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Viewing report
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Female Freedom Fighters. Edition No. 1
VDM Publishing House, May 2009, Pages: 52
Social issues imbed themselves not only in history
books, but also in the literature that is written
during the time period. This book traces the
discussion of female suicide that was taking place in
America between the years 1870-1900. Some attributed
suicide to insanity and imitation, while others
ascribed the act to individuals with an intelligent
disposition. Some theorists, however, believed the
act was directly connected to social consciousness
and the plight of women. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
(1899) can be read as a response to this conversation
concerning women who commit suicide. She contends
that her female protagonist, Edna Pontellier, takes
her life because she is an individual woman trapped
in a confining culture. Edith Wharton’s The House of
Mirth (1905) further adds to Chopin’s foray.
Wharton’s Lily Bart, like Edna, establishes herself
as an independent woman. In the end, Lily commits
suicide in an act of free will and sound mind to
escape the misery her society imposes. This
analytical read of both the issue of suicide and the
response of these two female authors adds fresh
dialogue to the genre of women’s literature and
feminist studies.
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