their male relatives said whether that was their father, brother, or husband. In The Little Mermaid, Ariel, being a young mermaid who is unmarried, follows everything that her father says. At one point Ariel has a collection of gadgets that her father doesn’t know about, and he gets angry because this was not in his control. Her father hated the human world and he openly spoke against it, so seeing that she went against his wishes made him mad. Girls were not supposed to hold possessions of their own and knowing that his daughter was going against him was a big problem, that in the real world would have made any father or man angry. Men were taught to be the ones in control and women were taught to be quiet and comply which this relationship between Ariel and her father shows us.
The final movie that really shows how women throughout history were taught and treated is Sleeping Beauty. This Disney princess movie is one of the biggest examples of old ideas when it comes to women throughout history. One example in the movie that really relates to history and how women were treated is soon after Aurora, or the princess, was born she becomes betrothed to a prince from another kingdom to unite the kingdoms. Much like this many times in history women were betrothed to men who many times they didn’t know simply because it would benefit their family or help gain them some wealth. Marrying for love was not a real-life idea for women and marriage was more of a business endeavor. Another scene in this movie that shows how women were viewed throughout history is the fact that princess Aurora could not save herself. Much like in Tangled, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty was cursed but unable to do anything to save herself. After turning 16, Aurora pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep, and is unable to do anything to save herself or her kingdom. Someone has to come to the rescue though, and that person is Prince Phillip. The prince is able to overcome a dragon, sleeping spell, and wicked vines that attempt to keep him from his love, so that he can save his future wife and her kingdom. Again, much like I said earlier this is how girls and women have been taught throughout history. They have been taught that they are the weaker portion of the human race and must rely on men to do the heavy lifting. Once again Disney reiterates the idea that women must rely on men in everything, just like women have been taught throughout history.
Women throughout history have always battled to be seen as equal and to feel whole; although, throughout history parents, husbands, or even siblings have tried their best to keep women and girls at bay and keep them in the house. Even media outlets such as movies and tv shows have taught the same ideas that women are not equal and must be taken care of by men, much like in the Disney Princess movies. At some point we have to begin to paint a picture that women are equal to men and just as strong as they are, and we have to rid ourselves of the defenseless trope that Disney and other producers have coined throughout the years. In recent years though, Disney has brought more enlightening female characters who have shown true strength and independence that has reflected the changes in society. For example, we now have princesses such as Merida in Brave, Moana, and even Elsa in Frozen who proved that they could conquer the world all on their own and didn’t need a prince to come and save them or take care of them. These characters even remained single throughout the entire movie which was unique for Disney, and they didn’t give into the demands that society put onto them as women. Society within their films continued to try to put them in a box of how they should act and what they should be because they were women, but luckily, they stayed true to themselves, and Disney gave us true, strong women who our children could look up to.
In history class one of the biggest and most interesting things that we learn about in history is how people fought for their rights. Whether we are talking about the Americans fighting the British in order to establish our country, slaves fighting for freedom, or even women fighting to gain rights, it’s all so fascinating and interesting to hear about. In this class especially, we’ve talked quite a bit about how women fought to make a better life for themselves and earn freedom. Many of the women we learn about in this class struggled to earn the recognition they truly deserved simply because they were females. I included the picture above because it shows us first-hand how women fought to be considered equals. Women desired to have the same rights as men and that included the right to vote. The picture above displays a scene of women picketing in front of the White House, so that they could really get their idea across. During this class and doing research of my own I found that women went on hunger strikes, they picketed, and participated in other extreme measures in order to get people’s attention. If women during this time weren’t willing to take these extreme measures and didn’t handle the backlash with such grace and strength, I don’t believe we would have the rights that we have today. It’s thanks to these women that we can stand equal to men in nearly every aspect of life.
Analysis of “Professions for Women” by Virginia Wolfe
“Professions for Women” was a speech that Wolfe wrote and shared with an audience of women where she talked about her experience in becoming an author. It was written during the 1930’s which was a time that women working outside of the home was still a new and not very popular idea. Women during this time were still viewed as having a place within the home taking care of the children and the housework rather than finding jobs elsewhere that would take away from this. During this speech, Wolfe discusses two main problems that she had to fight in order to make headway as an author. These two “phantoms” that she had to fight were “The Angel of the House,” and the second was being able to tell the truth about her experiences as a body.
