When a person hears the names of Mary Astell, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Virginia Woolf they can hardly be separated from the notion of women’s rights. Although two of them lived and died before… Continue reading
Mary Wollstonecraft left a legacy that impacts feminism today.
In Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft makes an argument for an equal education of both women and men. Often celebrated as the first feminist, Wollstonecraft defines the link between a woman’s strength… Continue reading
“The Lady of Shalott” and “The Defense of Guenevere” are Victorian era poems of the Arthurian tradition that focus on female characters that are negatively affected because their desires cannot be met without… Continue reading
As so often seen in the Victorian Age, the idea of the world being a “man’s world” does not come as a surprise when thinking of Victorian literature. However, Christina Rossetti puts forth… Continue reading
The motive behind Jonathan Swift’s poem, “A Lady’s Dressing Room” has long been debated. Most interpretations, past and present, rely on the belief that Swift, himself, was a misogynist, and for good reason.… Continue reading
The popular image of forbidden fruit, stemming from the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis, has become salient in numerous forms of media. Some of the most well-known renditions… Continue reading
This meme represents Strephon’s lack of knowledge toward women. In Jonathon Swift’s “The Lady’s Dressing Room”, Strephon goes into Celia’s dressing room and finds out how filthy and stinky her chamber is. He… Continue reading
Mary Wollstonecraft should be Leslie Knope’s guest of honor at next year’s Galentine’s Day dinner. Leslie Knope needs a framed portrait of Wollstonecraft on her wall of inspirational women. If they were to… Continue reading
Comparing Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “Jenny” to the 90’s rom-com Pretty Woman.
While read as a children’s story throughout the nineteenth century, it seems impossible to read Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” and not stop and ask yourself what is actually happening between sisters, Laura and… Continue reading
Disney’s Frozen took audiences by storm when it hit theaters in 2013. With a quirky snowman, charming love interests, majestic powers, and singing trolls, Disney defied all odds and ventured away from the… Continue reading
Disney’s line of princess-themed films have come a long way in terms of the portrayal of their leading female characters. Early films like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty feature damsels in distress who simply… Continue reading
“John, you should go and play with Sally. She is pretty cute.” “Why don’t you like her? I think she is adorable.” “Sally is pretty hot man, I’d hang out with her.” “Who… Continue reading
Mary Astell is a firm believer that women’s rights are just as important as a man’s. In her essay Some Reflections Upon Marriage, she argues these positions. Mary Astell grew up in Newcastle… Continue reading
During the late 1700’s the place currently known for their pastries, love, and the Eiffel tower underwent a radical social and political revolution. This revolution was known as the French Revolution that last… Continue reading
The symbol captured by the figure of The Lady of Shalott within famous works of art help to embody her as an artwork itself: a living piece of life held captive by her… Continue reading
When confronted with Eliza Haywood’s novel Fantomina, or really any other text dealing with women of antiquity, I imagine one reaction within the average modern reader is as follows: well, at least women have it better… Continue reading
In Eliza Haywood’s “Fantomina; or Love in a Maze” we meet “a young lady of distinguished birth, beauty, wit and spirit.” (Haywood 2796) However, despite her class standing, or perhaps out of boredom… Continue reading
William Blake’s Visions of the Daughters of Albion was written a year after Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, a detailed article pushing for women’s education while critiquing the male… Continue reading
Jonathan Swift’s “The Lady’s Dressing Room,” written in 1732, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s direct response, “The Reasons that Induced Dr. S to Write a Poem Call’d the Lady’s Dressing Room” from 1734… Continue reading
18th century society in England mandated a chasm as wide as the Atlantic Ocean between the roles of the sexes. The men supposed themselves England: superior, imperial, and conquering, while giving the women… Continue reading
The term “Gothic” normally conjures popular, oftentimes cliché images in one’s mind, namely: the supernatural, darkness, castles, love, or mystery. However, recent scholarship has begun to separate Gothic literature into two distinct, gender-based… Continue reading
