4) In the works we have read, there has been a curious absence of female characters, although there have been a few. Choose three works and analyze the ways that they have represented the concept of femininity (and by implication and contrast, the concept of masculinity) other than through fictional characters. How do these works vary in the ways that they support and reinforce and/or or trouble and challenge traditional cultural ideas of masculinity and femininity? It is fine to write on this question if you already wrote one of your essays on this topic, and because this is an exam rather than an analytical essay or research paper, you do not need to consult an outside source to support your claims about traditional male and female cultural roles.
Three texts to choose from:
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818), Oxford edition (1818 edition)
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839), Penguin edition
Edgar Allan Poe, The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe (1840-45), Penguin edition
Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1870), Oxford edition, Butcher translation
Samuel Butler, Erewhon (1872), Penguin edition
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Vacation Stories (1905, written c. 1885), U of Illinois edition
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Dover edition
Get Free Quote!
321 Experts Online