Category: Biography

Mary Wollstonecraft was born on April 27, 1749, in Spitalfield, London. Eight days before her birthday when she was twenty three her mom died. Before Mary was popular and famous the word feminist didn’t even exist.

Her parents were Elizabeth Dixon and John Wollstonecraft, her mom was often sick. Her dad was abusive and was often drunken or in drunken mood, especial after he lost money to being ill-judged but mostly when their farms failed to sell. Mary was the oldest girl out of 4 but had an older brother named Edward and four other younger siblings that were born after her. They had quite a bit of money and due to her father’s drunken behavior they almost lost all their money. Her oldest brother had a full time of school and Mary only knew the basics but has always loved to write and loved it throughout her life. Mary has always been the bold person, she always wanted to be the one that started something and isn’t afraid to end it. She grew up in Spitalfield London, but with her dad being selfish and drunk all the time he moved them around to get more money by farming which they made a living off of.

When she was 18 she went off to go pursue being a writer at was at this time when people in society recommended women to stay home and tend to their families, however in 1778 she went to work as a ladies companion to Sahra Dawson. Around this time she became best friends with Fanny Blood. Sadly Fanny died in 1785 it shocked Mary very much it made her depressed. Later she quit her job as a Ladies companion and became being a governess for a large Irish family but despised Lady Kingsborough. This inspired Mary to write Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. Which helped women manage in society.Around this time Mary decided to move back to London, where she became acquainted with William Paine and many more,but was also forced to take care of her sickly mother until she passed away. One of her hardest time was helping her sister get out of a horrible marriage. Marry convinced her sister get out of it because her husband was abusive and she couldn’t handle him anymore. All though she couldn’t handle him she still stayed with him. Before fanny died, Fanny Mary’s sister Fanny’s sister and Mary started a school for both boys and girls. Which is located in Newton Green. They schools purpose was to let people know that all kids, boys and girls could attend to it to get an education. Sadly after fanny died Mary closed the school and the building is now known as a church. In London she became more aware of the political strands of rights. Mary became inthused in the revolutionary war and which she embraced her thoughts within it and ideas of equal rights, when Edmund Burke’s declared revolutionary. In 1790 wrote her pamphlet Vindication of the Rights of Men which was inspired by Edmund Burkes. In 1782 she wrote her most famous work A Vindication of Women’s Rights(the first feminist book) which inspired a lot of feminist such as Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Stanton, but as much as it inspired even the educated women did not agree with Wollstonecraft they didn’t want other women to get educated because they believed only the rich deserve a good education. MAry thought a good government would be everybody to be ideal and get along as a good people, for everybody get the same rights as one another. It told how women’s rights should be equal to men’s. Mary stated it was the lack of education for women that is making them lower in rank than men. She believed in the rights of women are just or should be just as equal as men’s rights. While mary was publishing her book the Divine Rights was happening as well as the Revolutionary War.

In 1792 she went off to visit Paris, where she fell deeply in love with Gilbert Imlay, they had to hide their relationship because being married to an American was restricted and illegal at this time. Together in 1794 they had a child name Fanny Imlay, Her name was in memory of Fanny blood Mary’s best friend. After a while their, relationship got hard so they broke up and Gilbert left Mary and Fanny. Mary returned to England, but overcome with depression Mary tried to commit suicide twice, but both times failed and was saved by two walking men. After she got over her depression, which at this point she had still a little bit, of but she was lonely and felt like she needed somebody. She once again fell deeply in love with William Godwin, which she soon married. On September 17,1797 Mary had a little lamb and her name was Mary Shelley. Mary was ten days old when Mary her mom died so she and Fanny had to live with her dad for her life. Before she, died she was working on a novel called the Wrong of Women the book was published a year after her death.

Mary Wollstonecraft died on September 10, 1797 when she was 38, in Somers Town, London, United Kingdom. She is located at the St Pancras Old Church in London United Kingdom. Her grave says “Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Author of A Vindication Of the Rights of Women: born 27 April 1759: died on 10 September 1797.” She died of sepsis an infection in your skin, lung, and many more places in your body. Mary (her child) went on and famously wrote the book Frankenstein and got married to Percy Shelley. She has a spot in the Brooklyn Museum located in 200 Eastern PKwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238.

“And so being young and dipped in folly I fell in love with melancholy” (“Edgar Allan Poe Quotes”). This quote by Edgar Allan Poe hints at the estranged life he lived. Edgar Allan Poe was a poet who suffered a life of hardships and whose only solace came from writing poetry (“Edgar Allan Poe”). Poe died at the age of forty in Baltimore, Maryland with the words, “Lord help my poor soul” (Loveday). The poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, which broke the rules of the New England Renaissance literary period, has contributed to the American literary heritage.

Poe’s rocky relationship with John Allan, combined with his complex romantic affairs greatly influenced his dreary style of writing. After Poe was orphaned, he was raised by his neighbor, John Allan, and his wife, Frances Keeling Valentine. Poe was only eleven-years-old when he had the first of countless major fights with John Allan. He learned that John was having an affair against Frances and confronted him. Years after their disagreement, Poe was accepted into the University of Virginia, where he surmounted all expectations in his studies. His future looked bright, until John refused to send him adequate money to pay for books, boarding, and food. Soon after, Allan refused to pay for any of Poe’s schooling. Poe became infuriated with Allan causing a second major fight. Their fighting continued until the day of Allan’s death, where Poe did not receive any morsel of inheritance (Loveday). Besides John Allan, the women romantically involved with Poe brought him despair. When he was only sixteen-years-old he fell in love with his neighbor, Sarah Elmira Royster. Only months later, Poe had to leave for schooling in Virginia. When he returned a year later, Poe learned Sarah had become engaged to another man. Poe was heart-broken. At twenty-seven-years-old, Poe met and married his first cousin Virginia Clemm. Eleven years later, Virginia fell ill and died, leaving Poe alone once more (Loveday). Thus, Edgar Allan Poe endured years of quarrels with John Allan as well as years of disappointment in his romantic life.

Poe was influenced by a series of events in his life, such being orphaned at a very early age and moving to rural country with his wife when she fell ill. Edgar was the second of the three children of David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. When Poe was very young, about one year old, his father abandoned their family. Therefore, Elizabeth had to raise the family of four. That is, until she fell severely ill and died a little over a month before Poe would have turned three (“Edgar Allan Poe”). In contrast to the hardship of Poe’s early orphanage, he made a fortunate move to the country with his wife years later. Poe was thirty-six-years-old when he moved to the country with his wife, Virginia. Virginia was very ill, and he felt that moving to the country for a while would aid in improving her health. While in the country, Poe himself found peace and tranquility. Although the moments of calm were fleeting, he used that time to write his most famous poem, “The Raven” (Loveday). The misery that followed Poe after his parents died, and the serenity he found after moving to the country immensely influenced his outlook on life and his writing.

The New England Renaissance was a period overflowing with hopeful and idealistic views, views that Poe did not share. Whilst the Renaissance was a hopeful period because of the reforms of the church, state, etc., Poe went against those ideas, because he wrote of darkness and human weakness (“American Gothic”). Two examples of the eerie darkness he wrote about are poems “The Lake” and “The City in the Sea.” The poem “The Lake” shows themes of loneliness and how one can find peace within despair, themes that reflect Poe’s own lonely livelihood. The lines, “So lovely was the loneliness” and “Yet that terror was not fright,/But a tremulous delight-” exemplify the themes and feelings Poe portrayed. Similarly, the poem “The City in the Sea” depicts a theme that if one lives by sin on earth, one will be ruled by sin and death in the afterlife. The verses “Death has reared himself a throne,” “No rays from the holy heaven come down,” and “Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,/Shall do it reverence” reflect the theme. Hence, Edgar Allan Poe created themes that were significantly more morbid then the common, optimistic themes of his era, the New England Renaissance.

