Female representation in nineteenth century western literature

Abstract

Western women in the nineteenth century were challenged by a culture of gender inequality, and it was not before the nineteenth century that gender recognition and feminist beliefs were reflected in literature. Women writers began to mirror their personal uneasiness with gender inequality in their writing; and toward the end of the nineteenth century, they broadened their themes, and pushed the limits in their writing about the suffering of women in patriarchal societies. Male authors perceptions of women were mirrored in their works, and it is relevant to review how men viewed women during that time of change and to compare their writing to women writing about women. Therefore, the effect of gender on the portrayal of literary heroines in nineteenth-century literature had great impacts on the women of that century. Using literary texts from the nineteenth century I will endeavour to challenge the common notion that male authors of the nineteenth century wrote their women within the confines of patriarchal ideals of womanhood, and female authors strived to depict female consciousness outside of the boundaries of patriarchal characterization. Instead, this thesis will explore the ways in which this notion does not necessarily hold true.