The first major problem that Wolfe mentions that she had to overcome was killing “The Angel of the House.” By “The Angel of the House,” Wolfe is referring to the part of her that would prefer to conform to society’s standards and thoughts rather than to speak up about how she truly feels. Wolfe talks about how she wanted to make some money by writing some reviews about some books written by men, but every time she went to write something, a part of her fought for everything to be sympathetic and to flatter the writer and the writing regardless of what she truly felt. During this time women were still trying to make headway as equals and in various occupations including writing, so like many other Wolfe feared that by writing bad reviews of popular works done by men, it would hurt her or other female authors. The “Angel” within her sought to keep peace even if it meant giving up her true thoughts, because society was quick to silence women during this time no matter the cost.
The second problem that Wolfe had to face was not being able to tell the truth about her experiences. During this time men could pretty much write about whatever topic they wanted or any feeling or urge that they had, but women were thought to keep their imaginations and feelings at bay when it came to their writing. Almost everything they wrote had to be censored in some way because it wasn’t proper for women to talk about their desires of passions that they might have. Women were quickly condemned for sharing their thoughts and desires when it came to their writing where men held such great freedom, which was simply granted to them based on society and their standards. Women had a hard enough time trying to make a name for themselves in the literature world, simply because they were women, but now they couldn’t even truly write how they wanted because society told them they had to control themselves and their imaginations. Women and men were held to a completely different standard, where men held all the freedom and women were censored.
Later in the speech Wolfe explains that regardless of the occupation that women go into whether that’s literature, law, or medicine, women are going to have to face some sort of phantoms or obstacles simply because they’re women. In order to get the true respect, they wanted women had to battle 10 times harder than their male counterparts simply because of their gender. Wolfe discusses in this speech about some of the battles and problems that she faced when trying to become successful in literature. Her two biggest issues that she faced was the battle between herself and her inner, “Angel of the House,” as well as the battle of not being able to share her true thoughts and experiences as a woman. Women had to fight twice as hard and overcome more than enough obstacles if they truly wanted to succeed in their profession regardless of what it was, simply because society forced them into this lifestyle and into silence.
Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman?
Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? [member of audience whispers, “intellect”] That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with women’s rights or negroes’ rights? If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain’t got nothing more to say.
Sojourner Truth was a big women’s rights supporter, but she also battled with living in America as a former slave. In this very popular speech, Truth recounts what it’s like having to deal with the constant battle of seeking rights as a woman but still not feeling equal because of her difference in skin color. For example, in the second paragraph she says, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches… nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles.” In this sentence she is basically telling us how women are practically babied by men and viewed as the weaker part of the species who must be helped even in small things, but simply because she has a different skin tone, she isn’t viewed the same. She is explaining that there are no longer two categories, being men and women, now they have ranks of white men, black men, white women, and at the bottom black women. She then proceeds to repeat and coin the phrase, “Ain’t I a woman,” which she phrases as a question to the reader and audience. It forces the reader or listener to really think about what she’s saying and question society and the number of rights each person has. It makes us question whether or not someone should be denied rights simply because of the color of their skin. Why should Truth and other women be denied the ability to fight for rights and earn rights just like the other women are, simply because their skin is a different pigmentation? She continues to reiterate the fact throughout her speech that all people regardless of gender or race should be equal regardless of what society says or how society labels them.
Analysis of Poem:
Apostrophe to Man by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Detestable race, continue to expunge yourself, die out.
Breed faster, crowd, encroach, sing hymns, build
bombing airplanes;
Make speeches, unveil statues, issue bonds, parade;
Convert again into explosives the bewildered ammonia
and the distracted cellulose;
Convert again into putrescent matter drawing flies
The hopeful bodies of the young; exhort,
Pray, pull long faces, be earnest,
be all but overcome, be photographed;
Confer, perfect your formulae, commercialize
Bacteria harmful to human tissue,
Put death on the market;
Breed, crowd, encroach,
expand, expunge yourself, die out,
Homo called sapiens.