Although Poe did not reflect the common themes of the Renaissance, his style of writing more closely identified with that period. Poetry from the New England Renaissance abounded in imagery and lyric verses (“New England Renaissance 1800-1850”). For instance, the poem “The Bells” teems with these lyric verses such as “Hear the loud alarum bells–/Brazen bells!/What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!” In addition to “The Bells,” Poe’s poem “The Valley of Unrest” is also rich in rhyme and imagery, as seen in verses 12-13, “Nothing save the airs that brood/Over the magic solitude.” The rhyme from these poems allows the work to flow and entrances the reader. Moreover, the imagery of the poems appeals to the readers’ senses which allow them to read as though they were living in the poem. Despite Poe’s inconformity to the hopeful themes of his era, he did follow the style of writing.

Edgar Allan Poe he accomplished numerous literary feats because he went against his period’s poetic normal. Namely, Poe created a new type if fiction know as detective fiction. Because Poe was very dark in his writing, many of his poems and short stories revolved around death, which lead to Poe creating “murder-mystery” pieces. Furthermore, Poe was known as one of the first literary critics. Lucas Tromly, an author from the INSPIRE website noted, “Poe’s most conspicuous contribution to world literature derives from the analytical method he practiced both as a creative author and as a critic of the works of his contemporaries.” Poe was a relentless critic who frequently exposed writers he believed had plagiarized another author’s work. One American author that Poe often called out for plagiarism was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although, not all of Poe’s criticism was necessarily bad, writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne were praised by Poe. He even referred to Hawthorne as “a man of true genius” (“Major Works and Achievements – Author Study- Edgar Allan Poe.”) Thus, Poe’s uniqueness allowed him recognition as the first critic and inventor of detective fiction.

Regardless of Poe’s literary achievements, many scholars have opposing ideas concerning him and his works. While many critics such as Warren and Shaw revere Poe, critics such as Winters and Elliot believe his works are all but juvenile. Warren referred to Poe’s works as the “embodiment of pure poetry,” yet Winters claimed he should be removed from literary history. Additionally, critics cannot agree on a singular movement that Poe belonged to. There are debates about whether Poe belonged with the Romantics, Gothics, or Transcendentalists. Poe wrote of fantasy, beauty, torture, death, glory, and Heaven. Because of Poe’s wide range of writing, people cannot agree upon a specific movement (Tromly). Thus, despite his contributions to literature, people still have controversial beliefs concerning him.

In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe was a poet whose work went against the New England Renaissance period, and notably contributed to the history of American literature. His poetry was dark and troublesome, yet his writing was the only thing that could bring him solace. Poe had a great love for his work, stating “I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of Beauty” (“Edgar Allan Poe Quotes”).

An American writer, editor, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and of American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country’s earliest practitioners of the short story. He is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.

He was the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. His father abandoned the family in 1810, (Mabbott, Thomas) and his mother died the following year. Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well into young adulthood. (Mabbott, Thomas) Tension developed later as John Allan and Edgar Poe repeatedly clashed over debts, including those incurred by gambling, and the cost of Poe’s secondary education. He attended the University of Virginia but left after a year due to a lack of money. (Mabbott, Thomas)

Edgar Poe quarreled with John Allan over the funds for his education and enlisted in the Army in 1827 under an assumed name. It was at this time that his publishing career began with the anonymous collection credited only to ‘a Bostonian’.(Mabbott, Thomas) Edgar Poe and John Allan reached a temporary compromise after the death of Frances Allan in 1829. Poe later failed as an officer cadet at West Point, declaring a firm wishes to be a poet and writer, and he ultimately parted ways with John Allan. (Mabbott, Thomas)

In 1824, he served as the lieutenant of the Richmond youth honor guard as Richmond celebrated the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. In March 1825, John Allan’s uncle and business benefactor William Galt died, who was said to be one of the wealthiest men in Richmond, leaving Allan several acres of real estate. (The PoeMuseum)

Poe may have become engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster before he registered at the University of Virginia in February 1826 to study ancient and modern languages.(The PoeMuseum) The university was in its infancy, established on the ideals of its founder, Thomas Jefferson. It had strict rules against gambling, horses, guns, tobacco, and alcohol, but these rules were generally ignored. Jefferson had enacted a system of student self-government, allowing students to choose their own studies, make their own arrangements for boarding, and report all wrongdoing to the faculty. The unique system was still in chaos, and there was a high dropout rate.

During his time there, Poe lost touch with Royster and also became estranged from his foster father over gambling debts. He claimed that Allan had not given him sufficient money to register for classes, purchase texts, and procure and furnish a dormitory. Allan did send additional money and clothes, but Poe’s debts increased. He gave up on the university after a year but did not feel welcome returning to Richmond, especially when he learned that his sweetheart Royster had married Alexander Shelton. He traveled to Boston in April 1827, sustaining himself with odd jobs as a clerk and newspaper writer, and he started using the pseudonym Henri Le Rennet during this period. (The PoeMuseum)

Poe was unable to support himself, so he enlisted in the United States Army as a private on May 27, 1827, using the name ‘Edgar A. Perry’. (The PoeMuseum) He first served at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for five dollars a month. Poe’s regiment was posted to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina and traveled by ship on the brig Waltham on November 8, 1827. (The PoeMuseum) Poe was promoted to ‘artificer,’ an enlisted tradesman who prepared shells for artillery, and had his monthly pay doubled. He served for two years and attained the rank of Sergeant Major for Artillery; he then sought to end his five-year enlistment early. He revealed his real name and his circumstances to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Howard. Howard would only allow Poe to be discharged if he reconciled with John Allan and wrote a letter to Allan, who was unsympathetic. Several months passed and pleas to Allan were ignored; Allan may not have written to Poe even to make him aware of his foster mother’s illness. Frances Allan died on February 28, 1829, and Poe visited the day after her burial.(The PoeMuseum) Perhaps softened by his wife’s death, John Allan agreed to support Poe’s attempt to be discharged in order to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Poe was finally discharged on April 15, 1829, after securing a replacement to finish his enlisted term for him.(Giordano, Robert) Before entering West Point, Poe moved back to Baltimore for a time to stay with his widowed aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter Virginia Eliza Clemm, his brother Henry, and his invalid grandmother Elizabeth Cairnes Poe. Meanwhile, Poe published his second book Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems in Baltimore in 1829. (Giordano, Robert.)

In February 1831 and released a third volume of poems, simply titled Poems. The book was financed with help from his fellow cadets at West Point, many of whom donated 75 cents to the cause, raising a total of $170.(Mabbott, Thomas) They may have been expecting verses similar to the satirical ones that Poe had been writing about commanding officers. It was printed by Elam Bliss of New York, labeled as ‘Second Edition,’ and including a page saying, ‘To the U.S. Corps of Cadets this volume is respectfully dedicated’. The book once again reprinted the long poems ‘Tamerlane’ and ‘Al Aaraaf’ but also six previously unpublished poems, including early versions of ‘To Helen’, ‘Israfel’, and ‘The City in the Sea’.

According to literary theory, Poe’s writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in his criticism and also in essays such as ‘The Poetic Principle’. He disliked didacticism and allegory, though he believed that meaning in literature should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface. Works with obvious meanings, he wrote, cease to be art. He believed that work of quality should be brief and focus on a specific single effect.

