User:ReineMansour/Suffering

Depiction of Female Suffering In Literature

Throughout history, literature has been the vessel that authors used to depict human suffering in its different forms. Particular attention can be bestowed on female characters and the depiction of their suffering, in addition to focusing on the underlying reasons, and most importantly, the fate of female characters.

Literature from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries showcased female suffering as a test of a woman's endurance and ability to serve as a good example or role model. This glorification of female suffering and lack of acknowledgement of their pain has led to the glorification of death as a form of escapism of such a cruel reality. The trend continues with various literary works dating back to the Victorian Era failing to acknowledge female suffering. When observed closely, these works explain how the constraints imposed by the prevalent values at the time lead to accentuating the notion of death as a form of freedom or relief. The oppression that Victorian women faced and the way social constructs and beliefs prompted them to feel dependent on male figures glorified the idea of death as a form of escape and singular act of agency that strongly contrasted their life of idleness.

One example is the way Bertha’s suicide scene is portrayed in Jane Eyre: After suffering for a long time in silence, Bertha seems to have a voice when she shouts; also, there is an undeniable sense of mobility when she waves her arms and her hair is described as streaming against the flames. Her death is seen as triumph over her alienation, considering she spends her final moments on top of the roof, which is part of the outer space, usually associated with men in the Victorian Era.

Several parallel notes can be highlighted in Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott, where the Lady escapes the inner space to the outer space as she sails down the river towards Camelot. And although the Lady dies on her way to Camelot, we can observe the sense of power and freedom she gains, depicted through the change in her art. At the beginning of the poem, her singing and tapestries are “mimetic”; however, her carol on the river is described as “mournful”, yet “holy”. Despite the bitterness that accompanies her approaching death, she spends her last moments reciting a sacred hymn, which is mostly associated with the birth of Christ and the hope it brings. This contrasting scene asserts that the Lady’s doom brings with it freedom from the curse, which may symbolize the Victorian values women in that era were bound to adhere to.

The Lady of Shalott by Walter Crane

A more recent example of a short story that portrays the suffering of a female character is Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. After it appeared for the first time in the June, 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker, the magazine and Jackson were flooded by letters from readers expressing their sheer terror and anger over the unfolding of the events. The negative backlash demonstrated by those readers and critics alike asserted that they could relate to the The Lottery's tragic events.

In this short story, several occurrences make it evident that the women are facing marginalization in a patriarchal system that is reinforced by the villagers' keenness on following traditions unquestionably. None of the women show any act of resistance except for Tessie Hutchinson, who demonstrates phenomenal courage that other female characters lack and dares to object to the outcome of the lottery. Yet, her objections do not change the course of action that would have been taken had she not objected. The fact that Tessie cannot change the status quo through raising her voice against the injustice glorifies the idea of her death-no matter how gruesome- as the only resolution to escape the patriarchal ideologies imposed on her and other women in the community.