Feminism or Anti-Feminism: Images of Women in Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath".
Feminism or Anti-Feminism: Images of Women in Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath". Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" is a medieval legend that paints a portrait of strong women finding love and themselves in the direst of situations. It is presented to the modern day reader as an early tale of feminism showcasing the ways a female character gains power within a repressive, patriarchal society. Underneath the simplistic plot of female empowerment lies an underbelly of anti-feminism. Sometimes this is presented blatantly to the reader, such as the case of Janekin's reading aloud from "The Book of Wikked Wives" (The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale 691). However, there are many other instances of anti-feminism that may not scream so loudly to the reader. This is shown in the disappearance of the rape victim and the happy ending for the Knight. While the overall story is one of supposed feminism shown through women's empowerment, there are many aspects of "The Wife of Bath" that are anti-feminist in nature. The main character, Alison, or the wife of Bath, is representative of most of the feminist ideals in the work. She is strong, independent, and to be respected as a woman of great courage. Alison has suffered a great deal in her lifetime, indicative of life for women at this time. She has survived five husbands; some of whom beat her, others were unfaithful. She was
I am going to compare and contrast two stories the first 'The Fury' and the second 'A Bit of a Commotion' which were both written by Stan Barstow.
'A Bit of a Commotion' & 'The Fury' I am going to compare and contrast two stories the first 'The Fury' and the second 'A Bit of a Commotion' which were both written by Stan Barstow. 'The Fury' is a story which shows Mr and Mrs Fletcher who have an argument about Mr Fletcher being seen with another woman which results in her making Mr Fletcher leave, and when he leaves she doesn't think he's going to come back so she kills the one thing that Mr Fletcher spends all his time with and keeps her and her husband apart, his rabbits. But then that evening Mr Fletcher comes back to apologise and tells his wife what really happened that night at the bus stop with the other woman, and Mrs Fletcher realises how stupid she was killing the rabbits. She doesn't tell him that night what she has done but instead enjoys what may be the last night she has with her husband. 'A Bit Of A Commotion' tells the story of Harry Gravener who is a bad time keeper and gets his last warning from work, so he decides to turn over a new leaf. On the morning he decides to do this an old woman gets knocked down which makes him late for work so he decides to go home, but when he gets home to find his wife Phyllis still in and accusing him of not being able to do any thing right. He hits her and that morning she leaves him, but he thinks she'll be back hat night. Later that evening when Phyllis doesn't
Who are the targets for 'Wycherley's satire' in 'The Country Wife' and how does it reflect Restoration society?
Who are the targets for 'Wycherley's satire' in 'The Country Wife' and how does it reflect Restoration society? The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy, concerned with exposing certain faults and failings in polite society but as R. C. Sharma said 'The Restoration comedy of manners thus reflects not the real life of the upper class fashionable society but the quintessence of its spirit and temper.' The play is also a satire; a play in which prevailing vices or follies are held up for ridicule, with characters within the play being targets for Wycherley's play. One such target is female hypocrisy. Horner's friend, Quack, who has spread the story around town that Horner is an eunuch, finds it difficult to understand how the story will benefit Horner. The latter explains. A man, in his position, has a problem in knowing which women would be interested in an affair and which would not: 'But now I can be sure she that shows aversion to me love the sport.' As he goes on, his plot will provide a screen for those women who are interested, because they are worried only about protecting their 'reputations, not their persons' from the breath of scandal. This revelation prepares us for the possibility that the women in the play will prove Horner right. If they do, then clearly his cynical assessment will have established their hypocrisy. Lady Fidget behaves exactly as Horner has
Les Murrays Widower in the country
Les Murray's "Widower in the country" Les Murray's poem "Widower in the country" is a portrait of a man whose wife has died. The poem is the daily routine of a countryman who is depicted as still grieving for the loss of his wife, his sense of liveliness disappeared and the absence of feeling. The man's schedule is very ordered and quite tedious, no excitement in the menial tasks, he is almost robot-like as he trudges around the property labouring. The poem, written in iambic pentameter starts with a moving image of the man's bed that presumably was occupied by a wife before she passed away, this impression of the unmade bed makes the reader think about what was in the marriage. Through the first stanza, not only is the man fixated on him by using first person narrator, in addition he is putting things off until later, "I'll get up soon...I'll go outside". This notion of putting off tasks reveals that the countryman is depressed, he never feels like doing the job at that time. As the narrator reveals, there once could have been a family, the "Christmas paddocks" indicates that there would have once been a joyful time during Christmas with a family. As the widower is gazing over the paddocks, delaying his duties, we notice that he has no direction in his life, there is an absence of force or being involved, this has been portrayed through "the windless trees". Then there is