Inept Victorian Regimes Essay, Research Paper
During the late 19th Century, society deemed women as housewives, with little or no chance for social mobility. As a matter of fact, they weren t even allowed to vote in National Elections until the 1920 s. Kate Chopin, who lived in this time era, writes three different stories, Ripe Figs , Story of an Hour , and The Storm about three young women in very similar situations, Babette, Mrs. Mallard, and Calixta respectively. Chopin s stories show that regardless of economic position or social status, young women growing up in this time period were all similarly faced with Victorian regimes which were becoming increasingly inept.
The first and most important similarity between the three characters is how they desire a little more freedom which had been withheld by society. Babette, for example, is a young girl that lives with her godmother, Mamam-Nainaine, and desires freedom to go visit her cousins. Her godmother imposes a condition that she would allow her to go, but only when the figs ripened. This was not just to cause her granddaughter unnecessary anxiety, it was to prepare her for sub ordinance in a future matrimony, something that was necessary for her godmother to impose since it is probable that Babette did not have a fatherly figure.
While at similarly the same time period, Mrs. Mallard hopes for freedom of her matrimony to Mr. Brently Mallard. Mr. Mallard was a good, hard working husband who tried to give his wife everything she needed. However, what she really wanted was a separate identity of her own, something that neither her nor her husband were even of. She realizes this need when she receives the unexpected news that her husband had died in an accident.
Calixta, on the other hand, desires the type of freedom that even today is viewed as unacceptable in most societies. She portrays a young married woman in a lower social class than either Babette or Mrs. Mallard. She takes advantage of the time that her husband and child are away to have an extramarital affair. Not that she consciously wants an affair, but her desire is obvious because the story lets us know from the very beginning that she felt very warm (Storm, 27).
Unlike Mrs. Mallard or Calixta, Babette is the only woman who is not married, and therefore portrays a much more innocent character. She is quite open about her desire and expresses it outwardly, unlike Mrs. Mallard and Calixta, who hide their desires through hypocritic means in order to mislead their husbands. The means by which they gain their freedom clearly correlates to this assumption. Babette gains her freedom by obedience and patience; until the figs were ripe just like grandma had ordered. Mrs. Mallard gains her temporary freedom by chance; a freak train accident that had supposedly killed her husband. Although Calixta tried to suppress it, her freedom was gained in secretive by the immoral practice of an affair, made possible by a storm that kept her family at a store for shelter.
Although neither of the three stories go much into detail about the characters social and economic standing, we can make inferences about each of the characters through hints provided in the stories. Mrs. Mallard s husband probably has a good job and was able to afford the two-story house that the story mentions. Babette s godmother, Mamam-Nainaine, is probably the result of a good heritage, as her stately ways seem to attest (Figs, 4). Another clue to Babette s economic status is the dainty porcelain platter that she bore. Calixta, on the other hand, doesn t seem very well educated and is probably lower in the social class, judging by her regional and limited dialogue. An example of this dialogue occurs towards the end of the story when her husband and child return after the storm is over. Oh, Bobin t! You back! My! But I was uneasy. W ere you been during the rain? An Bibi? He ain t wet? He ain t hurt? (Storm, 30).
Kate Chopin s stories illustrate that no matter what their social background, women growing up in the late 1800 s we all similarly bound together by the strict standards that society said should be followed. Women had very little rights and virtually no identity of their own once they were married. It is therefore not surprising to see the rise of the Women s Movement just a decade later which substantially changed the attitude towards women in the years to come.
336
Другие работы по теме:
Mrs Dalloway
– Analysis Of The Film Essay, Research Paper Upon viewing ?Mrs. Dalloway? I was not impressed. The movie seemed to jump from the present to the past. The character Septimus didn?t appear to have any purpose in the storyline. Clarrisa also seemed to be tightly bound by the Victorian lifestyle of the day to make her interesting to me.
Victorian Jewelry Essay Research Paper The quaintness
Victorian Jewelry Essay, Research Paper ?The quaintness and eccentricity of some of the jewels, particularly from among the less expensive lines, was partly a reflection of the mood of the times but was also the result of trading conditions? (Hinks6). Jewelry makers produced new ideas every season, whether they were practical or idiot because the competition between domestic rivals was so intense.
The Politics Essay Research Paper In the
The Politics Essay, Research Paper In the book The Politics, Aristotle analyzes different types of political communities. He examines these political communities on two different levels; first as a city and then as a regime. By studying both city and regime you get the full picture of the different types of governments throughout the world.
George Eliot History And Style Essay Research
Paper One of the most astounding facts about George Eliot is that ?he? is actually a woman, whose real name is Marian Evans. She was born during the era of Victorian literature, and she grew up with a wide variety of people, including her family, who have all played an influential role in her life. Besides people and her family, her love life was also a very influential factor in her style of writing and the content of her works.
