AN ASSIGNMENT ON ARTICLE WRITING

Course No: Eng L5105 Course Title: Reading & Writing Skills Contact Hours: 03 Credit: 03

Submitted to
Mr. Molla Azizur Rahman Assistant professor English Discipline Khulna University

Submitted by
Ishmat Jahan Pritha Id No: MAL 111412 1st Year 1st Term English Discipline Khulna University

Date of Submission: 18th December, 2011

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Title Feminism: Womens struggle for their identity in the politics of literature

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Abstract

Feminism as a literary theory tries to find out the womens real identity in the politics of literature. When there is a power there is politics: and this power belongs to the male dominated society where women are not allowed to raise their voice for their own identity. Even literature is not beyond the politics. Here women are critically characterized as a dummy of a lifeless part of society. Absolute power corrupts man absolutely. This statement clarifies male dominated society where women have to struggle for their identity. Literature is the mirror of society where in a male dominated society a female is not as equal as male because of the question of power. These powerless women are used in literature as a tool to show the power of patriarchal society. In this politics of mail dominated literature women have to struggle for their identity beyond their tragic character and fate. And if any writer tries to give these women another life they are criticized as a writer of feministic point of view. Feminism is such a theory which investigates womens life, work, position in society and overall their freedom to establish their identity as a human being. Literature tries to show women as universal without any particular identity. For this politics of literature feminism as a theory has to analyze womens identity and their freedom. In this politics of literature some writers try to create a different world for their women characters to question on the established social norms for their own identity.

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My objective in this article is to talk about to renowned women characters of English literature who have struggled for their own identity and freedom beyond the social norms of their living time.

Key words:

Feminism foregrounds womens identity as a human being in the politics of literature.

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Introduction

In literature women are mostly picturized as a side character to portrait the main plot of the patriarchal society. We judge the women characters from cultural, social, religious, romantic point of view. But their struggle for their own identity is ignored by the author and the reader. They give these characters a biological death as a destiny or a long lasting tragic fate to make them an example of male dominated societys literature. By feminism we try our level best to separate women characters to establish womens self identity. It gives a fresh look to read and analyze the women characters as a free, independent human being. Sometimes this feminism gives a glimpse to look over a particular literary text with a new point of view for womens identity. But there is a question that how many this women struggle for identity crisis or feminism as a different issue can triumph over the politics of literature. Power is the issue in the politics of literature, as it is in the politics of anything else. To be excluded from a literature that claims to define ones identity is to experience a peculiar form of powerlessness-not simply the powerlessness which derives from not seeing ones experience articulated clarified and legitimized in art but more significantly the powerlessness which results from the endless division of self against self(Judith Fetterly). Feminism or feministic theory is such a point of view that embodies consciousness for womens self identity.

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In the politics of literature the sacrificial scapegoat is the woman, wife and the cleansed survivor is the husband, male. In literature women are asked to identify with a self which is not her own. She becomes bound to develop herself in such a way that in one stage she forgets her own identity, as she is required to identify against herself. Such as the characters are Nora, Hester Prynne, and Tess. Society gives them such a role which can only be modified by the male dominated society. But they revolted on this society to make their own identity, as a resurrection of the whole women society. But sometimes readers become biased to criticize them as a negative and tragic character. Only consciousness and neutral mind of the reader can give them the true struggle of these women characters for their identity as a self being against the politics of male dominated society.

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Analyses

One of the most renowned women characters Henrik Ibsens Nora of A Dolls House is famous for her struggle against the patriarchal society. George Steiner claims that the play is founded on the belief that women can and must be raised to the dignity of man; but Ibsen himself believed it to be more about the importance of self-identity than the importance of general female liberation. For this reason this play was called barbaric outrage because of the feminism he perceived it as promoting. There is no ending solution of the play. Thus this is play that defies boundaries of the traditional society to raise a moral question for womens identity of that time. To understand why Ibsen wrote the play it is important to relate the context of society and the characters portrayed. Ibsen was writing during a time when women, to a certain extent, were enslaved in their gender roles and where certain restrictions were enforced on them by a male dominant culture. Every woman was raised believing that they had neither self-control nor self-government but that they must yield to the control of stronger gender. John Stuart Mill, an influential philosopher, wrote in his essay, "The Subjection of Women", that women were "wholly under the rule of men and each in private being under the legal obligation of obedience to the man with whom she has associated her destiny". In the play, Nora is represents the women in society; Mill's statement is displayed through how Nora surrenders herself to the stereotype of a 19th century housewife, and how she allows her husband Helmer to shape her into the image that he wishes her to be.

