Exploring Feminist Literature: Insights from ‘The Golden Notebook’, ‘The Bell Jar’, and ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’
Feminist literature has long played a crucial role in amplifying women's voices and highlighting the struggles faced by female characters in patriarchal societies. This article delves into three must-read books from iconic authors: Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. These novels provide a profound insight into the mental health and societal challenges faced by women during the mid-20th century and beyond.
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
The Golden Notebook is an introspective masterpiece that offers a glimpse into the mind of a perceptive woman navigating the complexities of the mid-20th century. Lessing's portrayal of her protagonist's thoughts and emotions is both moving and insightful, shedding light on the pervasive societal issues that shaped women's lives.
Explore the following passages from The Golden Notebook to understand the author's unique perspective:
“Sometimes I dislike women I dislike us all because of our capacity for not-thinking when it suits us we choose not to think when we are reaching for happiness.”
This passage highlights the inherent challenges faced by women in making decisions and the societal pressure to conform.
“For with my intuition I knew that this man was repeating a pattern over and over again: courting a woman with his intelligence and sympathy claiming her emotionally then when she began to claim in return running away. And the better a woman was the sooner he would begin to run. I knew this with my intuition and yet I sat there in my dark room looking at the hazed wet brilliance of the purple London night sky longing with my whole being.”
This excerpt illustrates the intricate dynamics of personal relationships and the patterns that often dictated the power play between men and women.
“I am always amazed in myself and in other women at the strength of our need to bolster men up. This is ironical living as we do in a time of men's criticizing us for being ‘castrating’ etc. — all the other words and phrases of the same kind. Nelson says his wife is ‘castrating’ — this makes me angry thinking of the misery she must have lived through. For the truth is women have this deep instinctive need to build a man up as a man. Molly for instance. I suppose this is because real men become fewer and fewer and we are frightened trying to create men.”
This quote speaks to the deeply ingrained societal expectations and the challenges women faced in trying to support men in a world that often sought to diminish their roles.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar delves into the psychological impact of patriarchal societies on women. Written in part as a fictionalized account of Plath's own struggles with mental health, the novel explores the confounding emotions and societal pressures faced by women.
Here are some enlightening passages from The Bell Jar:
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch like a fat purple fig a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor and another fig was Ee Gee the amazing editor and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree starving to death just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them but choosing one meant losing all the rest and as I sat there unable to decide the figs began to wrinkle and go black and one by one they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
This passage captures the overwhelming and often overwhelming sense of choice faced by women in different avenues of life.
“That’s one of the reasons I never wanted to get married. The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.”
This quote reflects Plath's desire for personal growth and change, highlighting the societal constraints that often limit women's aspirations.
“I couldn’t stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double life one pure and one not.”
This quote speaks to the double standards and societal expectations placed on women that are not mirrored in men's lives, emphasizing the need for equality.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Wide Sargasso Sea offers a poignant and deep exploration of the mental health and societal impact on a woman under the oppressive Victorian system. Rhys provides a nuanced portrayal of her protagonist, who struggles to maintain her sanity and identity in a male-dominated society.
Take a look at the following excerpts:
“‘Justice’ she said. ‘Ive heard that word. Its a cold world. I tried it out’ she said still speaking in that low voice. ‘I wrote it down. I wrote it down several times and always it looked like a damn cold lie to me. There is no justice.’”
This passage demonstrates the protagonist's disillusionment with the concept of justice, reflecting the harsh realities of life under oppressive systems.
“There is no looking-glass here and I dont know what I am like now. I remember watching myself brush my hair and how my eyes looked back at me. The girl I saw was myself yet not quite myself. Long ago when I was a child and very lonely I tried to kiss her. But the glass was between us - hard cold and misted over with my breath. Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing in this place and who am I”
This excerpt captures the protagonist's loss of self-identity and her struggle to find a sense of belonging and self-worth amidst oppressive circumstances.
Overall, these three books offer profound insights into the struggles faced by women in various societal contexts and offer a more nuanced understanding of the roles, expectations, and mental health of women in the 20th century. Reading and discussing these works can foster a deeper appreciation for the progress made towards gender equality today.