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SIMILARITIES AND CONTRASTS (GENERAL SENTENCES (we thus arrive at the crux…
SIMILARITIES AND CONTRASTS
JEALOUSY - competing with other woman
is this always a bad thing?
motivating factor
teenager represented by Mary
-egotistical - resilience
weapon, resilience
Penelope (motivating factor managing the farm) as it is giving a characteristic that Helen doesn't have
exposing Helen's short-coming
feeds insecurities
mary epitomises the generalisations associated with teenage girls having total belief in ones self and ones abilities
tiggy entwhistle's
halting monologue
is continually interrupted by a pause or 'beat' as she struggles to compose herself or to reveal a painful truth.
is this always the case?
Winsome & other widows
keep each other company and offer a support network
social expectations
woman may have been forced by gender to congregate and work together, but this does not mean they would necessarily form close bonds or protect each other
penelope describes herself as being along
owns her past, therefore others disregarded
Zoe struthers has risen above the negative nature of competitiveness
as the daughter of a naiad, penelope has a close affinity with water, her way is not to challenge, but to find a way to get what she wants with cunning
cut throat world
these interrelated narratives suggest a close community network in which women measure themselves against other women
inappropriate conversations about other woman
beneath the bravado is a nagging fear that someone else might win
helen and penelope
the contrast is drawn out by Atwood in a series of binary opposites and in the
personal antagonism
between the two woman in the underworld
POST FEMINIST LITRATURE
choice
respecting choice and not judging
empowerment 'sisterhood'
through storytelling
attempts to justify her decisions and make sense of the challenges that have come her way
individual empowerment
penelope
relies on her wit/wits
'i was smart, though... a plain but smart wife' pg21
'penelope the duck' pg28
'plain jane penelope' pg37
'second prize' pg35
helen
relies on her sexual allure
'a woman who driven hundrends of men mad with lust' ph21-22
'intolerably beautiful' pg33
'radient helen' pg37
first prize
the opening line 'now that i am dead i know everything' is an engaging and appealing start to the story. as the narrative progresses penelope builds her own voice as she becomes her own storyteller
maternal
career
sexuality
bombshells emphasises sexuality at all ages
Penelope's proposed relationships with other suitors
if there are two means of survival available to woman in the penelopiad 'wit and clit', then penelope relies mainly on the first, helen on the second
resilience - change
post feminists are sexual activists who use their body and attractiveness as an instrument to achieve societal and personal change.
murray smtihs windoms into womanhood in a post feminist society show how easilty modern women can dissapear inside the impossible pressure to be great.
post feminism concentrates on furthering the idea of
empowerment, the celebration of femininity, freedom of choice and liberation
CHALLENGES OF BEING A WOMEN
burden of expectations and possibilities
perfection
myth
undermine the myth that marriage automatically provides a grounding sense of identity
penelope and odysseus's marriage bed is partly made from a tree, symbolising the continuity and permanence of their marriage
many of the woman feel the need to be loved and accepted by men before they can be happy with their own identities.
draws on a range of cliches
her final scram is an expression of rage and despair directed at a society where woman are seduced by romantic dreams and celebrity glamour, and made to believe that these will bring happiness.
just as penelope does not confront her suitors or her husband head on, preferring to outwit them instead, so the penelopiad does not openly challenge or dispute the mythic narratives on which it is based
exacabated by celebrities
inner and outer worlds collide
characters grapple to find words in an attempt to articulate these internal experiences
these identities operate as contradictions in someones concept of self feeling or self being
struggle to measure up to the various images of successful womanhood celebrated in popular culture
superficially reflect the stereotypical female ideals
clash uncomfortably
with the characters needs to express their individuality, thus creating pressures that erupt into termoil
atwood presents penelope's world as one of survival
these pro-feminist themes continually encourage the audience to evaluate the situation of woman in society
TIMES OF CRISIS (can be momentary but can also be manic)
momentary & women can overcome them
rebirth + renewal (can be done through storytelling)
the voice murray smith gives to each woman expresses the challenges that can be faced externally, but also more significantly how difficult it can be to verbalise and deal emotionally with what happens to their security and belief in self.
