First Wave of Feminism in Politics and Literature

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Osnabrück, language: English, abstract: The following work should give a short overview about the so called 'First Wave Feminism'. It was the first recognized movement of women for equal treatment and for a society that must become aware of the special needs and desire of women which are not limited to the important question of suffrage. Firstly, I will introduce some main ideas of the political ideology of the early women's movement and their fight for the right to vote. I will try to point out which new and important thoughts the feminists of the late 18th and early 19th century shared and which goals they tried to achieve. Secondly, I will focus on feminism in literature. How were the political ideas represented in literature of that time? With which problems had women writers to deal? What was the reaction of male authors towards the ´New Woman`, the ´scribbling women´? Therefore Chapter 2 concentrates on the problems of early women writer's and the new theme ´gender´ on the literary agenda. Thirdly, my work concentrates on Kate Chopin's short story 'The Story of an Hour'. Kate Chopin's Work The Awakening is her probably best-known novel, dealing with a woman who demands her own direction and chooses her own freedom. But also her short stories contain a lot of feministic themes and questions. With a closer look at the main themes and the ne w feministic attitude at one of her shortest but most radical short stories, I will show what kind of feminism is ´hidden´ in 'The Story of an Hour'. Fourthly, the interpretation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' will follow the same pattern as the interpretation of Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'. What are her main themes and how does Charlotte Perkins Gilman deal with the themes of feminism in a gothic atmosphere? Is she more radical or has she a different view on the changes in society and the future role of women? At last I will sum up the results and see what impact the so called 'First Wave Feminism' has had on politics, literature and especially on women writers in the late 18th and the early 19th century and, perhaps, on the women of today.