Feminist Literature Essay Example

Women went through many struggles, as displayed in Feminist literature. Feminist literature addresses womens issues in areas such as marrage, race, religion and polotics. Reading this allows the audience to have a better understanding of what life was like for women and the challenges of getting to where society is today. Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and The Waltz by Dorthy Parker are examples of feminist literature. In order for a peice to be considerd feminist literature it must include certan aspects, such as arguing or questioning for change in established gender roles, endeavoring to change political gender inequalitys and adding a feminin-specific tone or voice to issues involivng political, societal and gender problems. Feminist literature is represented in Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl through questioning for change in established gender roles, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton through seeking to change political gender inequalitys and The Waltz by Dorthy Parker by adding a feminin-specific tone or voice to issues involivng political, societal and gender problems.

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl is an example of feminist literature because it questions for change in the established gender roles of its time. In this story, pregnant Mary Maloney outsmarted the men running the investigation for her husband's death and went from obedient to smart and independent. She is obedient to her husband, trying to make everything perfect for him. Mary finds out her husband plans to devorce her and in a fit of rage, she kills him with the frozen leg of lamb intended to be their dinner that night. She then becomes manipulative and thinks for herself. Mary plans out her alibi and gets rid of the murder weapon by feeding it to the police and dectectives, therefor outsmarting the men. “One by one they others came in and were persuaded to take a little nip of whiskey” (Dahl) Mary convinced the detectives and police working her husband's crime scene to consume alcohol, impairing their abilities to properly think about the case. This citation proves that Lamb to the Slaughter questions for change in the established gender roles of its time because women were thought of as submissive and below men, but in this story the main character Mary Maloney goes against this gender stereotype by thinking for herself and outsmarting the men, 

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton is an example of feminist literature because it seeks to change political gender inequalitys. This speech was given at the Seneca Falls Convention- the first woman's rights convention in the United States women's suffrage movement. This outlined the rights that Stanton believed women deserved as U.S. citizens. It says men took away women's rights in many ways and intended to gather support to change this. The speech demanded equality in politics and stated inequalities women faced in the family, politics, employment, education and society. “Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled” (Stanton). She believed it was time for women to demand equality in politics that is entitled to them as citizens of the United States. This quote proves Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton seeks to change political gender inequalities because women at the time were not allowed to vote in many states and had little political power, but Stanton intends to demand the right to vote for all women to create political gender equality. 

The Waltz by Dorthy Parker is an example of feminist literature because it adds a feminin-specific tone or voice to issues involivng political, societal and gender problems. This story is told in two perspectives, how she responds to a situation and how she wants to/ what she is thinking. This allows the reader to not only have a better understanding of how a woman feels when being asked to dance, but more importantly how social norms and expectations can make a woman respond differently than how she would like.  In the italics, Parker speaks out loud, the regular text is what she is thinking. “Thank you so much. I’d adore to. I don't want to dance with him. I don't want to dance with anybody” (Parker). She is asked to dance and she accepts, even though she really does not want to. This quote supports the fact that The Waltz by Dorthy Parker is an example of feminist literature because it adds a feminin-specific tone or voice to issues involivng political, societal and gender problems because as a woman she is expected to accept the offer to dance, but the author shows that she does not want to dance with anyone. 

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and The Waltz by Dorthy Parker are examples of feminist literature. They all either question for change in established gender roles, seek to change political gender inequalities or add a feminin-specific tone or voice to issues involving political, societal and gender problems. Mary Maloney in Lamb to the Slaughter outsmarted the men when women were expected to be weak and submissive. In her speech Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Stanton demanded political gender equality. The Waltz shows that women often have to respond differently than they would like due to society's expectations. Feminin literature allows the reader to have a better understanding of women's issues, as well as giving a voice to women when they did not have one elsewhere.