Women's Literary Tradition

 Word Count: 279 Mrs. Dalloway      I chose the scene when Pete and Clarissa are arguing about their future. Clarissa has chosen not to marry Peter, but instead marry Richard Dalloway. She feels safe with Richard, and he does not have the same extravagant expectations for Clarissa like Peter does. Peter wants her to do more with her life than stay at home and be a mother and wife, but that is not what she wants. This is a direct contrast from the other novels we have read. In these other novels, women want to marry for love and do more with their lives than stay at home. We explicitly see this in The Awakening  by Kate Chopin. In The Awakening , Edna yearns for a life more than what she has been given. We also see the older Mrs. Dalloway contemplate on this point. She wonders if she made the correct decisions when she was younger. This contemplation is very interesting, because she was given other options when she was young, and other young women of the time were not.      I think this

 Word Count: 283 The Awakening  by Kate Chopin "but whatever came, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself" (Chopin, 80). "I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier's possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose" (Chopin, 108).     Both of these quotations demonstrate Edna's revelation or awakening. At the beginning of the novel, she tries to understand these concepts, but she struggles to understand the full meaning of being an individual. I think Edna really wants and yearns to love her husband and to be happy as a wife and mother, but she cannot. The realization that she can never truly be at peace with her life in this situation leads to this conversation with Robert where she divulges her discernment of her wants and needs. Enda sees her relationship with Robert as a relationship of individuals that are equals. This contrasts with her current relationship with her husband where he views her as "a valuable piece o

 Word Count: 307 The Awakening  by Kate Chopin "I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself" (Chopin, 47). "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her" (Chopin, 13).     The first quotation, I think, is the most interesting concept in the novella. Edna states to her close friend that she would not give herself for her children, but she would give anything else, even her life. This might relate back to the idea that Edna is a bad "mother-woman," but I believe Chopin meant something very different by this. I think this is a statement about individuality. If Edna does not have herself, as in her personality and her individual characteristics, she would have nothing. She would have nothing to give to her children; she could do nothing for them

Word Count: 271 Emily Dickinson's Poems "Now I knew I lost her -" / "My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun" / "The Poets light but Lamps -" / "I would no paint - a picture -" (Dickinson)     These four poems by Emily Dickinson all contain themes of either art or self-identity. Specifically, "Now I knew I lost her -" and "My life had stood - a Loaded Gun" tackle the topic surrounding identity, and the confusion surrounding the idea. The final two lines of the first stanza of the latter poem mentioned states, "The Owner passed - identified - / And carried Me away" (Dickinson). In the later stanzas of this poem, Dickinson creates a new male identity with which her female persona travels. This relates back to the idea of female writers creating an androgenous personality when writing. The former poem mentioned speaks to the idea of losing one's self and becoming something or someone unrecognizable. The first stanza st

Word Count: 280 Silas Marner  by George Eliot  "The vindication of the loved object is the best balm affection can find words for its wounds: - 'A man must have so much on his mind,' is the belief by which a wife often supports a cheerful face under rough answers and unfeeling words" (Eliot, 135).     This quotation expresses Nancy's thoughts when she soothes herself. It seems that many wives during this time live under the impression that their husbands must always be correct, and any problem that arises is the fault of the woman. While this might not have been true, it is the impression Eliot creates throughout this novel when depicting traditional marriage. The only woman who crosses her husband was Molly, and she dies while trying to expose her unconventional and secret marriage. This directly demonstrates the consequences a woman suffers once defying her husband.      Nancy experiences extreme guilt about her lack of siring a child for her husband. For both N

 Word Count: 258 Silas Marner  by George Eliot "To the peasants of old times, the world outside their own direct experience was a region of vagueness and mystery: to their untravelled thought a state of wandering was a conception as dim as the winter life of the swallows that came back with the spring;" (Eliot, 3). "[W]hen he would have to bear the consequences of his father's violent resentment for the wound inflicted on his family pride - would have, perhaps, to turn his back on that hereditary ease and dignity which, after all, was a sort of reason for living," (Eliot, 27).     Both of these quotations provide a description of the society in a small town during the early nineteenth century. The first quotation supplies people's views of outsiders. It lets the reader know how small and confined the people are to their homes. The narrator states that none one really travels during this time, and it was deemed strange if one did. They had no need to see the