The Oppressing Face of Madness in the Mirror of Society
For centuries women in life and literature were often portrayed as submissive, docile, and obedient to men. Focusing primarily on the nineteenth century, literature of the period often characterized women as victims oppressed by society, culture, as well as by the male influences in their lives. Many of the female characters suffered the effects of isolation brought on by constant oppression and subservience driving them insane and mad. The views of women in early literature were often silenced and their opinion's disregarded by a dominant patriarchal society. One could argue that the men's influence on society forged the distinctions between sanity and madness. This obsessive position to shape reality proved to be unhealthy and destructive but it was rarely acknowledged among the company of men. A Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) once quoted, "Too much sanity may be madness, and maddest of all, to see life......
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Approximate Word Count: 2235
Approximate Pages: 9 (260 words per double-spaced page) |