Feminism+in+Moby+Dick

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1. “Feminism: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The feminist approach to literature examines and analyzes literary works by and about women. Feminist criticism explores how gender affects the overall literary work.

(definition taken from Dictionary.com)

2. In a male dominated society, everything is much more cruel and harsh. Conditions for males are much harder, and it is in itself a much worse than it would be in a female society. In a female society everything is much easier. The jokes and circumstances are not so extreme, not in how difficult something is, but as in the way it is presented.

3. America: Women’s rights movements were finally beginning to form and key female figures began to come about. Europe: Women’s first demands were focused primarily on economic, educational and political rights. First movement was the Married Women’s Property Act (1882) in England.

4. The Romanticism movement actually took a lot of characteristics of what one would consider feminist. It went away from the brawn and brutal outlook of men, to the simple, soft, and emotional feeling of women.

5. 1. There are no main female characters, and the absence of women is what creates the feminism in the novel. 5. 2. There are women in the beginning of the novel, but they do not play a large role. In the latter parts, they are only referred to as families back home, and also seen as cooks, or, other “professions” on other ships. 5. 3. They are symbols of what keep some of the men from wanting to sacrifice their lives for Moby Dick, and could also symbolize the emotional side of the men. 5. 4. Men are the dominating force of the time, and it is seen in the absence of women.

6. Women are sadly, portrayed mainly as prostitutes, and those who don’t care for their body. They are also shown to be the weaker sex in society.

7. The story would not be as intense, nor there as much conflict between characters. 8. The piece would differ greatly in the fact that the emotions and motives behind what was being written would be different.

9. The U.S. was moving to a more open society in which males were losing their absolute grasp of control. The destruction of the Pequod and the sailors could signify this.