Alienation In Victorian Societ Essay Research Paper
Alienation in Victorian Society by Shivam Ray The Victorian period is often defined and pictured by its antique images of flowers, corsets, standard 18 inch waists and rosy-cheek children. However, Kate Chopin shatters this image in her Novel “The Awakening” published in 1899. The authors child hood experiences of tragedies in her family and a true story of a lady from New Orleans and her scandals greatly influence the matter of this novel.
The Awakening Of Women Essay Research Paper
The Awakening is a commentary on the restraints faced by women at the turn of the century. The novel is really all about independence and understanding. The peace that is offered in the promise of personal freedom concerning love and all else, shown in this novel, is enticing. Chopin writes about a woman who continues to reject the society around her, a notion too radical for Chopin’s peers.
Gatsby Essay Essay Research Paper In the
Gatsby Essay Essay, Research Paper In the book, The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald?s continuous use of the Doctor T.J. Eckleburg sign symbolizes an inept God. He also shows us that even though God is watching; bad things still happen. The Great Gatsby showed a corrupt society under God?s eyes. When Nick followed Tom, to meet Tom?s mistress, the only thing that Nick really noticed was the sign starring at him as shown in this quotation. “I followed him over a low whitewashed railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg?s persistent stare.” (24) Nick felt a little uneasy with this sign starring at them.
Emily Bronte Essay Research Paper Bronte name
Emily Bronte Essay, Research Paper Bronte, name of three English novelists, also sisters, whose works, transcending Victorian conventions, have become beloved classics. The sisters Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855), Emily (Jane) Bronte (1818-1848), and Anne Bronte (1820-1849), and their brother (Patrick) Branwell Bronte (1817-1848), were born in Thornton, Yorkshire.
Jane Eyre Essay Research Paper Caretakers had
Jane Eyre Essay, Research Paper Caretakers had an important role in the renaissance and the Victorian period. Mainly women were accepted to be a caretaker while their class was usually a low one. Their duty changed from period to period, their class was not bound to be low, but still, it was lower than the person who hired them.
Jane Eyre As A Typical And Atypical
Victorian Woman Essay, Research Paper The image of Jane Eyre was certainly a startling one to the Victorian public. On the surface Jane Eyre seems like a quintessential heroine of Gothic and Sentimental literature: a plane and poor girl who, having virtuously defied the temptation of being seduced, is rewarded for her outstanding morality and chastity by the crowning elements of propriety and desirability –a husband and a fortune.
Dose Poetry Matter Essay Research Paper Does
Dose Poetry Matter Essay, Research Paper Does Poetry Matter? To me poetry does not matter. I do not like poetry because a poem is just a passage that contains a hidden meaning and I can never figure out what a poem is about. If poetry was not around then authors would just come out and say what they wanted to say . Their thoughts would not get confused and people would not miss the meaning that the author is trying to get across.
Sir Toby Belch Just Desserts Received Essay
, Research Paper Sir Toby Belch undoubtedly receives exactly what he deserves in the end of Twelfth Night. Toby s drunken behavior disrupts the order of life for everyone. He writes a very hurtful letter to Malvolio and also sets up a sword fight between Viola and Toby s very unknightly friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Escapism In
“Young Sherlock Holmes” Essay, Research Paper A simple adventure film is made into much more in ?Young Sherlock Holmes.? The special effects employed accentuate the escapist qualities that exist within the movie. The mystery begins when a few certain men are injected with a hallucinogen and they imagine inanimate objects coming alive and trying to kill them.
Austen Jane 2
Austen, Jane “Pride And Prejudice” Essay, Research Paper Jane Austen’s intricate novel exhibits dry, subtle humor. She paints her genteel and refined characters with a
Victorian Literature Essay Research Paper Victorian literatureThe
Victorian Literature Essay, Research Paper Victorian literature The first decades (1830s to 1860s) of Queen Victoria’s reign produced a vigorous and varied body of literature that attempted to come to terms with the current transformations of English society, but writers in the latter decades (1870s to 1900) withdrew into AESTHETICISM, a preoccupation with sensation as an end in itself.
Victorian Dogamatism As A Gift From The
Romantic Age And Prior Essay, Research Paper Victorian Dogmatism as a Gift from the Romantic Age and Prior Walter E. Houghton prefaces The Victorian Frame of Mind by noting, “the
Bronte Essay Research Paper emotions
Bronte Essay, Research Paper emotions — both joyful and sad. By creating an emotional see-saw from the encounters between Jane and Rochester, the novelist indicates that these intense emotions define true love. Bront ’s emphasis on the importance of passion in a good relationship adheres to some of the doctrines of the Evangelical religion, which dominated the Victorian age.
Jane Eyre Role Of Women Essay Research
Paper A traditional woman of Victorian Society was seen as a caring mother and a loving wife. She was born to give and to love. Often, the upper-class women were taught languages and the arts; this made them very well rounded and appealing to the gentlemen. In Jane Eyre, the women characters that are encountered have both traditional and non-traditional characteristics of the Victorian Society.