Like many famous artists, Poe’s works have spawned imitators. One trend among imitators of Poe has been claims by clairvoyants or psychics to be ‘channeling’ poems from Poe’s spirit. One of the most notable of these was Lizzie Doten, who published Poems from the Inner Life in 1863, in which she claimed to have ‘received’ new compositions by Poe’s spirit. The compositions were re-workings of famous Poe poems such as ‘The Bells’, (Mabbott, Thomas) but which reflected a new, positive outlook.

Poe brought about several changes in the literary style of his time period. Poe, as a writer, poet, editor and a critical writer influenced not only American literature, but he also had an impact on international literature. He was one of the first writers to develop the genre of both detective fiction and horror. Stories like “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Black cat,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” as well as poems like the “Raven” set him apart from other writes of his time. “Many anthologies credit him as the ‘architect’ of the modern short story.(Mabbott, Thomas) He was also one of the first critics to focus primarily on the effect of the style and of the structure in a literary work; as such, he has been seen as a forerunner to the ‘art for art’s sake’ movement.” Poe’s style still impacts writers today. ‘Nearly every important American writer after Poe shows signs of influence, especially when working in the gothic mode or with grotesque humor. The French, Italians, and writers in Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas acknowledge and demonstrate their debts to Poe in technique and vision.’ Steven King, Clive Barker and others have followed in the footsteps of Poe. The genre of horror is bigger today than ever and Edgar Allan Poe was at the forefront of this style of writing. ‘

It was Edgar Poe who almost single-handedly created the genre of short story and determined its future development into what we have today. Of course, there were short stories before him – but they were completely different in character and presentation, possessing something akin to anecdotal quality. They were considered to be rather written renditions of oral narratives rather than a thing in itself possessing a distinct literary quality. Even their common naming before Poe – tales – reflected it.

On October 3, 1849, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, ‘in great distress, and… in need of immediate assistance,” according to Joseph W. Walker who found him. He was taken to the Washington Medical College where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849 at 5:00 in the morning. (Mabbott, Thomas) He was not coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition and, oddly, was wearing clothes that were not his own. He is said to have repeatedly called out the name ‘Reynolds’ on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. Some sources say that Poe’s final words were ‘Lord help my poor soul’.

One cannot omit the fact that it was Poe who basically created the entire genre of literature – detective stories. It is often dismissed as pure entertainment, but it plays an enormous role in lives of people – the entire segment of pop culture can in this or that way be referred to it. Thus the people who

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was a beloved figure of freedom and a controversial figure during the rise of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 60’s. Claybourne Carson, editor of ‘The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr’ had accumulated hundreds of documents, and audio recordings to create this autobiography that allows the reader to get into the deepest insight of King’s thoughts and the role he portrayed to help America overcome the racial bigotry. The Civil Rights Movement was an organized effort by African Americans to bring the end of racial discrimination and injustice, in the hope of gaining equal rights under the law. A multitude of African and White Americans had believed that in order to overcome this racial bigotry as a whole, everybody needs to be treated equal, no matter the skin color or gender.

King had gotten involved with the movement in 1955, when Rosa Parks, another civil rights activist, had refused to give up her seat to a white man in the segregated South. She was immediately arrested right after the incident, which triggered an uproar in the African American community. After hearing the news, King had a conversation with former Vice President Richard Nixon about the incident, and what should be done. In the text, King had stated “I agreed that some protests were necessary and that the boycott method would be an effective one” (King, 51). In response to the incident, two boycotts were hosted after the arrest of Rosa Parks. The first bus boycott started in Montgomery, Alabama and was successful. The second boycott was staged in Birmingham, Alabama and it was successful, but it ended with the arrest of King and a handful of other contributors.

For the majority of his life, King had endured racism and discrimination. He had taken notice of his oppressors using violence and aggression as a means to control and degrade his people. This had led King to believe that in order to make a difference, violence would not be the answer. He knew that he would have to stand his ground peacefully and remain nonviolent. This is why King was best known for using nonviolent civil disobedience to send a message. This message can be seen when King and multitude of other civil activists marched from Montgomery to Selma to demonstrate the desire to exercise their constitutional right to vote. It wasn’t until the civil rights marchers had reached the entrance of Selma, which was Edmund Pettus Bridge, when things turned violent. State troopers had formed a blockade around the bridge in response to the march, preventing the civil rights marchers from going any further. The activists were forcibly told to turn back, but refused to do so. In response to the disobedience, state troopers had armed themselves with gas masks and used tear gas and their batons to deter the activists away from Selma. What was supposed to be a deterrent, turned into a violent bloodshed. State troopers used brutal force against the civil rights marchers, beating them with their batons until they were down on the concrete, unconscious from the wounds that they had received.

What was supposed to be a peaceful protest escalated into a sight of horror that no one was expecting. Right before the incident King had stated, “I remember that we had one of the most magnificent expressions of the ecumencial movement that I’ve ever seen” (King, 287). The cacophony of violence was photographed and recorded by journalists that worked for CBS, ABC and other local media companies that projected the mass violence and racial tension across the country. The nations response to the incident sparked an outcry for reform and justice for the victims of the attack. It was during this time when King had concluded that the Civil Rights Movement was an extension of progressivism because of the nations response to the incident, which sparked advocacy for reform. It was this advocacy that led King believe that the movement was a way to improve the country with positive change.

Progressivism is the ideology of advocacy for social reform. It is based on the idea of progression and advancement in science, technology, economic development and social organization. Progressives believe that this advancement and progression is vital to improve the human condition. King was correct when he had believed that the Civil Rights Movement was an extension of progressivism because of the way he and other activists had performed peaceful acts of civil disobedience to make a long lasting positive change. The impression that King left the world before he was assassinated, was to fight by peacefully but affirmatively taking initiative to improve the human condition.

The book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is an important piece of writing that sheds light on what life as a slave was really like. The book goes into detail about the terrible things that happened to one slave named Linda. This book also gives examples of how the many slave owners that claimed to be christain disobeyed so many of the rules, but most commonly the 10 Commandments. Many slave owners would use religion as a way to make sure that they had a clean reputation and as a cover if any rumors about them started to spread. This book also shows how slavery didn’t just have negative effects on slaves, but on slave holder’s wives and familes.

One of the main historical events that happened during the book was Nat Turner’s rebellion. This was the first and only effective slave revolt that happened in the south. This rebellion resulted in the murder of 51 white people and scared other white settlers in the south. The Fugitive Slave Acts were another important historical event that happened during the writing of the book. These laws stated that any runaway slaves that escaped to the north could be captured and returned to their masters in the south.

When Linda was born a slave but, “never knew it” because Linda’s family lived in a comfortable home and weren’t treated how slaves typically were at the time. Linda faced a hard time, when at the age of six Linda’s mother passed leaving only her brother William, her father, and grandmother. The mistress that owned Linda’s mother takes responsibility for Linda, the mistress doesn’t makes Linda work hard but, the mistress does teach Linda how to read the bible. It was very rare for masters to want their slaves to be educated so Linda learning how to read was something that rarely happened for slaves. When Linda is 12 the mistress dies and in the will Linda and William are given to the mistress’ niece, 5 year-old Emily Flint. All that Linda and William have known so far are kind masters, When the siblings arrive at the Flint house hold it is completely different from how Linda and William have been treated their whole lives.

