Compare the ways in which the writers of your chosen text’s present
women.
Both Stoker and Morrison challenge literary conventions and social expectation in their
presentation of women and their role in society. Morrison encourages her 1980’s
readers to question the assumption that, because women are “weaker”, they have to
adopt the “male” characteristics in order to be considered equal to men. Writing
against the 19th Century binary view of women as either “Madonna” or a “whore”,
Stoker acknowledges a virtuous women’s sexual capacity for corruption.
Morrison and Stoker create distressing but honest scenes in order to truly expose the
reality of the characteristics of women. Arguably, one of the most disturbing scenes in
‘Beloved’ is the murder of Beloved, quite literally a central part of the novel. Sethe’s
actions can be reasoned to be out of uncontrollable love and thus, despite the idea of
Denver taking ‘her mother’s milk right along with the blood of her sister’ initially
producing a sense of horror within the reader, the strength of women as a mother is
portrayed. Rather more telling is the inclusion of ‘milk’ in this scene due to it
deliberately underpinning the necessary nourishment only a mother can provide for
their child, showing a type of strength unique to a women, whilst purposefully
reinforcing the underlying message established by Morrison challenging that women
must adopt the “male” characteristics in order to be considered equal to men by
illustrating a strength incomparable to a man. This message is amplified due to
Morrison’s chosen name of ‘Sethe’, a name of Hebrew origin, meaning ‘appointed’ or
‘placed’. This outlines her aim to challenge the view that women are submissive since
‘Sethe’ highlights the idea of a female leader of not only 124 but of black America and
thus, strength is portrayed. Although, it can be argued that Morrison undermines this
idea since ‘Sethe’ can relate to the male biblical name ‘Seth’ which can contradict the
writers aim to challenge the view that women must adopt male characteristics in order
to be equal to men since Sethe’s strength is depicted through the name of a male.
However, on the other hand, to give Sethe a name that derives from a man and to
present her strength as appointed not adopted intensifies the lack of her submissive
nature more so. This view of black women in 1980’s America as strong would have
been contested due to the racist and sexist inferiority forced upon them at the time,
contrasting drastically with the views of readers today as a result of the increase in
feminism. Morrison writes ‘she simply swung the baby’ and the sense of calmness
portrayed by the use of ‘simply’ challenges the view of women being dramatic and
unable to control their emotions, two characteristics which can be interpreted as
weaknesses. Despite the disturbing nature of this, the strength of Sethe is unveiled due
to the role of Sethe depited, as mother protecting her children, being proved to hold a
significance which can overcome the horrors of the slave trade. Moreover, by
conditioning the reader to challenge the belief that women must be submissive, in
women.
Both Stoker and Morrison challenge literary conventions and social expectation in their
presentation of women and their role in society. Morrison encourages her 1980’s
readers to question the assumption that, because women are “weaker”, they have to
adopt the “male” characteristics in order to be considered equal to men. Writing
against the 19th Century binary view of women as either “Madonna” or a “whore”,
Stoker acknowledges a virtuous women’s sexual capacity for corruption.
Morrison and Stoker create distressing but honest scenes in order to truly expose the
reality of the characteristics of women. Arguably, one of the most disturbing scenes in
‘Beloved’ is the murder of Beloved, quite literally a central part of the novel. Sethe’s
actions can be reasoned to be out of uncontrollable love and thus, despite the idea of
Denver taking ‘her mother’s milk right along with the blood of her sister’ initially
producing a sense of horror within the reader, the strength of women as a mother is
portrayed. Rather more telling is the inclusion of ‘milk’ in this scene due to it
deliberately underpinning the necessary nourishment only a mother can provide for
their child, showing a type of strength unique to a women, whilst purposefully
reinforcing the underlying message established by Morrison challenging that women
must adopt the “male” characteristics in order to be considered equal to men by
illustrating a strength incomparable to a man. This message is amplified due to
Morrison’s chosen name of ‘Sethe’, a name of Hebrew origin, meaning ‘appointed’ or
‘placed’. This outlines her aim to challenge the view that women are submissive since
‘Sethe’ highlights the idea of a female leader of not only 124 but of black America and
thus, strength is portrayed. Although, it can be argued that Morrison undermines this
idea since ‘Sethe’ can relate to the male biblical name ‘Seth’ which can contradict the
writers aim to challenge the view that women must adopt male characteristics in order
to be equal to men since Sethe’s strength is depicted through the name of a male.
However, on the other hand, to give Sethe a name that derives from a man and to
present her strength as appointed not adopted intensifies the lack of her submissive
nature more so. This view of black women in 1980’s America as strong would have
been contested due to the racist and sexist inferiority forced upon them at the time,
contrasting drastically with the views of readers today as a result of the increase in
feminism. Morrison writes ‘she simply swung the baby’ and the sense of calmness
portrayed by the use of ‘simply’ challenges the view of women being dramatic and
unable to control their emotions, two characteristics which can be interpreted as
weaknesses. Despite the disturbing nature of this, the strength of Sethe is unveiled due
to the role of Sethe depited, as mother protecting her children, being proved to hold a
significance which can overcome the horrors of the slave trade. Moreover, by
conditioning the reader to challenge the belief that women must be submissive, in
