The Female Writer & Their Creations
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There are many female characters in literature written by women who can be considered reflections of their creators in that they are attempting to express themselves as artists in a world that is hostile to their efforts. Such characters may show a lack of artistic development that can be attributed to the imposition of certain social traditions and social roles which involve expectations placed on these women, expectations that either excludes artistic expression or that channels it into narrow and designated areas. Presumably the authors of these works have themselves experienced the social pressure to conform that plagues their characters. The fact that the authors have achieved a certain level of expression shows that they have fought against these pressures and have been successful, at least to a degree, in overcoming it. Their characters may or may not be able to do the same thing in their own artistic lives. This can be seen in a number of works centering on female artists or women with a strong artistic bent, women who must struggle against the expectations placed on them by a society that does not value the artistic expression of women. The issue has been addressed directly by different writers, and Virginia Woolf showed concern for the matter in her criticism as in her fiction. Woolf's approach to the issue of women and fiction was firmly grounded in a general theory of literature: She argued that the writer was the product of her or his historical circums
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anifested outwardly in the roles she takes, roles as wife, mother, and hostess. Lily, on the other hand, represents the artistic temperament, and in the novel her creativity with ideas and images is set in contrast to Mrs. Ramsay's ability to understand people and life. The latter is seen as a particularly feminine capability, a feminine way of looking at the world that is beyond the male. Lily in her painting can capture a moment and make it eternal, taking it out of life, as it were, while Mrs. Ramsay deals with events in the flow of life, with all the change and confusion that this implies.
The contrasts between Lily and Mrs. Ramsay are many. Mrs. Ramsay is married and believes that the married life is the only way for a woman to fulfil herself, while Lily is unmarried and expresses herself through her painting, through the act of creation. There is a price to be paid for this ability, however, and Lily is also withdrawn from life, isolated and living more within herself than with other people. Mrs. Ramsay, on the other hand, is beautiful and always the center of attention, giving as good as she gets in terms of human relations.
To say that Mrs. Ramsay represents the feminine way of thinking is not to say that she
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3888
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)
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