A year after being at the Flint household Linda and Willam received the news that their father has passed away. Linda’s grandmother tries to comfort Linda by saying that God has saved Linda’s parents from “evil days to come.” Instead of letting Linda see the body before the burial Mrs. Flint forces Linda to get flowers ready for a party. Mrs. Flint was horrible to the slaves in many other ways for example, instead of letting the slaves in the family’s leftover food Mrs. Flint would spit in it so the slaves could not eat it. This would not have been as bad if Mrs. Flint would have provided the slaves with enough food to keep themselves healthy, because of this Linda and Willam had to turn to their grandmother for food and clothing. Dr. Flint was not any better Linda claims to see Flint tie up and whip one of the slaves because the slave claimed that Dr. Flint was the father of the slaves wife’s baby. The Flints went to church every Sunday but their actions would not show it. The family is a great example of how ironic the actions of slave owners that claim to be christain can be.

Linda and William’s grandmother was bought by a kind lady and was set free and gave God all of the glory for being able to survive slavery and tells the siblings to “pray for contentment” but Linda cannot use religon as a reason to endure slavery, instead Linda uses religon as a reason to try and escape slavery because Linda belived that it could not have been “the will of God” for William and herself to live in slavery.

When Linda begins to go through puberty Dr. Flint begins to make advances and whispers inappropriate things to Linda in an effort to make Linda submit to Flint, but the “pure principles” that Linda has been taught give Linda the strength to stand up against Flint. Mrs. Flint is aware of Dr. Flints actions towards the slaves but instead of being angry towards Dr. Flint, Mrs. Flint blames the slaves for her husband’s actions and tries to keep a watchful eye on her spouse. Dr. Flint was so determined to get with Linda that Flint begins to write Linda letters with the same foul language that has been whispered to Linda in the past. In an effort to get closer to Linda, Dr. Flint moves their youngest daughter’s crib into a room close to the couples and forces Linda to sleep in the room as well. When Mrs. Flint discovers this, she is furious and requires that Linda swore on a bible to tell the truth about all of the wrongs that Dr. Flint has committed towards the slaves and Mrs. Flint, such as Mr. Flint having 11 illegitimate children with slaves. Linda tells the truth and can tell that Mrs. Flint is angry and frustrated because of this Mrs. Flint forces the sleeping arrangements to be switched so that Linda sleeps in the same room as Mrs. Flint. All of this shows how slavery can cause distrust between husband and wife and how slavery wasn’t benificial for southern home life. This is also another example of the irony of chrisantiy in a slave owner’s home “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Throughout the whole book one of the main points that Linda conveys is that slaves have the same wants and desires as whites although they are not allowed to have them. An example of this is when Linda falls in love with a free-born carpenter who feels the same way towards Linda. Dr. Flint will not sell her and Mrs. Flint does not care if Linda is sold or not, but believes that slaves do not have the same right to happiness as free people do. Linda talks to a friend of her grandmothers to convinced Dr. Flint to sell Linda to the carpenter but Dr. Flint refuses. Because of this the only secure relationship in Linda’s life is the one with William, but even then there is always the fear that one of the siblings will be sold and they will never get to see each other again. Every person deserves to have one solid relationship where there is no worry about one of the people leaving, but slaves had no guarantee at a relationship like that because their family could be sold off in the blink of an eye.

Southern slave-holders would oftentimes use manipulation to keep slaves from running away. Slave owners would tell stories about runaway slaves in the north being starved to death and wanting to return to slavery because the conditons for slaves were so bad. Because slaves are uneducated and are not allowed to have their own thoughts, it is very easy for masters to trick their slaves into not wanting to run away. Southerners talk bad about Northerners in order to keep slaves from running away which demonstrates another way that southerners were not following christain values such as “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

Dr. Flint still has not given up on getting Linda to submit herself to all of his desires. In order to avoid a scandal Dr. Flint informs Linda that there will be a cabin built outside of town where Linda will reside. When Linda sees the cabin actually being built, Linda starts talking to a single white man named Mr. Sands. Linda hopes that if things start to become physical with Mr. Sands it will anger Dr. Flint to the point of giving Linda up. Linda knows that if all of this works out the it was planned, Linda’s grandmother will be disappointed because Linda did not save herself for marriage. Linda also knows that this might be the one chance to get away from Dr. Flint for good. When Flint informs Linda that the cabin is done there is also some shocking news waiting for Dr. Flint, Linda informs the doctor that Mr. Sands is the father of their unborn child. Linda then goes to grandmother’s house to share the news, but Mrs. Flint bursts in and starts screaming at Linda and claims that Linda is pregnant with Mr. Flints child. Linda’s grandmother, so full of anger and disappointment, throws Linda out of the house. Linda walks for a few miles to a family friends house before grandmother comes to retrieve Linda. When this happens, Linda tells of all the abuse that has been endured that lead to the decisions that were made. Because of this grandmother forgives Linda and is understanding of the situation. Many slaves had to give up their religious and moral beliefs in order to please their masters, and to survive.

Soon after this Nat Turner’s rebellion occurs, this is a very monumental step in the direction of ending slavery and scaring slave owners because this was the very first slave rebellion and southerners did not want something like this happening agian. After the rebellion masters want their slaves to attend church services “to keep them from murdering their masters.” All of the services are led by white men that will tell slaves to obey their masters and teach that slavery is the will of God. Linda begins to realize that many southerners use religion as a way to have a good reputation, but are not truly christain and only want slaves to go to church services if what is being taught benefits the masters.

After Linda gives birth to Benjamin, Mr. Sands son, shortly after Linda falls pregnant with Sands again. This time Linda is expecting a girl who Linda ends up naming Ellen. Linda knows that when the children become older Mr. Flint will treat Linda’s children the same way that Linda was treated. The only solution is Linda, Benjamin, and Ellen fleeing to the North. Linda knows that this will be a tough task that will require a lot of planning. Linda knows that it will be impossible to flee to the North with two kids in tow, so Linda decides that the best plan is to hide in the crawlspace of grandmother’s house. Because of this Mr. Flint believes that Linda has escaped to the North and decides to sell Benjamin, Ellen, and William to a slave trader who works for Mr. Sands. Linda is overjoyed because Ellen and Benjamin will finally be free, Mr. Sands agrees to send Ellen to a relative that lives in New York. William escaped from Mr. Sands and went up North. Linda manages to get to New York where Ellen lives and stays with the Bruce family. This family is very kind to Linda and treat her with respect. After Mrs. Bruce dies Linda receives a letter from Emily Flint (now Mrs. Dodge) stating that if Linda returns to the south it will be a comfortable home where Linda might be able to eventually purchase freedom, Linda doesn’t reply. William decides to take Benjamin to work in California and Ellen is doing outstanding at school. Linda goes back to work for Mr. Bruce and take care of the new baby with Bruce’s new wife, who love and care for Linda. Around this time the Fugitive Slave Acts are passed and Mr. Flint knows where Linda is. Because of the Bruce’s adoration for Linda, Mr. Bruce sends Linda to hide in the countryside for a month before returning to New York.

Linda soon receives the news that Mr. Flint has died, but Mrs. Flint wants Mrs. Dodge to retrieve her slave. Mrs. Bruce and Ellen both encourage Linda to leave the city when the Bruces arrive. Once Ellen and Linda leave Mrs. Bruce negotiates with Mr. Dodge about selling Linda and taking away the claims on Linda’s children. When Linda’s freedom is bought Mrs. Bruce excitedly tells Linda right away to return home. Linda is welcomed with tears of joy, and finally, a free woman.

This book addresses the issue of the very little rights of women in the south, and the horrible things that slaves had to go through every day. Women knew that their husbands were unfaithful with the slaves on the plantations, but divorce was not an option and was a very taboo subject at the time. Southern white women just had to turn the other way and pretend to be oblivious to their husbands actions. As for slave women their masters would abuse and rape them, and many times this caused the women to fall pregnant. Often times masters would have children with multiple slave women and everyone would know about what was happening because that was the only way to keep the masters wife, the slave women, and the illegitimate children safe.