This poem by Millay I found very interesting especially with the events that we have going on in our world today. In this poem, Millay seems to be conveying her dislike of how man is conducting themselves. In the second line she discusses how people have lived their lives. First, we breed, then we crowd together typically within cities, then we live our everyday lives or “sing hymns,” which she says then build bombing airplanes. Then she proceeds by saying we “make speeches, unveil statues” … and then ends that stanza by saying we “convert again into explosives and bewildered ammonia and the distracted cellulose.” In this poem she discusses how many of us live during times of war as if nothing is happening while vicious war rages on without us even blinking an eye. Seeing that this poem was written during World War II it makes sense as to why war is such a big part of her writing. Although people during this time still tried to go about living their lives and having a normal routine they were still haunted by the war, which is why I believe she always mentioned something pertaining to weapons after each stanza. She writes about war as if it was a heavy cloud that always seemed to be around all the good things that surrounded our lives, because it was a cloud. Millay lays out her poem as a sequence of events and how they occur during the war, which she then uses to express her dislike and distaste for the war, and even more specifically humans and their role in the war. Reading this poem, it really reminded me and made me think about our world today and all the unrest going on right now in Eastern Europe. The purpose of this poem and what she is trying to tell the audience does rein true, even during this war. We easily find ourselves going about our daily lives as if nothing is happening and if nothing is going on, while people on the other side of the world are starving and dying daily. This poem made me really stop and think about how much those people in Ukraine truly need our prayers during this unforeseen time, and how thankful we should be for the peace and freedom we have here in America at this moment. Although we live in the safety of the United States though we can’t forget about our brothers and sisters across the world and all that they’re faced with even today.
Shakespeare’s Sister Diversity Assignment:
In Virginia Wolfe’s “Shakespeare’s Sister,” she talks about much of the issues and problems that women faced at that time including being belittled based on their gender, being forced into marriages, and not receiving the credit they truly deserve for their talents and accomplishments. Much similar to this, people of color also struggled to rise in society and never could receive the rights or credit they wanted simply because their skin was a different color. Society during that time pretty much had a secret caste system that s=everyone was aware of, but no one really talked about. During Shakespeare’s time white men were at the top of the list, then white women, then men of other races, and finally at the bottom were women of color. Women of color were at an even bigger disadvantage because of the gender and race barriers that they had to deal with, so if Shakespeare’s sister was black, she would face ever more obstacles such as living the life as an enslaved person and battling with those hardships, while also being denied the recognition they deserve because their works and accomplishments wouldn’t have been pushed by society.
The first battle that black women would have to face that white women wouldn’t is the hardships of slavery. During this time, slavery was still a big thing and still legal in England. So, on top of the fact that they were viewed by society as inferior they also had to deal with long workdays, hard jobs, and endless amounts of hardships that may have prevented them from having the ability to work on projects such as writing. During this time too, people already associated people who were of a different skin tone as fit to be enslaved, and many times these people had little to no means of escape from this lifestyle. Even in plays and things at the time, those of a different skin tone were viewed not only as racially different but they also were religiously different. At that time, people in England were very big about religious beliefs and many of these enslaved people didn’t hold these same beliefs they were viewed and portrayed in certain plays and works as “villains,” simply because they held these beliefs. Even in real life, I feel that these differences in religious beliefs would have made it really hard to get recognition by society based on accomplishments, if people didn’t agree with your beliefs.
Another struggle that these women would have faced would have been societal hardships. In Sojourner Truths speech, “Ain’t I a woman,” she talks about her struggle with being a woman of color. While white women are sitting there being taken care of hand a foot by men, simply because their gender, black women are still viewed as inferior and aren’t catered to the same way white women are. Much like this I feel like society would have been much harder on a black woman when it comes to publishing and writing and such. Although, being a woman made it hard enough to be recognized in society for their extraordinary works and writing, it was much easier for white women to break the barriers because they were still viewed as superior to black women. Black women were considered “the lowest of the low,” so trying to make a name for themselves would have taken a lot more time, fight, and effort than it did for white women. This even showed true when it came to the right to vote. When women were finally granted the right to vote by the 19th amendment, the battle ended for white women, but black women still had to fight to be considered equal and earn the same rights as their white counterparts. Black women weren’t even given the right to vote until nearly 45 years after white women were given the same right.