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One of the most compelling elements of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House is the frankness with which the subject matter is dealt. This play focuses on the way that women are perceived, specifically in the framework of domesticity. The leading male character, in particular, has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman's role. He believes that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. Moreover, he tells his wife that women are responsible for the morality of their children. In essence, he sees women as both child-like, helpless creatures detached from reality and influential moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home. Women were constrained which limited their ability to rebel and confront their abused rights. Not only this, but men greedily held all the power. Society was exclusively a patriarchal system in which men were the individuals that wrote the laws, prosecuted the criminals and judged women on their own point of view. In the play, Nora cannot believe how her actions had resulted in a crime; after all she did it out of love did she not? Women suffered because the men looked after themselves. Ibsen wrote that women were a blessing to men because it gave them "a glimpse of that non-logical, intuitive mode of thinking" which "has an inspiring and cleansing effect Ibsen used women as a primary example of those who have suppression forced upon them and through this he unconsciously advocated women's right. Ibsen focused the play on Nora; through using her as an example of why women require their independence and freedom. Through this, Ibsen hoped inspire change regarding both men and women in the society and lifting their expectation and roles; and thus creating freedom and equality all around the world.

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Ibsen questions Is it right to treat women as inferiors? Through the relationship between Nora and Helmer, Ibsen presents unequal power sharing in a negative light, trying to provoke the audience into questioning what was accepted as the norm in that period. One of the subtler techniques used is Helmer's language and diction. He uses animal terms to refer to her, such as skylark' and squirrel'. This suggests that Helmer does not love Nora as an equal, and treats her like a pet'. Worse, he calls her his possession', as if she were a thing, not an individual with her own separate identity. This use of patronizing, demeaning terms highlights the social norm of treating women as inferior, and provokes the audience to question the validity of that norm. Nevertheless, the question of inequality between the sexes is only part of the major question Ibsen poses: Is it right to force people into social roles without giving them the freedom to explore who they are and what they want to be?' Ibsen presents this question by first characterizing Nora and Helmer as faithful conformists to social roles and then dramatizing the negative effects of those roles in an effort to provoke audiences of that period to think about their deeply ingrained beliefs. Nora seems to fulfill the role of a dutiful wife and mother. She does not work but stays at home and takes care of her children. Ibsen then reveals that, firstly, she is not really fulfilled, or self-actualized, through this role. The role of wife and mother does not bring out all her potential. The question presented here is that would it not be better if society did not determine roles based on gender and let individuals decide by themselves what they want to be? Ibsen reveals a common failing of society through Nora's reminiscences of childhood: her father formed his opinions, and Nora just accepted them, never voicing her own.
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And when she married Helmer, she merely acquired his tastes'. She has had no chance of gaining of more experience of the world and to learn more about herself. All those years, she has been what her father and husband, symbols of society, want her to be. The aforementioned question is presented beautifully in that last conflict between Helmer and Nora. Helmer says that Nora's sacred duty' is to her husband and children. Nora replies that first and foremost [she is] an individual', and leaves her doll's house' to gain experience and knowledge, and to find out more about herself. These questions were highly relevant in the period in which A Doll's House was written, and are still significant now. Even in modern society, men and women are still expected to take on certain roles and identities and are persecuted for going against cultural and social norms. And because these questions are presented through the lives of ordinary men and women like us, whom we can identify with and whose situations are not so dissimilar to our own, those questions become even more significant to us and the problems we face in our daily lives. Ibsen demanded justice and freedom for every human being and wrote A Doll House to inspire society to individualism and free them from suppression. As Nora there are many women characters who have established their own identity in a different way. Nathaniel Hawthornes Hester Prynne is such a character who made her badge of adultery as her identity of ability. Imagine what it would feel like to place a sign around anybodys neck announcing his or her sins for the entire world to see. That was the punishment in Puritan New England for Hester Prynne's crime of adultery. She was sentenced to wear a scarlet letter A for adultery for the remainder of her life. For a