The reason that Dr. Hancock chose this book is that it goes deeper into the topic of slavery which is something that was discussed in class. The book was also written when events such as Nat Turner’s Rebellion and the Fugitive Slave Acts occur, these were both topics that were discussed in class. This book shows what was going on in people’s lives during the time of these events and allows the students to learn more about these events.

The book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a first person point of view as to what slavery was really like. This book gives light to the sexual and physical abuse inflicted on slaves daily by masters that claimed to be christian. Harriet Jacobs does not spare any details, although some of the topics were taboo at the time, the book was beautifully and should be read by everyone to realize just how much the world and society has improved since then.

Harriet Jacobs main reason for writing this book was to shed light on the terrible things happening to her personally and to fellow slaves. The book also showed the irony of christians in the south, if these people claimed to be christain then how could white people believe that owning slaves and treating them as if they weren’t human was ok?

References

1. Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. AmazonClassics, 2019.
2. “Ten Commandments List.” Bibleinfo.com, https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/ten-commandments-list.
3. History.com Editors. “Nat Turner.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Dec. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/nat-turner.
4. “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.” Social Welfare History Project, 29 Apr. 2018, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/federal/fugitive-slave-act-of-1850/.

“A slave is a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.”(Lexico Dictionaries 2019). The Transatlantic Slave Trade started in the 17th century with the first black African “negro” slaves reaching Virginia in 1619. Black people were kidnapped from West Africa and forcibly relocated to the Americas. African American slaves worked sunup to sundown with no pay. Slaves were forced to do manual labour farming crops like cotton, rice, indigo and tobacco or working in the homestead of their owners – it was not a pleasant life. Most African slaves tried to escape or pretended not to understand instructions from their owners to get out of their back breaking labour. One fascinating slave who escaped slavery was Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass strived for human rights, justice for all, equality and integration. Douglass was a brilliant social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and a statesman (Walker, T 2019).

The barbaric Transatlantic Slave Trade (three stages of ‘trade’ that formed a triangle) transported millions of unwilling enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas from the 16th-19th century. This slave trade was a result of a demand for labour to cultivate crops in newly conquered European colonies. The first stage; textiles, slaves and wine were shipped from Europe to Africa. The next stage saw slaves taken from Africa to the Americas, also known as the middle passage where 15% of slaves died (digital history, 2020). The final stage; sugar, rum, cotton and tobacco were shipped on return to Europe. Slaves were dehumanised called ‘cargo’, enduring unimageable brutality, being shaved and branded before up to 400 slaves were squeezed into a single ship. Some ‘cargo’, committed suicide and were thrown overboard if they were ill or disobedient. The African slaves that made it to America were sold (a horrifying ordeal in itself with families torn apart and herded like cattle) and forced to live on plantations. Marriage between slaves was not legal but they still had large families. Slave owners encouraged this to produce more free labour. In 1794 the cotton gin was invented it deseeded cotton 50 times more efficiently (History.com Editors 2020). As there was a greater supply of cotton, demand also increased which meant slaves had to work harder in the field. If slaves were caught ‘slacking’ or trying to escape, they were whipped in front of the others. In 1808 the American congress outlawed the African slave trade (which brought approximately 600 000 African slaves to America). The enslaved population nearly tripled over the next 50 years reaching four million in 1860 (History.com Editors 2020).

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was an African American slave who was born into slavery in 1818. Douglass lived on plantations with his maternal grandmother – Betty Baily as Frederick had been separated from his mother who died when he was only ten. At the age of 12 he was taught the alphabet by the wife of his slave owner. He continued to learn to read watching white children and passing on his knowledge by teaching other slaves to read. He read books and newspapers which gave him insight into his world and the struggle of slaves. This was the beginning of his view on human rights. When he was only 16 after a brutal beating, he bravely stood up to his master. On September 3rd, 1838 at the age of 20, Frederick escaped slavery with the help of his future wife, a free black woman Anna Murray (NCC staff 2019). Frederick took a train to Pennsylvania where he married Anna, had five children changed his name to Douglass and settled in a free black community. Frederick began to give lectures and write books on how he escaped and what his ideals were. After his biography was published, he fled to Ireland to avoid persecution where his loyal followers purchased his legal freedom and he returned to America in 1847 a freeman where he began publishing his Newspaper The North Star.

Frederick gave his famous “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” speech at an abolitionist meeting in Massachusetts in 1852. His speech illustrated that Americans had freedom from Britain, but black Americans still were not free. Frederick’s Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass helped many slaves escape. His second autobiography published in 1855, My Bondage and My Freedom taught all Americans how unfair slavery was. His books are now considered classics. Douglass was America’s most well-known black spokesman. Mrs Lincoln, the President’s wife gave Frederick, Lincoln’s walking stick. 1863 saw the passing of the 13th Amendment to the American Constitution declaring freedom from slavery (History.com Editors 2020). Douglass gave a divisive speech in 1870 upon Robert E. Lee’s (Confederate General’s) death that black Americans had their ‘freedom’, but they still did not have equal rights. Douglass went on to become the Federal Marshal for the District of Columbia, president of the Rutherford Bank, Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Consul General to Haiti, the first Black American Nominee for Vice president of the United States, a spokesman for woman’s rights and worked with four American Presidents from Lincoln to Hayes. After Anna died, he controversially married Helen Pitts who was a white female abolitionist. Douglass died in 1895. Frederick Douglass is remembered for his passionate work ensuring Americans live up to the ideals, freedom and equality for all people. If Frederick Douglass was not born into slavery he wouldn’t have witnessed its cruelty first hand and would not have become an abolitionist and his life would have been very different.

Slavery bought Frederick’s ancestors through the Transatlantic Slave Trade to the Americas. Frederick Douglass was an African American born into slavery. He became the most famous black man at the time of the Civil War, he was the most photographed black man of his time, he wrote hundreds of columns in newspapers about black integration and justice for all. Most recently he has had a book about him written called the Prophet of Freedom and his statue was erected in 2013 in the National Mall Capitol Visitors centre in Washington DC. Frederick was a slave, he was an abolitionist and he was an inspiration to many. Frederick’s memory still resonates today because of his inspiring passion for equality for all American (architect of the capital 2020)

Bibliography

1. History.com Editors (2019). Slavery in America. [online] HISTORY. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery#section_1
2. Lewis, T. (2018). transatlantic slave trade | History & Facts. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/transatlantic-slave-trade.
3. Biography. (2017). Frederick Douglass. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/activist/frederick-douglass.
4. Mintz, S. (2019). Digital History. [online] Uh.edu. Available at: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/douglass_exhibit/douglass_timeline.html.
5. Ushistory.org. (2019). Frederick Douglass. [online] Available at: https://www.ushistory.org/people/douglass.htm.
6. Walker, T. (2019). Rediscovering Black History. [online] Rediscovering Black History. Available at: https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2020].
7. www.digitalhistory.uh.edu. (n.d.). Digital History. [online] Available at: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=446#:~:text=Between%2010%20and%2015%20million [Accessed 1 Jun. 2020].
8. Architect of the Capitol. (n.d.). Frederick Douglass. [online] Available at: https://www.aoc.gov/art/other-statues/frederick-douglass [Accessed 1 Jun. 2020].