Victorian Literature Essay Research Paper When considering
Victorian Literature Essay, Research Paper When considering the debatable relevance/irrelevance of the study of nineteenth century literature to students today, works of the Victorian era, such as Charlotte Bronte s classical masterpiece, Jane Eyre, can be used as an example. Jane Eyre contains such issues as religion, the role of women and morality during the Victorian Era.
Amy LowellS Patterns Essay Research Paper On
Amy Lowell?S ?Patterns? Essay, Research Paper On the outside, the speaker in Amy Lowell’s “Patterns” acts the way Victorian society expects of her. However, on the inside, she expresses her emotions and what she
The Working Class Essay Research Paper The
The Working Class Essay, Research Paper The working class, the lowest of the hierarchy, was also referred to as the underclass. Such people were forced to lead lives of hard work that were controlled by the industry and markets. This was the only class gained few benefits from the changes the Industrial Revolution.
Marriage In The Victorian Essay Research Paper
Marriage in the Victorian In the Victorian, marriage was seen mainly as bringing up ones status, people didn t marry for love they married for money. In this case, Victorians kept marriage between family members to keep the wealth there. Throughout many Victorian works this trend in seen often.
Urbanization In Britain Essay Research Paper Environmental
Urbanization In Britain Essay, Research Paper Environmental Problems in Britain during the Victorian Era: Several factors in Great Britain during the Victorian age came together to form numerous problems. One problem among many was the issue of the environment. The new technology of the Industrial Revolution caused many problems for the Britain s environment.
Madame Bovary Essay Research Paper Madame BovaryThe
Madame Bovary Essay, Research Paper Madame Bovary The Victorian era was a time of both beauty and elegance. Many wonderful novels were written during the period including Jane Erye by Charlotte Bronte and her sister Emily s famous work, Wuthering Heights. But in contrast there are novels that express Anti-Victorian sentiments as well.
Alice Essay Research Paper In Lewis Carroll
Alice Essay, Research Paper In Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice in Wonderland, Alice is curious, well-mannered, and confused while she tries to find her way out of Wonderland. Alice meets many unique and weird creatures which eventually help her escape wonderland. Alice shows that she is curious through her actions.
Jane Eyre Passion Vs Reason Essay Research
Paper Many of Jane s values are based on reason but ultimately many of her actions and decisions are driven by the heart. Discuss The character of Jane in Charlotte Bronte s novel Jane Eyre, was entirely revolutionary for the Victorian era. Whilst her values were shaped by her environs, her actions and decisions were often driven by an intense passion often contrary to societies norms.
Changes In The Victorian Age Essay Research
Paper The changes in the Victorian Age, approximately 69 years long, contributed more to the advancement of the world than the other two thousand years of it s existence. It was a time of expansion, reform, and technological advancement. Thus mark twain was essentially correct in saying that British history is two thousand years old, and yet in a good many ways the world has moved farther ahead since the queen was born than it moved in the rest of the two thousand years put together.
The Victorian Age Essay Research Paper The
The Victorian Age Essay, Research Paper The United States during the second half of the 1800s was in a stage called “The Victorian Age.” The basic style of this time was actually borrowed from the English or to be more exact Queen Victoria hence the name Victorian Age.
Romantism In Essay Research Paper Even though
Romantism In Essay, Research Paper Even though it was written in the Victorian era, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening has several romantic qualities, especially with the main character, as she struggles between society’s obligations and her own desires. Chopin writes about a woman who continues to reject the society around her, a notion too radical for Chopin’s peers.
Women In The Victorian Era Essay Research
Paper In the Victorian Era (1832-1901), women faced many challenges. Women were not treated as they are today. They were treated unfairly and not heard. There was a need for women to express their own needs as human beings, and finally overcome their hardship. But the question remained, what was their position in life? Two pieces of literature that deal with this topic are A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen and A Woman s Thoughts about Women by Dinah Maria Mulock.
Hardy
’s Use Of Jude And Sue In Jude The Obscure Essay, Research Paper Hardy?s Use of Jude and Sue in Jude the Obscure In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy presents the characters Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead, who violate the conventions of the repressive Victorian society while attempting to follow their natural instincts.
Charles Dickens Essay Research Paper Charles DickensNo
Charles Dickens Essay, Research Paper Charles Dickens No writer since Shakespeare has occupied as important a place in popular culture as Charles Dickens (Wilson 34). Dickens never forgot his impoverished childhood, filling his novels with poignant details that dramatized the problems of a grimy industrial England.
Dover Beach Vs Dover Bitch Essay Research
Paper Hecht’s parody “Dover Bitch” is a mockery of Victorian values shown in “Dover Beach”, as well as those of his own period. Hecht candidly exaggerates the speech, ideas and symbols in “Dover Beach.”.
Art Appreciation Essay Research Paper DARK ROCKS
Art Appreciation Essay, Research Paper DARK ROCKS Georgia O Keeffe ( oil in canvas) Victorian Bouquet Severin Roesen ( Oil in canvas) In this piece of art, Georgia O Keeffe transforms ordinary natural objects (rocks) into abstract things. By setting the dark rocks against the white background she magnifies the rocks.