Subject Tag: women’s roles

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Filed under: Nonfiction, Reviews, Speeches/Essays

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf is an historical essay, so as I began reading, I wondered how relevant it was for me. After all, I don’t feel I’ve been discriminated against because of my gender and I like where I am with my life and the options I have before me. However, [...]

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Filed under: Fiction, Reviews

At first, I didn’t love Sense and Sensibility. The characters felt like flat stereotypes. The elder sister, Elinor Dashwood, was full of sense and Marianne (and her mother) was flighty and emotional (the “sensibility” of the title). These two acted in the extremes of their stereotypes, and I didn’t feel drawn in to the story. [...]

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Filed under: Nonfiction, Reviews

This is a “must read” book. There, I said it.
I am a suburban American stay-at-home mom. I have always been well fed and safe. I have 16+ years of education and I could get more if I felt like it. When I was 26, I delivered my first child naturally in a hospital with a [...]

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Filed under: Fiction, Reviews

Although To the Lighthouse is told in a similar stream-of-consciousness manner as was Mrs. Dalloway (reviewed two weeks ago), it struck me as different, and I’m not sure why. Was there more plot? Maybe. Was it the setting (the Hebrides versus London)? Maybe. I do know that as I read, I was less emotionally drawn [...]

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman + Giveaway (Used Book)

Filed under: Fiction, Reviews

Although Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a slim book (124 pages), the issues raised are relevant today. I wouldn’t say Gilman’s writing is stunning or beautiful. The plot is not engaging or page-turning. It is predictable and overly “convenient.” The characters are stereotypes on steroids. But rather than expecting any of those other things, [...]

The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon

Filed under: Biography/Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews

I first encountered Sei Shonagon in a college course about the personal essay. We talked about her tone in the essay “Hateful Things,” and I wrote about the credibility of her critique.
“Hateful Things” is an interesting piece when considered as an essay because it doesn’t read like any other essay I read for that class. [...]

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Filed under: Fiction, Reviews

In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf captures a woman’s joys and frustrations in a single day by revealing her thought processes. Although some other character’s thoughts are captured as well, it was Clarissa Dalloway that I related to.

Medea by Euripides

Filed under: Drama, Reviews

Medea is another ancient Greek play by Euripides, and yet, it is completely different from the other play I read last year. I read the Rex Warner translation in The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces (seventh edition). As I haven’t read any other translations, all I can say is that this one was refreshingly easy [...]

Aucassin and Nicolette by an Out-of-the-Box Medieval Author

Filed under: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews

Aucassin et Nicolete was written in medieval France, but it’s not your typical roman d’amour.
I haven’t actually read any other medieval romances. My expectations of “typical” are all formed on stereotype. In many ways, Aucassin and Nicolette meets those fairy tale stereotypes. On the other hand, something goes quite “wrong” in this love story, for [...]

The Life of Wilkie Collins (Biographies by Clarke and Peters)

Filed under: Biography/Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews

Today I welcome Wilkie Collins to my blog through the Classics Circuit.
Although I like reading classics, I don’t know much. Before August of this year, I’d never heard of Wilkie Collins! I first experienced Wilkie Collins through The Woman in White (loved it!), and I recently read The Moonstone.
For this Circuit, I decided to read [...]

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