Jane Austen is a female author from the Georgian era, spanning from 1714 to 1837. In my independent study novel, Pride and Prejudice, she is known for her social commentary that bridges the gap between romance and realism. Born in Steventon, Hampshire, England, on December 16, 1775. Born to Cassandra and George Austen, she was the seventh child of eight. She had one older sister. The Austens were very close and they strongly encouraged creative thinking and general learning in their home. Their father had an extensive library. They often put on plays in the rectory barn and partook in charades. Sometimes they even authored some of their own tales. As she aged, she grew closest to her older sister, Cassandra, and her father, who was an Oxford-educated rector for the nearby Anglican parish and an acclaimed scholar. Though the family was not poor, they could not afford an extravagant lifestyle. The sisters were sent to Oxford for their education but returned home when Jane nearly died of typhus. Their next boarding school in Reading was run by Mrs. La Tournelle who loved theater. Jane experienced a dynamic, independent female role model. When the expense of education became too much for the family, the girls returned to be home-schooled.

Jane loved to write stories and poems. She was fascinated by this fanciful world, where anything was possible. She began to write in notebooks constantly. In 1790, while still in her teens, she started to create her own novels, often writing about romance. Love and Freindship was a parody to romantic fiction, using a series of love letters. While trying this framework she realized she possessed much wit and also discovered her disgust for sensibility. This distinct perspective, characterized much of her later writing.

Jane’s adulthood consisted of attending church, helping run the family, playing the piano and socializing with her neighbours. She attended many gatherings in the evenings and often danced. She read aloud to her family. Ironically, she never married although there was one time she truly fell in love. It was to a boy named Tom Lefroy, a nearby neighbour’s nephew. He was in town because he was being educated in London. They spent much time together and Jane was officially smitten with him. Unfortunately, the Austens had nothing to offer him. Since he was being funded by his Uncle, he was forced to leave town by his meddling family. Even when returning to visit, there was heavy effort in not letting them see each other. After this brutal heartbreak there was much controversy about the fact that she agreed to marry a man named Harris Bigg-Wither in 1802, but took back her acquiescence early the following morning due to the fact that she did not truly love him. There is rumour she fell in love with another, but he died soon after this discovery. I believe her experience with Lefroy inspired the plot of Pride and Prejudice. She was motivated to write the novel to express her views on marriage. In her era, women were expected to be married and many did so out of convenience. Austen disagreed with this practice and used her book to express her opinions.

As she continued her writing she gave her novels modern characteristics due to her treatment of people in her everyday life. Jane’s extended family lived all over England. She made many visits to Bath and London. Her extensive travels and experiences contributed greatly to the subjects, settings and characters in her novels. Many events and acquaintances mentioned in Austen’s letters turn up in her novels. The character of Elizabeth Bennet has similar attributes to her cousin Eliza. She is also quite close with her father and older sister, just like Jane was. There were literary influences in her life as well. She was a fan of authors Samuel Richardson and Fanny Burney. Richardson wrote in the epistolary style, revealing elements of the plot through letters. Austen also adapts this method in her novels. Fanny made her female characters strong and realistic for her readers. Austen enjoyed this element of her books and chose a heroine for her own stories. In the final chapter of her novel Cecilia, Fanny used the phrase Pride and Prejudice several times. This is where the critics feel Austen chose the name for her book.

Spanning from October 1796 and August 1797, she wrote the first draft of Pride and Prejudice, initially titled First Impressions. Attempts to publish this book failed until January of 1813, when Thomas Egerton agreed to publish it, anonymously. Sense and Sensibility was published first and subsequent publications were attributed to “The author of Sense and Sensibility”.

Her father, in 1801, retired from the clergy and moved to Bath with the female Austens. In 1804, her dearest friend, Mrs. Anne Lefroy passed away. When her father passed in 1805, the ladies were at the mercy of her brothers. They stayed in Southampton from 1805-1809 until one of her brothers, Edward, provided lodging for them at a cottage on his estate in Chawton Village, Hampshire. Early in 1816, Austen became fatally ill. She was suffering from Addison disease. Simple tasks like walking became very difficult and she was bedridden by April. She died, at a young age of 41, in Winchester on July 18 and was buried six days later at the local Cathedral. Her novels were finally published with her name, after her death, when her brother Henry, her literary agent, documented the truth about her authorship. Only four of her novels were published during her lifetime.

Abstract

This is the author’s perspective and mind about how women feel why they should approve a marriage just because of social or economic class problems, and about how women’s rights are not free. The novel by Jane Austeen to be analyzed is titled ‘EMMA’. The study was conducted by using theories and also historical and biographical approaches. Which will later focus on words, lines, and stanzas of the poem. The research was conducted with the following statement of problems: (1) How is the image of a woman’s life described in Jane Austen’s novel with the title EMMA? (2) What are the reasons for using feminism perspective in Jane Austen’s novel with the title EMMA? The research is conducted by descriptive qualitative because the result of the data is word, sentence, and language. After collecting data from some part of the novel, the recipient puts them into some groups which relate to the problem focuses. The researcher Spice every datum by using content analysis. Based on the research questions mentioned above, the results of the study are as follows. First, the researcher concludes that the images of woman’s life are described in Jane Austen’s novel with the title EMMA is Feminism because discriminateion toward women and men are related to the bad history of the era. Second, the reasons for using feminism are the image of her bad life experiences. Researchers who conduct studies about literature focus on feminism or methods in using biographical and historical approaches.

Introduction

Literature is a work of art consisting of words. mostly written, there are also several passed on from generation to generation. Literature usually means poetry and a very well written process. There are many types of literature, such as poetry, drama, novels, etc. Apparently, ‘literature does not only mean what is voiced, what is expressed, what is created, in any form’ – in this case, maps, sermons, comics, cartoons, speeches, photographs, films, war memorials, and music all gather in under the umbrella of literature. So, the following statement makes it clear that in literary works there is a deep meaning intended to be conveyed and expressed by the writer/creator to the general public. This is consistent with what is called Poetry.

The novel is a work of narrative fiction with a large number of pages. Over time, there are many types of novels. Novels that voice women’s voices for example. This novel uses the theory of feminism which, the author wants to show the strength of women equal to men. There is no ‘lean’ in this case, all the same, and all have the same rights. Feminism means believing that men and women are the same, simple as that.

Jane Austen is one of the novel writers with the theme of feminism, she wrote many stories that made women the main actors with high courage and opposed the behavior towards women at that time. One of them is a novel called EMMA, she wrote novels during the period covering January 21, 1814- March 29, 1815. Emma can be considered a feminist novel because it highlights the injustices faced by women in small villages in the early 1800s.

Feminist terms begin to emerge when women realize there is a clear gap between men and women, rights are also distinguished by the limited activities that can be carried out and also the rules without any clear origin. According to Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first feminist wave in the 19th century and early 20th century, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third developed from the 1990s to the present. Feminist theory emerged from this feminist movement. That makes feminist literary criticism increasingly widespread in various fields. The existence of these three waves shows that women change their mindset from time to time and also want the same rights as men.

Biography of Jane Austen

Jane Austen was a great woman novelist of the early 19th century. Jane was born on 16 December 1775 in Steventon Rectory. She was the second daughter of The Reverend George Austen and his wife Cassandra. She also had 1 sister and 6 brothers. Jane Austen died on 18 July 1817. Jane was only 41 years old. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Jane Austen never married. She got married proposal from a man named Harris Bigg-Wither and she accepted it but then reject it quickly.

Jane Austen loved writing and she wrote a lot of short stories called the Juvenilia. In 1795 she wrote a novel she called Elinor and Marianne. And then her writing skill are seen from the other great novels like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, First Impression, Sense and Sensibility, etc.

EMMA is one of Austen’s novels about a girl named Emma Woodhouse, who is described as a person who is lucky with facial beauty, wealth, and good education. He has a jovial nature but sometimes he feels that something is wrong with his family. He is the youngest of three children, he has 2 female kaka whose name is Isabelle. Her female Kaka was married, so she lived in a luxurious wooden house with her father, namely Mr. Woodhouse. His birth mother has died since he was a child.

