Feminist Hero Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper contrasts the protagonists, Anna Morgan in Jean Rhys' "Voyage in the Dark" and Firdaus in Nawal El Saadawi's "Woman at Point Zero". The author relates that Voyage in the Dark, written in 1934, is narrated in first person by the then nineteen-year-old Anna who, in 1912, is exiled from her small Caribbean Island of Dominica and travels to England. Although written generations later in 1975 by Arab-nationalist and feminist Nawal El Saadawi, "Woman at Point Zero" addresses similar themes of a male dominated and controlled, class hierarchal society. The paper describes the plot of each book explaining that both heroes have to confront the barriers that exist against women; however, in the end, the two women take opposite directions.

From the Paper:

"The difficulty for both Anna and Firdau is that they do not want to be with men who mistreat them. However, in their societies, they have no choice but to turn to such arrogant and violent men for survival. "A virtuous women was not supposed to complain about her husband. Her duty was perfect obedience". It is a horrible, no-win situation. For example, Firdaus' uncle promises her for marriage to a sixty-year-old man who has a facial deformity that is filled with pus. He leaps on her "like a mad dog"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Rhys, Jean. Voyage in the Dark. London: Andre Deutsch
• Saadawi, Nawal El. Woman at point Zero. London: Zed Books, 1983.

More papers on Feminist Hero Literature:

• Analytical Essay # 50382 : "Feminist Visions"
• Analytical Essay # 88105 : "Heroes in Literature"
• Essay # 50375 : "Hero in Literature"

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