Women Authors as Mirror of Society Paper

The end of the civil war on the year 1865 marked another tombstone for the literary arena. The death of en masse over 600,000 lives and the termination of the used-to slavery drastically began America’s evolution towards a cultural and political global supremacy (Canada, 2002). During this period in the American history, corruption and sorts of various debasements rampantly conquered the land at the same time as industrialization and the development of business age takes over the stage. Implicitly, the call for a new breed of writers to describe, take into account, record and preserve the passing of such course in history has been made.

During this period, additionally according to Canada (2002), the celebration of regional descriptions of the American society was highly regarded and the mode of Realism asserted itself on the prevailing literary scheme, as well as the literature of societal remonstrations and complaints of the American oppressed.American literature after the civil war manifested and exemplified true American nationalism. The seemingly rational encounters within the bounds of the circumstances and the people’s inclinations to it sculpted the three principal literary progress of the time; realism, regionalism and naturalism(Sparknotes, 2007).

Realism was used to intrinsically see and uphold the events constantly happening around and to therefore incline one’s self into the truth and pragmatism of the present time (Canada, 2007).It sought to depict the world accurately and realistically based on personal experiences rather than idealistically.

Such was likewise the aim of regional fiction; authenticity, reliance to the truth. This literary mode inspires its readers via the use of landscape, dialect and people themselves to vehicle them into the outlandish and far from the abroad lands of America.

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Lastly, the naturalists kept in touch and depicted the struggles and efforts of real-life characters submerged in the lower class of the society.Women, however, during this time were not handed yet the right to vote along with the Page # 3 Black Americans, and feminist movements were on track and underway for several years (Sparknotes, 2007).

As traditions of the time have then dictated, women are regarded of utmost inferiority and subordination unto men(sparknotes, 2007) even in the field of literature, this male chauvinistic approach is applied wherein American male writers regard women as subordinate thus omitting them from literature (KyraDean,2007).

Women who have learned the lot to articulate their voices in the society of literature include Kate Chopin, famous for her work “The awakening” which portrays a desire to be freed from the restraints caused by male oppressors. Furthermore, there is the “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman through which the author herself channeled her emotions for the real world to see; for the world to know that women have the right just as men do to fit in place within the society (KyraDean, 2007).

A more intrinsic picture of women at the time was Bonnin’s “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” which views the strengths and intelligence of women. To add further in the list were Sylvia Plath for her “The House of Mirth” , Daisy Miller for “The Portrait of a Lady” and Edith Wharton who is commended for “The Bell Jar”, both of whom writers specified a critic on the patriarchal system dominating the social arena (Ward, 2007). e. ) Women’s role during the industrial age has changed and became more involved in a wider realm further than their respective homes.

In records, women have joined the labor force and additionally became impressively involved in different and varying contexts of social reformations. The height of feminist eminence during the time was in the temperance interest group particularly through the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union or the WCTU (Canada, 2002) . As these liberalistic and social confrontations of women began to widely attain a surface in history, feminist conviction to elect likewise peaked its stature.Gradually then did the women’s role in the society, whether through social or political unravels, gained boldness in the American ground. Significantly for Canada (2002) feminine contributions are well-marked on the quarter of education wherein an intrepid number of higher scholastic disciplines went coed or better yet had founded schools exclusively for women.

It is apparent then how women have managed to gain courage and fight for their own rights and places in the society where they felt should accept them as equal with men. Such persistent effort changed the literary representations of women from a completely less inferior creature to a more becoming and more powerful icon in the society.Politically, women are already thriving their way up just as the way they have succeeded in the literary endeavors. Women who have engaged in literature and politics have gained fame and power, freedom from and equality with men. It also allowed them to exercise and assert their rights and privileges as a completely equal human being with the breeds of men. However, orientation from the politics somehow inhibits the freedom of a woman because there are political norms and various factors that may influence the pure thinking of femininity, unlike in literature, where the bounds they can control is limitless. g. )

On the other side, there is an apparent difference between how a male portrays a woman and a female portraying a woman. Once the pen is in the hand of the man, the woman in character is harassed by only pinning out her most negative personality. According to KyraDean (2007), “Editha” by W. D. Howells acknowledged the main female character Editha as a conceitedly, self-absorbed dreamer who submissively loves her partner. Such act of selfishness was only attributed to women only at the time.