Emma has a hobby that is matchmaking people, she got this new hobby after she managed to make one of the couples successfully advance to marriage. Emma felt that she was an expert in this field, so she would be very excited and confident when she began pairing lovers. Mr. Woodhouse did not like and oppose Emma’s hobby, but he continued. Everything went as usual before a misunderstanding took place. His best friend Harriet was paired with a man who he said was good and right for Harriet but it turned out that this man was the one who made a difference in social status. He is named Mr. Elton, he thought that Emma liked him and he spared Emma. Emma was very surprised and Harriet was surprised. Mr. Elton refused Harriet because he was not from the top like Emma. Soon he married a rich and arrogant woman. Because of this Emma chose to go to a village called Highbury, she chose not to take care of other people’s lives for a while. Emma’s departure was considered a form of heartache because of Mr. Elton by Harriet.

In Highbury, Emma was surrounded by many good people who were like their own family. Soon, there was a character named Frank who was a dream in the village. Emma also tried to like it too and they wanted. But it turns out Frank has been engaged since a year ago with a girl named Jane. Suddenly this again shocked Emma.

In the end, he found true love for Mr. Knightley, at first they often debated long about their thoughts and comments on Churchill, who was always different. Lots of humor but also epic when this plot happens. After married Emma and Mr.Knightley, they decided to stay together while accompanying Emma’s father at Hartfield.

However, from the exciting journey of Emma’s love story and also her charismatic character Emma described the researchers found that in this novel there is a clear picture of how women lived at that time, and this will be examined in the discussion section of this paper.

Women in the 1800s

During the early 1800s, women were generally trapped and had to stay at home and do household chores. They are asked to get married and not a few who accept it because they have to. Getting married for love was taboo at the time, but because of the economy and because they were women so they had to accept proposals from men who were considered ‘more’. A limited right to do something is one of the things that made women at that time not free and imprisoned by ancient rules.

Discussion

The first problem statement already answer based on her biography and also in the Women in the 1800s part. It explained how the life of a woman living in that era. They can only be at home, waiting somebody ask her to get married.

In this part we will discuss how Austen uses a feminist perspective and how the novel entitled ‘EMMA’ is themed feminism.

In some part mr Harriet said it to Emma when they are together in a small village,

‘It is so odd to hear a woman talk so!’

This proves at that time women were limited even in terms of speaking. And Emma’s response that did not approve it illustrates her nature that does not accept if a woman is always prohibited from doing something she likes. Emma is indeed portrayed as an independent, brave person. With his attitude like this, Austen shows Emma as role of a feminist who puts equality between genders. Perspectives of people in that era to women who dared to express what was felt to be very bad, women like that are considered impolite and disrespectful to men who incidentally are considered more.Another thing that proves how Emma has different thoughts about how women should get married is in the section:

‘I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing!’

The dialogue shows how Emma refused marriage if it was not for love, she did not agree if women must always accept what was offered to her. She thinks that women and humans who have the right to choose are just like men. She refused the man who proposed to her because she did not love him. Until she met Mr. Knightly and fall in love and then get married. After marriage, Emma wanted to stay in her village to accompany her father, this also proved that Austen insisted that women could choose and be able to argue.

“The woman was better off; she might have the assistance of fine clothes, and privilege of bashfulness, but the man had only his own good sense to depend on;..”

The above snippet explains how Jane Austen shares the situation of women who are seen as good only with beautiful clothes and shyness, but men are seen from how they think. Jane criticizes how women cannot be seen from how they think and what they want. Gender really influences the space of people in the past, because with the view of women only as goods and doing things that have been determined then the space for movement is limited. How Austen adds ‘good sense’ in the men’s section describes it is not important if a woman has ‘good sense’ because that is not her space.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey of the Emma story has the essence of the search for identity and love which is also peppered with romantic stories in ancient times. Do not forget to give a situation where it is still up to social status issues. In this interesting story Jane describes how Emma’s life as a woman in those days with her determination to carry out what she wanted to do. Topic feminism is neatly arranged with the addition of these things. Jane Austen gives a beautiful masterpiece by reflecting herself in the novel.

Jane Austen described Emma’s figure as independent, courageous, and intelligent to strengthen all her thoughts in showing resistance to behavior towards women at that time. This proves that this novel has the theme Feminism seen from biography Austen who chose not to marry a historical background at that time which forced women to marry voluntarily because of economic conditions. That could also be one of the reasons why Jane did not choose to marry because of the lives of women with this and that limitation, Austen chose to live with her writings.

References

1. http://wew.i-scholar.in
2. http://www.localhistories.org/austen.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_feminism
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel
5. https://www.questia.com/library/120096574/this-thing-we-call-literature

In this short essay, I will discuss the topic of marriage as an economic factor in the early nineteenth century based on Jane Austen´s novel “Sense and Sensibility”, which consists of a complex debate and terms like morality, economics, aesthetics, and psychology.

The novel Sense and Sensibility was published in 1811 after Jane Austen did her first draft in writing Elinor and Marianne. Jane Austen came from an upper-class family and was known for her remarkable skills and talents in creating complex and energetic characters. The novel Sense and Sensibility begins with the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who were members of the upper-class society before being forced into poverty through the sudden death of their father Mr. Dashwood. After the death of Mr. Dashwood, all the fortune of the Dashwoods family inherited to his son John. This inheritance left the Dashwood women penniless, and they were forced to leave their house in Norland Park. Marianne and Elinor Dashwood pursued their fate according to their outlook and belief. They encounter their fate in an unhappy love story.

During the eighteenth century, women in Great Britain were very disadvantaged; there was no access to high education, and the property rights of women depended upon their marital status. Once a woman was married, her property rights were governed by English common law, which states that their husbands legally absorb to take or acquire the property of his wife. Moreover, it was prohibited for married women to make wills or dispose of any of her property without her husband´s agreement. The separation between husband and wife, whether issued by any one of them, usually left the woman in poverty, due to the law, which offered them no rights to marital property. Thus, social behaviors were regulated at that time by patriarchal principles based on the possession of property where women were subordinated to the male in the family and in society in general. Whereas patriarchal laws were protecting the interests of male heirs and preserving their privileges of ownership, women were prevented from the freedom of making their own choices and forced into marriage which was the only possible way into secure financial income.

In her novel Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen pointed out her rejection of marriage for money rather than love; moreover, she was against the idea of women depending on man to obtain financial relief. Austen utilized the concept of marriage in her novels to inform her audience about the real-life problems of economy and marriage. Although Austen was never married, she was fully aware of the subject marriage, social concerns as well as the disadvantages of remaining single. “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor – which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony”.

The novel depicts the characters as obsessive people who are aware of their possessions, relationships and power within the social system. Austen shows that ‘patriarchal control of women depended on women being denied the right to earn or even inherit their own money’. John Dashwood was aware of the government law and he was sure that the law will protect him. Therefore, he took all the inheritance and left his sisters without any finical relief. The Dashwood women were in an unfavorable position, which pushed and encouraged them to look at that entrapment as their motive in courtship and barter their beautiful outlook for financial security through marriage. John abruptly advised his sister Elinor, “with some little exercise of a woman´s conquest she can fix Colonel Brandon in spite of himself and her own small fortune”. John Dashwood was also thinking about his other sister Marianne and was wondering if she will marry a man who owns or inherit more than five or six hundred a year. “I question whether Marianne now will marry a man worth more than five or six hundred a year at the utmost”. These are incidents from the novel, in which Austen illustrates, that John Dashwood mirrors not only his views of economic benefits of marriage but also the typical views of the society he was living in, where his sisters would face a severer form of dehumanization.

