Women Scorned in Literature

Paper Summary:

Contrary to assumptions about the position of women before the twentieth century, they were often able to gain power through several devices. This paper looks at how often in seventeenth and eighteenth century texts, woman are seen exerting themselves, verbally sparring on par with men, manipulating their supposed superiors, essentially outwitting them in their own games during a time the modern reader expects to see women subjugated, undereducated and suppressed. The texts examines include Aphra Behn's "The Rover", Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" and Jonathon Swift's "Gulliver's Travels".

From the Paper:

"Unlike The Rover, the rage and indignation of a woman scorned cause battle to be fought in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock. The mock battle scene at the ombre table sets up the actual battle quite well. Belinda seems to stand tall as Athena when she throws her cards on the table winning the war between the sexes. She is forceful in her moves to call trump and take tricks, but when the real battle begins, the crux of Pope's mock epic, for a moment she wavers. She is helpless until she becomes angry."

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