FEMINISTIC VIEW             

Feminism is the set of beliefs and ideas that belong to the broad social and political movement to   achieve greater quality for woman . Woman seek equality in all spheres of life and use a broad array of strategies to achieve that goal . It is based on social, political and economical equality for women.

     Post Colonial Literature have also seen differant types  of inequalities faced by women .In Girish Karnad Hayavadana a character named Padmini is questioned her feminine characteristic by others.Like, Many commentators have noted the ambivalent representations of women in The Strong Breed.Certainly, the play Strong Breed,emphasises the masculinity and the rejection of womanish behaviour as a member of society .

     Feminist literature, as the name suggests, is based on the principles of feminism, and refers to any literary work that centers on the struggle of a woman for equality, and to be accepted as a human being, before being cast into a gender stereotype. I have taken  four works of different eminent   person and  analysed  it on feminist point of view

A  DOLL`S HOUSE

             It is a three-act play in prose  by the Norwegian playwright  Henrik Ibsen. In this play, Ibsen makes many hints about the roles of society and how the female gender was treated at the time. From this play we  can observe what Ibsen believed about the roles of society, equality between males and females, and the idea of feminism. "A Doll's House" is actually a play where one can see how things were at the time and what Ibsen himself believed about the central issues. Ibsen portrayed the roles of society very well in this play.

     

      In the beginning of the play, Nora acted like most women of the time: she succumbed to anything her husband said and obeyed all orders directed to her by her husband .Later in the play, Nora transforms into how Ibsen and his wife, believe women should act and be portrayed as. She realizes that all her life, she has been simply acting as a decoration for the Hemler household and even compares herself to a doll, who gets played with, first by her father and then by Torvald, and she claims that that is the reason she had not achieved anything during her lifetime . ." By the end of the play, she has become a tougher, more independent woman. The play ends with her leaving and the door slamming behind her.

       

        In this play, Ibsen also shares what he believes about the equality between men and women of the time. In the beginning of the play he, again, portrayed what most households were like at the time: the man controlled everything, including the female. At the time, wives were simply chattel and were nothing more than property. Because of this, most women were not educated and were as naïve and innocent as children.

 PROFESSIONS  FOR WOMEN

         

        Virgina woolf was a major exponent of modernisam in english novels and she is acknowledged as a great Feminist critic.`Profession for Woman`  was a paper presented by Woolf to the Woman Service League,in which she writes about how she happened to a writer .

        

         Convetionally a woman is identified as who pleases the male members of the family with her charm,unselfishness and self sacrifies.As a woman is given only a limited role in the main stream of  life it is not so easy for her come out as a professional.But the author finds that there are very fiew obstacles on their path to become a writer.Woman have succeeded as a writers before they have succeeded in other professions,because writing  is  a reputable and harm less occupation which makes no demand on the family purse .The writer needs only paper and pen which are easily affordable for a woman.It does not break the family peace also.

           Virgina Woolf was well  known as a feminist critic.In a patriarchial society woman are subordinated to men. In such a condition Woolf  considers writing as a medium or space for woman to express their views,ideals and thoughts .

  MY STORY

       My Story is the  best -selling autobiography of a woman , Kamala Das ,  in India .As it name indicate, it is self explanatory book faced several controversies. The book was written with a clear vision about her relationships and the various aspects of traditional society. My Story shocked the mainstream Kerala with its candid accounts of her encounters with men. This book begins with child hood experiences in Calcutta with her modern family and it moves through her school experiences, early and disastrous marriage, her sexual awakening, birth of her three sons, and finally, about her  problems while writing as a woman.

          

            She briefly gives us a picture of the racist treatments as she and her brother had to endure in the British School, which openly preferred whites and regards Indians as blaks. Kamala`s only expectation from her husband is conversation, companionship and warmth. She wants him to treat her as her father treats her. But all she gets in her marriage is brutality and rudeness. She suffers through her husband`s selfishness and neglect of her emotional and physical needs.

         

             Generally, in autobiographies that are written by women, the central theme is the relationship between the author and her mother. However, Kamala Das does not prefer to talk about her relation with her mother. It seems that she does this intentionally. Das focuses on Third- world women`s oppression and she puts her relations with men to the centre of her story.

MONALISA

    

        Mona Lisa is a painting in oil  of an Italian artist Lionardo da Vinchi. The painting is a half-length picture of a seated woman .The ambiguity of  her facial expression brings several  feministic discussion in the world of  photography .There has been much speculation regarding the painting`s model and language.

         Mona Lisa was not well known until the mid-19th century when artists of the emerging symbolist movement began to appreciate it, and associated it with their ideas about feminine mystique .most discussions are based on  what Monalisa may be thinking ? ,  What does she make you think about? . Museum in which Monalisa portrait dominated by paintings of men as gods ,royalty and religious figures-It is the only painting of a woman who attracts all the attention

 

         I'm a little superficial when it comes to art appreciation, but Mona Lisa has always represented ultimate femininity.  Men and women alike are attracted to her because her beauty transcends time & all preconceived notions of female perfection.  She's mysterious  and  inviting , modest and  confident, and painfully beautiful  as like  goddess.