Women's Literature

Term Paper # 99209

Literature
Religion and Theology > Christianity
Women Studies > Culture

Women's Literature

This paper discusses the most important social and political issues that confronted twentieth century female writers.

918 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at the works of Eavan Boland, Sharon Olds, Stevie Smith and Margaret Atwood. The paper examines the imperatives of Christianity, the notion of women as physical adornments and the concept that women since the time of Eve have been blamed for many things and compelled to accept a man as their lord and master on earth. The paper considers that the social upheavals of the twentieth century had their origins in the rejection of Christian patriarchy and suggests that the writers mentioned above played a key role in that revolution.

From the Paper:

"Eavan Boland's work seems preoccupied with Christianity, as well as with the burdens women must bear in a society in which they are identified by their bodies. Christianity is still the predominant religion in America, as it was throughout the twentieth century. In "Anorexic," Boland comments about a woman grappling with an eating disorder. Not only does it touch upon the suffering and privation of anorexia, it also uses Christian imagery to convey the sort of self-sacrifice involved. Boland writes "Flesh is Heretic / My Body is a Witch/I am burning it . . . . I will grow / Angular and Holy" (lines 1-3, 34-36)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Atwood, Margaret. "This is a Photograph of Me." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, 2nd Edition. Ed. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. 2216.
Boland, Eavan. "Anorexic." Anorexic - Eavan Boland. N.d. PoemHunter.com. 6 Aug. 2006 <http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=12097&poem=148881>
Olds, Sharon. "Rite of Passage." Sharon Olds, 1942-. N.d. 6 Aug. 2006 <http://www.mrbauld.com/oldspoems.html>
Olds, Sharon. "The One Girl at the Boys' Party." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, 2nd Edition. Ed. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. 2289.
Smith, Stevie. "How Cruel is the Story of Eve." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, 2nd Edition. Ed. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. 1622.