in atwood's retelling of homeric myth 'women speak' and what they speak of are not 'heroes and incredible feats' but the 'inhumanly human things done in wartime'
the effect is to subvert (undermine) the archaic, heroic, masculine perspective of the source text by countering it with an ironic, witty, modern sounding female voice
atwood debunks the version of the story found in the odyssey by suggesting a more prosaic (ordinary), less heroic alternative
the hanged maids tale
the maids increasingly interrupt the narrative of penelope, they denounce the 'inhumane things' done to them by odysseus, and expose the partiality of penelope's story
the maids voices are witty, parodic, tongue in cheek, but also plaintive and haunting
they form a chorus (linked to ancient greek drama) and provide a plurality of perspectives
penelope's narrative is interspersed with snippets from the maids point of view on how they are treated
atwood gives a voice to the voiceless victims of male violence
rather than resisting the authority of her mythical sources, atwood goes around it by probing them for what they leave unsaid
thus, penelope and atwood 'spins a thread of her own' on her mythical loom while the heroes of homeric myth are left to revel, womanise, and slaughter outside'
the owls is another symbol, traditionally the keepers of knowledge, owl are the guardians of the underworlds.
penelope says that she wants to scream out, but when she does 'she sounds like an owl' which refers to the fact that she knows things about the events that take place upon odysseus's return (these secrets must remain with her)
distinct purpose of clearing her name
the reader must question her motives and facts as she relays them
atwood suggests that storytelling is a matter of persepctive
taking a risk
tiggy
mary
winsome
maids
penelope
doing something different
offers useful ways of getting around some of the pitfalls of being a woman.
provide the internal dialogue of how they cope with and react to these events
power of storytelling
manic
meryl
theresa
penelope (mania comes out by making sure maids are hung)
expose innermost troubles and concerns
characters are faced with the moment in which their lives become less stable, or what they have relied on or known starts to fail them.
the theme described in the 'authors note' of 'women on the edge' unites the six characters. (this is from the front of book)
GENERAL SENTENCES
we thus arrive at the crux of the problem
these publications give voice to a diverse range of women
murray smith and atwood uncover the types of...
they pinpoint the challenges that face 21st century women at different stages of their lives
black humour and humour is used frequently throughout the play to lighten the atmosphere and temper what would otherwise be a heavy or tense moment
unlike bombshells, the penelopiad is based on a hypotext which is an earlier text that serves as a source for a later work of litrature
atwood reworks her male authored sources in much the same way that penelope deals with the overbearing men in her life
humour and sarcasm add a new perspective that challenges the idea that penelope is just a loyal and subservient wife
crafted narratives, offering multiple perspectives giving voices to those who are often silenced, and power to the disempowered
penelope's voice is at times cheeky and plain spoken.
as we move to each section of the maids, their voice becomes increasingly angry
although the changing style of the maids voice may cause the reader to dismiss or gloss over their silliness. in true greek theatre, their voice is the most authoritative.
their voice often changes as it mimics several genre style, at times it appears playful and fun, and at others it is outraged and sorrowful
atwood draws on the archetypes of woman in literature and challenges societal notions of these woman as passive, victims or villains
atwood gives these woman contemporary voices to challenge the restrictions of ancient greece
SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS
many of the woman define themselves in their relations with others, and when these relationships breakdown through either divorce or death or being on stage, so does their concept of self.
the label of 'widow' for winsome becomes an anchor in a life where her needs are mostly ignored.
enslavement to her maternal role
a crushing sense of monotony
patriarchal expectiations
atwood draws out contrasting strategies for female survival in a world dominated by men
the use of penelopes voice as a narrator allows us to see how completely she outwits many of the men around her, and that she is concious of others perceptions of her (but we are aware of her regrets and defense of her sctions)
as the underdogs in a society dominated by men, the woman of ancient greece competed with each other to be heard, noticed, or to sustain what little power they had
woman were treated as prizes or posessions
the marginalised
children, servants in woman (particularly less attractive woman), were among those who were without power or status in ancient greece
the voice given to the maids provides an outlet for the marginalised and allows them to seek justice and vengeance
the ever changing form of the maids sections reduces their weight and significance in comparison to penelope and
diminishes their status as serious characters
(even the modern day court room scene, mostly ignores their point of view)
TWO FACES OF WAR
the illiad
the manly face of war
courage on the battlefield
equipment and generals
outside (public sphere)
epic poem
legacy (heroes and incredible feats)
the penelopiad
the womanly face of war
slaughter in the palace
household goods and handmaids
the inside, private sphere (internal thoughts and feelings)
multivocal mixed narrative
the inhumanly human things (atroshaous behaviours of war)
adjectives to describe
odysseus
cunning
resourcefulness
determination( to return home)
storytelling
power of storytelling
myth of marriage