Siân
Amy Siviter
A
critical review on Gibert and Gubar’s 1984 article “The Queen’s Looking Glass”
Gilbert
and Gubar address the issue of the preservation of masculine dominance in
literature, where throughout time men have overshadowed, and indeed purged the
works of female writers. Gerard Manley Hopkins stated ‘masterly execution,
which is a kind of male gift, and especially marks off men from women.” Here
Gilbert and Gubar have presented a male egotistic opinion that they continue to
explore throughout the article. From the 18th century male
perspective, a pen is somewhat a metaphorical penis, a trait physically and
psychologically reserved for the use of men. Hopkins continues to say that “not
only is a woman that attempts the pen, an intrusive and presumptuous creature,
she is absolutely unredeemable.” This suggests that a woman who tries to
express herself through literature is not only exposing herself to society in a
masculine, unattractive manner but also presenting herself to the derision of
men. It is by no means considered that any woman could write and write well,
she is infinitely set to fail such a masculine task.
A
letter written by Robert Southey, to the brilliant Charlotte Brontë, author of
the intricate and emotional novel Jane Eyre is referred to by Gilbert and
Gubar, the extract reading “Literature is not the business of a woman’s life,
and it cannot be.” This laughable notion directed at a female mind of
excellence, and executed with such ignorance is a stain on the character of the
men of this period. Why is it regarded as impossible for a woman to excel at a
masculine activity? Who declared writing to be fit for men alone? For sewing
and musical displays to be categorised as feminine, while politics and hunting
were taken up by men, who was to determine where writing, such a personal act of
expression fell? Do women not read books? Do they not write letters, and have
thoughts and feelings equal to those of men? Should a woman’s mind be so very
restricted that such thoughts and ideas are unable to develop and thrive, let
alone be allowed free passage onto paper? Gubar and Gilbert expertly review and
consider these ideas, drawing on the opinions of women, expressed through their
pens on paper, to counter argue the vicious dictatorship of men.
The
oppression of women’s writing meant that to be even considered or viewed in the
publishing region, a woman had to hide herself behind a pen name, pretending to
be a man so that her work would be appreciated for what is was and not merely
dismissed as the idol ramblings of a woman. The article refers to one of Anne
Finch’s Poems where she ironically presents women as Cyphers; Nonentities, and
the poem reads:
“We beside you but as Cyphers stand,
T’increase
your Numbers and to swell th; account
The poem expresses a scornful
tone of the way in which men regard women as mere objects for amusement; they
are present in life as mere vessel to carry a man’s spawn into the world. The
word ‘swell’ appears to me very symbolic, a penis swells and as William Gass
voiced “literary women lack that blood congested genital drive which energizes
every great style.” Such a remark stating that a man’s genitalia is where the
art of writing stems from, it also presents the notion of women lacking in
sexual desire, being unable to write well, as they do not have the passionate
desire that a man so clearly relies upon. Swell also relates to the swelling of
the womb to accommodate a growing child. This imagery presents a man with his
sexual power and a woman with her only valued feature of bearing children. The
two juxtaposing categories are bound by the use of the same word a factor not
merely present by accident I think, for the act of sex appears to be the only
element men of this time valued as worthwhile for a man and woman to
participate in together, for certainly a man could not discuss sewing and a woman
could not discuss politics. A man did not make flower arrangements and a woman
did not take part in sports, so surely there was nothing else to do that would
incorporate both genders. Presented here is a conceited ideology that women
increase ‘male numbers’ both in biological reproduction and in literature, by
being food for men. Women are presented
as the inspiration of such works of great men but by no other means effect any
written literature. Gilbert and Gulbar write that a woman’s participation is her
ability to ‘pleasure’ either a man’s ‘body, mind, penis, or pen.’ Or such is
the opinion of the male society.
When
the novel Wuthering Heights circulated in popular society and cleared a space
for itself in the canon of great literature, it was widely regarded as being
impossible for a woman to have written such a dark, violent piece. Sexually charged and with complexities in
character, plot, language and narration, it was far too unlikely such work had
been written at the hand of a woman. It is not that a woman is unable to
compose such work; it is the belief of men that women ought to fit a particular
ideal, the ideal of being passive, gentle, and obedient and a complimentary
article on the life of a man. Women are present not to shine themselves, but to
help a man shine more. These ideas presented give cause for further argument of
why in a masculine concept does sex have to feature so very vividly. It
certainly expresses that men have one trait very much their own and that’s the
relation of sex to any given topic. Do these men suggest that their penis is
their pen? As previously mentioned ‘an erect penis (congested blood in genital
drive) gives energy to a man’s work’ it calls into question if these men are
only great writers when sexually charged. If so, this then suggest that men
were in fact weak minded and led not by their minds but by their desire, only fuelled
by women.
Angela
Carters story ‘The Company of Wolves’ taken from the collection of short
stories ‘The Bloody Chamber’ published in 1979, is an interesting, dark
adaption of ‘Red Riding Hood’. Carter incorporates many issues in the story. Some
of which are; sex, coming of age, violence, animalistic impulses, and gender
roles. We can relate the story to the previous ideas of women being subject to
a man’s desire and present for the purpose of pleasure. In the story, red
riding hood is a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, as it is stated she has
recently began her monthly periods. Despite being young and seemingly innocent
the girl is aware of her own desire to the man/wolf. Her cape of red reflects
everything about the story, the violence of the wolf, the lust, the new
bleeding that has distinguished woman from girl, and the blood that will be
shed when she gives up her virginity.
Throughout
the story the male character; the wolf, is portrayed as the dominant role, he
leads the girl and imprisons her. The image of entrapment at the hands of a man
portrays the repression of women and the restrictions men place upon women, in
life and in literature. The act of the girl striping off her clothes when
commanded shows that she’s the subordinate. However the girl relishes in her
act, she enjoys the sexual desire and offers herself up as a sacrifice not in
death but in body. This demonstrates the ongoing belief that a woman’s greatest
tool is her sexual element, and that it is this and this alone that gives
females their only power over the male population. The girl is unafraid of the
wolf for she knows her own influence; his sexual desire is the hunger the wolf
feels, rather than a literal need for meat. This can be viewed in two different
perspectives, that the female character gains control and wants this
relationship, or that it is the expected and natural way for a woman to concede
and do as a man wishes, therefore her acceptance and eventual surrender could
be regarded by the reader as either personal choice or submission at the forced
hand of society and its expectations. The end of the story, features the girl
content in the arms of the man/wolf, this leads us to contemplate if Carter’s
representation of women, is that they belong imprisoned by a man, for it is not
the girl who holds the wolf, but he who firmly wraps himself around her,
binding her to him in the act of taking her virtue and physically locking her
in place with his strength.
Overall
the article presents strong and controversial ideas and while giving two
juxtaposing views from the two gender roles, the writers attempt to blur this
line created by men and argue that women are equally able to write and write
well, if not better. Women are not inspired by carnal acts and do not write
with their pen being led by their penis, for we have none. We, the women, write
from our brains a feature clearly underestimated and unused by the male population
of the 18th century.
Word
count: 1,643
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