We know and have learned that the battle for equality for women was a hard one, but many times we don’t take the time to look at the fact that the fight black women had was even harder. If Shakespeare’s sister had been black, she would have faced a much harder time in society and would have had to deal with the hardships of slavery, which white women wouldn’t have had to deal with, if she truly wanted to be recognized and successful. Even in today’s society and this class most of the writers that we have learned about have been white women because it had been so much harder to be recognized as a black woman. I think if society had not been so closed minded, we may have been able to hear about more of the talented women whose works probably fell through the cracks, simply because they were recognized, and their works, as inferior because of the color of their skin and their gender.
Brooklyn Knox
Professor Brooke Archila
English 234
22 April 2022
How the Theme of Fatomina is Affected by Indirect Characterization
Imagine having no rights, no freedom, and being forced to rely on others around you for nearly everything. Imagine a time when almost all marriages were arranged, and nearly half of the population was forced to stay at home. No, I’m not talking about the time during Covid19. I’m talking about how women were treated and how they lived up until around the 20th century. Throughout history women have struggled to obtain equal status and have always been considered the inferior part of the human race. Women were taught to sit still and look pretty, always obey your husband, and that their purpose was to solely take care of children and the home. Many women over the years had a great desire to speak out about the struggle that they faced every day, but when they couldn’t speak out vocally, they picked up a pen and paper. One of these great women that spoke out was Eliza Haywood. In her short story Fantomina she uses indirect characterization in order to educate and teach the readers about the theme of how gender roles and behaviors are affected by society.
Indirect characterization is a literary device where an author reveals details about a character through their speech, actions, thoughts, appearance, and how they react to certain circumstances without explicitly stating it. One trait that the main character “The Lady” displayed in this short story that contributed to the theme of how greatly society impacts gender roles and behaviors was her lack of confidence. One of the biggest traits of the main character was the fact that she lacked so much confidence when it came to presenting herself. For example, when we first meet her, we know that she is a woman of high birth but finds herself mesmerized by a prostitute who seems to have all the men fighting for her attention. In the short story it says that she, “went the next night into the gallery-box, and practicing, as much as she had observed at that distance, the behavior of that woman, was not long before she found her disguise had answered the ends, she wore it for.”(Literature of Women V.1 pg 277) From what we can understand from the story, “The Lady” doesn’t have many prospects it seems so she feels that she must become a new person just to grab the attention she truly desires. We can tell from this action alone that the main character must not have much confidence seeing as she feels that she must change who she is completely just to get male attention. Another example of this lack of confidence was the great extent that she went to in order to hide her identity when she took on this new role. An example from the text of her doing this was when it says, “she went out some hours before the time of going to the playhouse and took lodgings in a house not very far from it, intending, that if he should insist on passing some part of the night with her, to carry him there.” .”(Literature of Women V.1 pg 279) I believe there were many reasons that she tried so hard to hide her identity, to secure her honor was a big one, but I believe she was very fearful to allow Beauplaisir to know who she really was. She seemed to fear the fact that if he knew who she really was he may not give her attention anymore or may not like her anymore, so she felt safer hiding behind a fake house and a fake name. Much like the main character struggles with her own self-worth and confidence many women throughout history struggles with the same issues. Society told women that they were the inferior portion of the species of their worth came from how well off their husband or family was and not based on who they were as people. They were also told by society that they weren’t capable of holding a real job and their only purpose in life was to take care of the home and to have children. Eliza Haywood does a great job of portraying a character that really struggles with issues put onto women by society that women of that time could really understand and connect to.
