Character Analysis of Zenobia in the Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

The Woman Named ZenobiaIn Hawthorne's story The Blithedale Romance, we are introduced to the character Zenobia. Zenobia is a wealthy woman who considers herself to be a feminist. She is always preaching her view of the woman's role in society. She is a woman who feels and speaks very passionately about the feminist's place in the world. This all seems to change as soon as Zenobia falls in love with Hollingsworth. After Zenobia begins spending more and more time with this man we start to see her position as a powerful and independent woman disappear more and more. Zenobia starts to fall behind Hollingsworth, he begins to control this feminist, and soon even all her opinions about feminism are nothing. Zenobia becomes, in this story the woman that she has been trying to do away with she takes on the role of the woman behind the man.The trouble started in Zenobia's life when Priscilla is sent to Blithedale to live with her. Priscilla also falls in love with Hollingsworth. This is where the reader starts to see Zenobia's feminist point of view start to (Vaillette, 2)diminish. Zenobia in this book is picking a man over her sister, the first no-no in feminism. Zenobia is cruel to Priscilla. She tries to embarrass her so that she will look good in Hollinsworth's eyes. She even turns Priscilla over to Westervelt, whom Moody was trying to keep Priscilla away from in the first place. Zenobia does all of this just so Hollingsworth will love her. The reader begins to see the fall of Zenobia's feministic character more from the way she is with Hollingsworth. Hawthorne uses irony to portray Zenobia's character. The way she portrays herself in society and the way she acts toward Hollingsworth are the most ironic characteristics. In the public society, she portrays herself as an independent feminist. She comes...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Analysis of Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Novel by Oscar Wilde Essay

The main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, is a man too easily influenced by his surroundings. He is quoted as saying, Basil Hallward is what I think I am Lord Henry is what the world thinks me Dorian is what I would like to bein other ages, perhaps (Wilde). This comparison falls in line with the moral of the story because Dorian is stuck with eternal youth and beauty even though he has a wicked soul. This causes different views of him by people who observe his daily life. Dorian is a sponge throughout the novel that absorbs everything and allows it to shape his personality, morals, and actions. Dorian Gray takes influence from Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and the culture of society during which the novel was written. Lord Henry is the epitome of a wealthy, hedonistic gentleman seeking only pleasure, with little regard to cost or consequence. Lord Henry Wotton outwardly propounds hedonism, but it is his extreme egotism that drives him to manipulate both Basil Hallward a
Read more

An Analysis of the Character of Chichikov in the Poem, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol Essay

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme. Chichikov finds that the townsmen know
Read more

A Literary Analysis of the Third Twin by Ken Follett Essay

The Third TwinThe Third Twin by Ken Follett is a type of mystery book. It makes you look at different aspects of the story. When you think you know whats happening it is not always what you think.Dr. Jeannie Ferrami, a scientist funded by a university who is doing a study on twins is one of the main characters in the story. Jeannie Ferrami is tall with long brown hair and is also very athletic. Steve Logan a student at another college is also a very important character in the story. Berrington Jones the head of the college funds Dr. Jeannie Ferrami until Jeannie discovers something Berrington didnt want her to know. Ricky Phillips Berringtons son is a twin just and he plays a small part but with a big impact on the story. Lisa Miller who is Jeannies best friend comes early into the story playing a very dramatic role, another small character is Dennis Pinker one of the twins in the story who is a murderer and is also being studied He is one of Steve Logans twin brothers.Lisa Miller and
Read more