Feminism in Passing and the Story of an Hour Literature Term Paper (Term Paper Sample)

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Feminism in “Passing” and “The Story of an Hour”
Since time memorial, men have always been considered as the superior gender with access and power to distribute the available resources. As a result, scholars have explored the issue of feminism in a male dominated world. Their concerns are the increasing gap between males and females in regards to resources allocation and access to opportunities. This notion has seen its way in most pieces of literature. Nera Larsen’s “Passing” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” distinctively present the oppression of women in the society. The women in Larsen’s novel are desperate to pass as white which is the privileged racial group due to the oppression they encounter from men. Similarly, the lady in Chopin’s story is oppressed in her marriages to the extent of celebrating the death of her husband. Therefore, “Passing” and “The Story of an Hour” present women as subjects to several forms of repression, the most notable one being the strict regulation of their behaviour and limited roles in the society. Using the two sources and the feminism lens, this essay will address the position of the woman in marriage, culture representation, child upbringing, and dealing with the man.
The novel “Passing” by Nerra Larsen concerns two black women, Irene and Clare, who enjoy permanent or temporary membership of the privileged white race. They change their identity in their search for a better life. Although the novel mostly deals with the change in racial identity, gender issues also play out with the females being presented as the main characters that pass to enjoy specific privileges and rewards, to raise several issues on feminism. Certainly, the novel confers a lot of pressures to women as subjects to men. The Feminist perspective suggests that the portrayal of women in the novel is flawed. Larsen focuses on the life of three ladies who pass to enjoy permanent or temporary benefits of the white race. Ward notes that “the novel only addresses the issue of female passing.” On the contrary, men who try to pass receive heavy criticism for not identifying with their race. The man who contravened the norms slightly after his choice to be a Jew is ridiculed by the ladies due to his insignificant decision. Such harsh treatment of men who neglect their racial heritage and leniency towards women suggests that the common gender for racial passing is female.