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weaker person, such a heavy burden might prove too much to bare. But for Hester Prynne the scarlet letter served to reinforce her strength of character. The scarlet letter itself was an ever-changing symbol. Based on the perspective of society, the relationship between Hester and the scarlet letter changed throughout the story. Intended as a mark of shame, it did serve that purpose for onlookers in the beginning. It eventually came to represent Hester's ability to serve others. In contrast, Hesters personal relationship with the scarlet letter was deeply embedded into her identity. She accepted her crucible as the lifelong penance for her sins. Rather than trying to escape her punishment, she faced the mandates of a strict religious society, yet managed to stay true to herself and her convictions. The scarlet letter told everyone else that she committed adultery but even to the people who once shunned Hester, her good heart and selfless attitude seemed to change the letter from a brand of shame to a badge of honor. Once representing adultery, the letter eventually took on a positive image. Some thought the letter A symbolized that Hester was an able person who helped those in need. As far as Hester and the scarlet letter were concerned, it never changed in meaning. The letter was a part of her being. Long after she could have tossed it aside, the scarlet letter remained. The letter marked Hester as a woman strong enough to accept herself, forgive herself and love herself in order to love others. Their relationship was inseparable as they were bound to each other eventually unrecognizable without the other.

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Hesters identity revealed the irony of living in a land that promised freedom and liberty, only to go against these very principles when they didnt coincide with the expectations of society. The relationship of the scarlet letter symbolizes the conflict of right and wrong in a world that dominates others as a means to an end, under the guise of righteous indignation. Nora and Hester in their battle of identity crisis did not face their biological death like Thomas Hardys Tess had met in Tess of the DUrbervilles. Tess had to fight not only with the society but also with the fate or destination. For Tesss tragic end many critics described her as a powerless woman who has no right to fight with the patriarchal society. In her life she had to struggle a lot to maintain her life. She did not get proper respect from the society and her husband. She was considered as a symbol of sex to the male dominated society. She could not make her own identity when she was alive but after killing the main culprit of her life she could make her identity by the verdict of law. At last as a woman she could show her mental an physical power against the male dominated society. Still she is considered as a pure woman in literature. Hawthornes The scarlet letter embodied the puritan society of that time which made a woman scapegoat for their religious norms. They gave Hester awoken for her sin to make others alert, but Hester as a strong woman made that token as her living identity in the history of literature. A Dolls House and The scarlet letter opened the door to a whole new world for women" and led the movement to gain freedom and equality for all women in the world. These plays are interpreted as an attempt to resolve gender inequality and for the liberation of women in society. Ibsen and Hawthorne saw the need to revolt against the conventions of society through prevention of compliance with the
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immoral issues that faced society; and therefore recognizing oneself as a "free agent". Though sometimes Nora is criticized as a negative character that had left her family for her own self by slumming the door of her husbands house. Even Hester is considered as a symbol of adultery who dared to violate the norms of religion. Their bold steps of thinking their own identity opened a new world for the women of all time. Tesss destructive step has shaken the male dominated society which considered women as a doll.

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Conclusion

In the politics of literature it becomes very difficult for women characters to establish their own identity. Feminism as a theory makes reader conscious to find the main strength of the women characters. Some writers are also criticized by others because of their support for their women characters against the norms of society. The politics of literature never leave their women characters with their self identity. Women are still struggling for their identity not only in the established society but also in the phases of literature. Sometimes they leave their family, violate the fake rules of society, murder the culprits or recite in their off mind Sylvia Plaths aggressive line I eat men like air. Tess, Nora, Hester are the characterization of our common women but they have done something uncommon for their own identity. Thus through the mirror of literature we can understand the politics of male dominated society where women characters have to fight a hard battle to establish their self id\entity.

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References

1. http://www. helium.com/items/274989-liturary- analysis-a- doll-house-a-dolls-houseby-henrik-isben/print 2. http://www. helium.com/items/274989-liturary- analysis-a- doll-house-a-dolls-houseby-henrik-isben 3. http://www.wikisummaries.org/The_Scarlet_Letter 4. Fatterly Judith; On the politics of literature

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