Another big trait that the main character showed was that she was not authentic and continually took to hiding behind a façade. She continually hides her true self behind a different façade over and over throughout the story in order to keep the attention of the man she likes. First, she poses herself as the prostitute named Fantomina, then she becomes a maid named Celia, then a widow named Mrs. Bloomer, and finally a high-class woman named Incognita. It says over and over in the short story that he lost interest and moved on to new endeavors, like in the beginning when it says, “the rifled charms of Fantomina soon lost their poignancy and grew tasteless and insipid.” .”(Literature of Women V.1 pg 282) Over and over Beauplaisir became tired of his escapades with the main character and over and over she felt that she needed to change in order to stay relevant and feel wanted. Much like this, women throughout history have had to build their own facades to hide behind when it came to society. Women had to act as if they had no opinions and had to sit still and follow all that their husbands said and did blindly. They were forced to push down their truth thoughts and hide behind the thoughts and opinions that society told them they needed to have in order to be relevant as a woman.
The final aspect of the main characters personality that continued to stand out was the fact that she felt she needed to keep her sexual desires and passions a secret. Throughout this story it repeatedly talks about “The Lady” needing to protect her honor. For example, the main character gets a private room away from her real life quarters in the beginning when she poses as a prostitute saying in the story, “thinking she might with more security to her honor entertain him at a place where she was mistress than at any of his choosing.” .” (Literature of Women V.1 pg 279 ) A very important thing at the time was for women to protect their honor and stay pure in order to attract a partner, because it was very frowned upon for women to have any type of promiscuous spirit or desires. Another example in which she goes to great lengths to hide her inner most desires and the fact that she gave into them was when she hid her pregnancy. It says, “by eating little, lacing prodigious straight, and the advantage of a great hoop petticoat, however, her bigness was not taken notice of.” (Literature of Women V.1 pg 294) The main character went to great lengths to hide her true identity because that was an easy wide to mask her desires and keep them a secret from society. Much like this she feared what society would do and think if people knew she had given into these desires and was now having to deal with the consequences of it. Society would have almost completely disowned her if they knew what she had done because women were supposed to mask these desires and never talk about them, unlike men who were free to talk and do such things as they please.
Throughout history women have constantly had trouble finding their place in society and knowing how to act. Society has always been quick to label women and define gender as they please. Women were forced to follow societies standards to the point where they had to censor what they spoke about, only participate in certain jobs and activities, and hide how they truly felt about certain situations. Many women desired change but were unable to speak freely about it so they instead began to write about life as a woman and Eliza Haywood is a great example of this. In Fantomina, Haywood portrays the story of a woman who struggles to cope with societal standards and her newfound love for a man who quickly loses interest in her many “sides”. Through her use of indirect characterization, Haywood does a great job of presenting the theme of how society has a major impact on gender roles, and more specifically on the female role. Haywood does her best to express how woman can easily struggle with feeling like they need to hide their true selves and desires, and even sometimes feel like they’re inferior because society has told them who they should be and how they should act, and if they don’t follow these rules, they aren’t the “perfect woman.” Thankfully, our country has come a long way since that time and women can finely be uniquely themselves and are no longer considered inferior simply because they are a female.
Works Cited:
Franklin, Aretha. “Respect.”
Haywood, Eliza “Fantomina; or Love in a Maze.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Literature by Women, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar et al.,3rd ed., Vol. 1, W.W. Norton, 2007, pp. 276-295
St. Vincent Millay, Edna, “Apostrophe to Man.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Literature by Women, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar et al.,3rd ed., Vol. 2, W.W. Norton, 2007, pp. 455
“Today in History – August 28.” The Library of Congress, 28 Aug. 1970, https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-28/.
Truth, Sojourner “Ain’t I a Woman.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Literature by Women, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar et al.,3rd ed., Vol. 1, W.W. Norton, 2007, pp. 510
“What Is Indirect Characterization in Literature?” Indirect Characterization Definition & Examples | Grammarly Blog, 22 Apr. 2022, https://www.grammarly.com/blog/indirect-characterization/.
Wolfe, Virginia, “Professions for Women.”The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Literature by Women, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar et al.,3rd ed., Vol. 2, W.W. Norton, 2007,
pp. 244-247
Wolfe, Virginia “Shakespeare’s Sister.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Literature by Women, edited by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar et al.,3rd ed., Vol. 2, W.W. Norton, 2007,
pp. 237-234
