1 Courtney Schur English 331 Contemporary Women Writers May 3, 2009 Feminist Heroines in Early Literature

It was once said that behind every great man is a greater woman. Well, I have found that behind every great novel there is an even greater heroine. This notion reigns true for the following novels I plan to explore. In the novels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton, and Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, the use of criture feminine is used to the highest. Hlne Cixous stated that criture feminine has, challenged women to write themselves out of the world men constructed for women. She urged women to put themselves-the unthinkable/unthought-into words. In studying the works of Cixous, Rosemary Tong takes it further by stating that criture feminine is the antithesis of masculine writing, or as a means of escape for women. These three novels, as different as they may be in style, content, and writing are all linked together by the common thread of feminist writing. I plan to analyze each of the central female characters from each book and show how through time station they are all essentially the same woman. Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice is set in 19th century England and center around a family struggling to marry off their 5 daughters. Amid the mess and confusion of finding a husband there is Elizabeth Bennet, a head-strong, opinionated, and independent young woman. She uses her wit and brains to get along in life and

Schur 2

essentially exemplifies the before her time modern woman that Austen was trying to portray. This free-thinking and strong- willed young woman was quite the surprise to readers of the time. Her lack of desire not to be married and at times brazen tongue was a drastic contrast to the ideal of women in that time period. Austen uses criture feminine in this novel by letting the female protagonist be heard. Her views were that women did have the right to be just as outspoken as men and that marriage wasnt the only choice. Although Elizabeth did get married at the end of the novel, she did not cave in to the norms that society was forcing on her. When reading the quote, Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity to what we would have others think of us (Austen 21), Elizabeth follows the path of pride. She values herself as a strong woman as displayed when she rejects Mr. Darcys first marriage proposal. She states, But I cannot, I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly (189). Here Austen is trying to show that Elizabeth knows she does not need a man to guide her or make her honorable to society. This belief is what accentuates the basis of feminist writing in the fact that it portrays women in a light free of masculine constraints. When writing The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton wanted to reflect the elitist society and devastation of the First World War. This novel was a reflection of her life in high-society and the pressure put on young women to be in a happy and stable marriage, much like the characters in Austens novels. The main female, Countess Ellen Olenska, is a direct reflection of European values infringing of high New York society in the

Schur 3

1870s. She was brought as a child to Paris to study the ways of life. She was described as being, A fearless and familiar little thing, who asked disconcerting questions, made precocious comments, and possessed outlandish arts (Wharton 51). She was by no means a lady as one might say because she simply did not fit the quiet female that nodded and kept her opinions to herself. The male protagonist, Newland Archer, become enamored with the Countess. She was away in Europe for most of her life until she did the unthinkable and divorced her husband, Count Olenski on grounds of adultery. Upon her return Archer gives her the one over, The red cheeks had paled; she was thin, worn, and a little older looking for her age, which must have been nearly 30. But there was about her the mysterious authority of beauty, a sureness in the carriage of her head which struck him as highly trained and full of conscious power (52). This conscious power is what makes Countess Olenska a feminist heroine. She is a symbol of freedom in this novel, freedom from the constraints and judgment of society. Wharton herself related quite closely to Countess Olenska. She too was tempted into adultery and divorce all while living life as a writer in a time where such a profession was looked down upon especially for a woman. Her own struggles are what helped this novel come to life. Here is Countess Olenska, a woman driven out and blacklisted in society due to confronting her adulterous husband and having a different ideology about life, trying to find happiness with a man who accepts her for her free spirit and strong will to survive in this environment.

Schur 4

When it comes to the case of Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert breaks the mold. He is one of the prime examples of criture feminine in male writing. The female lead, Madame Emma Bovary, is a woman who has wealth, prestige, and a seemingly happy marriage yet has a void that she attempts to fill with her daydreams, sex, and a materialistic existence. Emma is a different sort of feminist heroine in the way that she mirrors the women of the Feminine Mystique Era. This is an era where many housewives wanted to leave their repressed lives of housework, children, and all dutiful behavior to find a life of contrast where things are exciting and new. This is displayed when she is calling upon a lover, She had sent for him to tell him she was bored, that her husband was odious and her life frightful (Flaubert 173). Flaubert himself struggled with romantic life and tried to find fulfillment through prostitutes and an affair with a poet. He found this to be too strenuous and eventually gave himself completely to his work and art. He is most noted for his romantic yet realist approach to writing. This lends itself to the real aspect of the struggles of Emma. Emma is not content with being the object of every mans gaze. She wants more out of her life than what is given to her, even though her aristocratic bourgeois life is one of great privilege. This leads her down a path of ruin when she lets her outlandish spending and need for romantic fulfillment leads her to prostitution and her inevitable demise. Being that Flaubert writes this novel as how he himself sees Emma, the reader is taken down this road of not quite knowing if they should pity or applaud Emma. On the

Schur 5

surface she seems like high society snob who takes her status for granted, but in reality she is purely a woman who is trapped in a life that does nothing but intoxicate her. Many may think that this woman is nothing but a contradiction to a feminist heroine and maybe theyre right. My view of her though is one of fascination because she is a paradox in the feminist lens. She is a married woman who heavily depends on men for happiness and material things, yet she has the power to break away from what society expects from her and carves her own fate even if it meant her demise. All three of these women are different in class, status, and demeanor, but they all have one thing in common: feminist thought. The will of these three women distinguishes them from all other female characters in early literature. These women are who I consider heroines. Heroine is defined as, a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities. I find this definition very relative to these women. If it werent for their strength of character and endless battle for their fate and futures against all the odds set against them, feminism wouldnt have its roots in literature.