The Forces of Feminism

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer looks at "Narratives in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs and "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin and studies the feminist elements in these works. The writer maintains that as Jacob's narratives were seen as overt feminist propaganda under the cloak of abolitionism, this infuriated many who believed the two did not go hand in hand. The writer notes that Chopin's novel was the end of her career as a successful writer. Further, the writer points out that the masses were simply not ready to be made aware of such injustices and many believed this was an experience unique to only a few women and did not properly represent the sentiments of the majority. The writer concludes that although both these works represented large jumps into bringing to light the realities of being a woman in a male's world and are both embraced today, these women gave a lot to be able to voice these opinions. Their ideas were not popular and their works were not welcomed but without them, feminism would not have progressed so greatly in recent years.

From the Paper:

"Harriet Jacobs, although portrayed as a novel about the detrimental sufferances of slavery writes from an extremely feminist slant, something done both to appeal the majority of abolitionists who were women and to bring to light the downfalls not only of slavery, but for being a slave woman in particular. Her narrative is highly focused on a mother's love toward her children, the treatment as a sexual victim from her master, and her slightly better treatment because of her being a woman. These experiences are such that are not solely limited to slaves in general, but addressed to particularly women who share these experiences within and without the confines of slavery because of the male patriarchy present.
"Furthermore, her use of a non de plumes further propagate the sentiment of women being inferior during this era. She hides under a pseudonym knowing that foremost it would be difficult to publish her work as a slave, but also to protect herself from men who would see her work as a threat."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Narratives in the Life of a Slave Girl" Harriet Jacobs
• "The Awakening" Kate Chopin
• "The Yellow Wallpaper" Charlotte Perkins Gilman

More papers on The Forces of Feminism:

• Book Review # 107170 : "Madame Bovary" and the Emergence of Feminism"
• Article Review # 104885 : "The Fall of Manhood" by Robert Sibley"
• Essay # 3436 : "The Social Construction of Sexuality"

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