Introduction Analysis

From Norton Book of Women’s Lives, Introduction, Edited by Phyllis Rose:

“It is a shock now to realize how much autobiographical work by women The New Yorker published in the fifties. […] It seems ungrateful to suggest that the context to some extent ‘emasculated’ its women writers” (15).

“Quentin Bell’s biography of Virginia Woolf, perhaps the fullest and most candid biography of a woman writer up to its time, revealed astonishing details about Woolf’s asexual marriage, affairs, with other women, and insanity” (18).


    In analyzing the introduction, I want to establish the definition of emasculate is to make someone or something weaker or less effective. As portrayed in these two quotes and throughout the introduction, numerous women are not able to share their personal parts of their lives with the world due to the fact that males had the power when it came to publishing. This in turn deprives women of their ability to share their experiences with other women to be able to empower them to not feel alone in the challenges they may face through all years of their life. 

    In my view, these women represented true feminism. Feminism by my definition is those who strive for equity for all. In their written work as they described the intimate details of their lives, they pushed the envelope and made an impact on society. Women were free to attempt to achieve true equity, yet the reality is that the value system they sought was not achievable.

    It is evident that the concept of a woman is constructed through individual experiences such as race and socio-economic environment, but discrimination and being undervalued was universal. After analyzing these various women’s lives and their struggles, today it is obvious that although not always intentional it was worth their efforts. Changes were made, and these groups of women's diverse experiences are in fact the foundations of continued change throughout history. Students continue to learn about these women and will continue to be inspired by their stories.

Comments

  1. Women and Gender StudiesJanuary 13, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    I agree with everything you have to say here. Women could not if they even wanted to express themselves in the society they were living in back in that time. Men controlled everything and still have a majority rule today. This in fact needs to change as women have an important voice in the things that matter. I never really viewed feminism as of all things and people equal but women equal to everyone else. This has opened my eyes too a new perspective. No one should be under discrimination based on there sex, race, sexual orientation for things of that nature.

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  2. Emma CarpentierJanuary 14, 2021 at 1:21 PM

    I agree with your definition of those who represented feminism. Many of the writers touched on in the introduction pioneered what we know now as feminism, whether they knew they were doing this or not. This idea came from the sharing of individual experiences between different women, and comparing the similarities and differences between those experiences. I like how you tie it together by stating that because of these women writing about their experience, they were creating a foundation for a movement yet to come.

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