'His was the power and the money and the influence' : the dominant male figure in women's literature with reference to the novels 'Jane Eyre', 'Wide Sargasso sea', 'The handmaid's tale' and 'Not without my daughter'

Abstract

In this dissertation, I shall examine the figure of the dominant male and its manifestations in the works of female authors. I have chosen to discuss and look into this topic with direct reference to four novels, each depicting various forms of male dominance. Charlotte Brontё's Jane Eyre is one of the first novels to display interest in the female condition in a male-dominated environment. The title character stands up to this patriarchal society, a forerunner of the feminist movement to come. Its 'prequel' Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys chooses to focus on the story of Antoinette Cosway, a character who was sidelined and subjugated in the original classic text. In her dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood warns her readers of the dangers which may arise when one becomes too complacent in life, with special reference to women's rights which are, at one point in the story, actually taken away. The final autobiographical novel Not Without My Daughter written by Betty Mahmoody, confirms how this might indeed be a reality, as, whereas the Western world may have established equality between the sexes, this may not be true to all countries, even today. I shall use the novels to show the effects of these on both personal and social levels. The first chapter will examine the differences between the male and female physical forms and the conflicts which arise due to the natural differences between the two. The following chapter shall then give an overview of the patriarchal nature of legal frameworks, established in the overall mindset of societies as a result of these biological differences. The final chapter will discuss the ultimate result of all this, as well as the passive role of the female when compared the active male one, in literature and history alike.