The two characters John Willoughby and Eduard Ferrars had been under the control of the system as well. Willoughby was an attractive but dishonest young man, who won Marianne Dashwood´s heart but abandoned her later in favor of the wealthy Miss Sophia Grey. At the same time, Eduard´s mother Mrs. Ferrars is threatening her son to withhold some of his income and disinherit him unless he marries a woman from his mother´s choice. Furthermore, one of Austen’s strongest female characters, Mrs. Jennings was interfering with a couple matching, trying to match people taking into account economic issues. “Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married, and she had now, therefore, nothing to do but marry all the rest of the world”. Next to those characters who conceived marriage in economic terms, Jane Austen showed that marriage for love is still alive and possible when Mrs. Ferrars´ son Eduard preferred love over money and thus decided to marry Elinor.

Jane Austen’s last novel was quite a different take on the romance genre during her time. It was expected of Austen’s art of writing to direct her irony in her novels about expectations in women, aristocracy, and social customs. Austen herself was a keen observer of the economics of her class and herself of the landed gentry but mostly from the perspective of the marginal female member of the field.

In Persuasion, the canonical theme of marriage in a romance novel was concluded with a predictable ending and resolution. However, marriage and romance in the case of Anne Elliot did not execute with the traditional approach in comparison to previous texts, on top of being a heroine that challenges the female protagonist archetype herself. Accompanying those grounds, Austen — who often wrote with realism in mind — incorporated the reality of societal expectation while challenging these traditions in Persuasion, which gave it a mature and sensible taste to the novel. The conflict between romance and the reality that Austen had written in Persuasion made the novel with an unlikely romance trope, which can be seen through Anne’s self-conflicting character as a heroine and how other women in the novel view the idea of marriage and wealth.

A pattern that was evident in the discussion of women and marriage was the cost of marriage for these women and how that influenced each woman’s value of her dignity and personal interest in the novel. Austen had drawn in on the idea that women often sacrifice their education and intellectual value after marriage. This idea also leads to the point of what women seek or consider for marriage. The nature of the aristocratic circle of Persuasion, in which most of the characters were levelled in on similar grounds, were often pursuing to benefit in status and materialism; lesser on the emotional and spiritual connection with their partners when it comes to marriage. This is to say that the importance of marriage as a contract to wealth and status causes women to elude from their dignity in the intellectual and emotional property. For example, the most obvious female character that beared this tendency was Mrs. Clay, whose plans to court Sir Walter Elliot was for the benefit of property inheritance and status.

Marriage was imperative for translating wealth and property in the aristocratic society of 18th Century Britain. The circle of the aristocrats and landed gentry was often the main purpose for marriage rather than the latter being about genuine love and romance. Sure enough, although Anne’s feelings for Wentworth was genuine, Louisa might have been Anne’s rival in that sense as well but, as we can see, the naïve younger woman simply admires the captain; on top of the notion that her position with the handsome and wealthy navy captain was ideal to those around her, including herself. Louisa’s vehemently declared to Captain Wentworth, quoting “that she would always remain by the man she loves, as Mrs Croft would of the Admiral, and would rather be overturned by him, than driven safely by anybody else”, indicating her conformity to the social custom and tradition willingly. This implies that Austen intended to portray how deep-rooted the tendency of women’s willingness to conform to the conditions of marriage was; which likely means to them an end to their freedom of interest and developing assets such as education and intellectual achievements. Thus, Louisa might have been made to be quite oblivious about the reality of the Crofts’ marriage life as she was closer to the customs of the elites such as the Elliots. A quote from Mary, baring her Elliot pride, mentioning about Henrietta also proves the tendency of this mindset was prevalent saying that she “cannot think Charles Hayter was to be a fit match for Henrietta at all” and that Henrietta“has no right to throw herself away”. Mary also mentions in the same scene that “a young woman has no right to make a choice that may be disagreeable and inconvenient to the principal part of her family”, further implying the dire importance of wealth, status, and connection in marriage for a woman over the emotional aspect of it in their society.

However, even with such tradition that was canon in novels prior to Austen’s, not only did she give us a heroine of such, thus, an exemplary couple in the novel that challenged this notion as well; that is Mr. and Mrs. Croft. Austen depicted the ideal dynamics of the Crofts metaphorically in a scene in which the Admiral and Mrs. Croft were on their way home on their horse chaise. Mrs. Croft had lent her hand for the Admiral in steering the carriage into stable grounds, avoided falling into a rut. In a sense, Austen had portrayed the Admiral and Mrs. Croft’s teamwork as, ideally, the exemplary power couple with a functional, happy marriage; despite not being among the elites and the wealthy. Mrs. Croft had made them aware of their compatibility in her conversation with the admiral (and Anne in the backseat) quoting that they “should not talk about it for if Miss Elliot were to hear how soon we came to an understanding, she would never be persuaded that we could be happy together”, and that Mrs Croft “had known the Admiral by character long before”. Mrs. Croft, despite not being as educated as to the Elliot sisters and the Miss Musgroves, managed to retain personal happiness and intellectual balance with her husband after marriage. Presumably, Mr. and Mrs. Croft falls under Austen’s successful-couple list as to address her idea at the possibility of such marriage. It is also Austen’s jab at going against the trope that success and happiness can only be attained by marrying into wealth and seeking social statuses in the genre.

Seeing how there was a contrast between the female characters’ value and means of marriage in the novel, Austen had made Anne to be put on the fence in this matter. This was, of course, a conflict reaching until the falling action of the novel. Anne was a self-contradicting character for a start. She was acknowledged to be intelligent, educated, capable, sensible, able to stand her ground most of the time but only to a certain extent. She was kind and helpful to those around her, but she gave herself away too much that what matters to them about her was whether she was needed or not. She gave way to others for convenience and that she deliberately made herself to fade into the background while other characters with starker and livelier personality were put in the spotlight, at least to hers and their perspectives. Why would a lead heroine do this to herself? This was all, perhaps, Austen’s intention in addressing the matter, that even the docile yet sensible protagonist fall victim to the need for conformity in social customs. Knowing that she has much passed her blooming age, Anne chose to fall back among others. We could see that she was a woman of “strong mind, with sweetness of manner”, which was a quality desired by Captain Wentworth in his woman, yet she lacks self-driven force when it comes to her desires. Ironically, she had mentioned during her conversation with Captain Benwick quoting “Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands” and how she “will not allow books to prove anything”.

However, when it comes to solving the burden of others, she otherwise displayed capable and sensible leadership traits. She was able to attend to the Musgrove’s son’s fall injury with first aid skills, she had always been the one to be sought for nursing attention, she took the lead as she just knew what needed to be done when Louisa took her fall resulting to a concussion to her head; despite the notion that Louisa was her rival. As with the struggle to satisfy the public with marriage for wealth and other accomplishments, Anne struggled with herself against conforming to the expectation of those around her while trying to stand up for what she truly desires for herself. Perhaps, this was all Austen’s deliberate portrayal and the imposition of a sensible woman’s dignity and her dilemmic struggle in the aristocratic society, just as how women in history had to face over the century with marriage and wealth being the critical factor.

To conclude and coming in full circle of the initial statement, there was much to say about women’s willingness to sacrifice their value and intellectual achievements in turn for marriage, and that the marriage they were bound to be often out of spite for wealth and the satisfaction of achieving social statuses. Nevertheless, Anne was able to overcome the pressure of conforming to social expectation that surrounds her self-conflicting character at the end, which still makes her another of Austen’s heroic heroine as she was able to conclude her happiness with marriage to her true love in Austen’s (arguably) most mature romance novel.