Images of the Female Body in Émile Zola's Novels

The aim of this chapter is to highlight how the female body and the social practices that it is subject to are depicted in Émile Zola's literary work as indicators of dominating perceptions in 19th century patriarchal French society with regard to social roles in general and women's role in society in particular. Rather than focusing on an anatomic, biological analysis of the body, the discussion will turn to the body as a social construct, as metaphor for the overall treatment of women as beings whose appearance and behavior have to constantly be regulated for them to no longer constitute a threat to the male-centric society they live in.

Deconstructing Stereotypes in the Discourse of the Irish Republic

Recent decades have witnessed in Ireland the advancement and integration of women in the socio-cultural and public spheres. Nonetheless, what does it mean to be Irish and a woman in today's Irish Republic? This period has seen a notable emergence of a generation of new feminine voices that have marked a change in the image offered of the Irish woman until this present moment, an image provided previously almost only by male writers and constructed mainly in terms of religiosity, passivity and motherhood. The short stories written by women at the turn of the 21st century highlight the change in both the perception and position of the Irish woman within her society; however, the Celtic Tiger and Post Celtic Tiger short stories frequently look back into Ireland's past to explore the present to challenge and understand former and contemporary dominant narratives, discourses and stereotypes. This is also the major objective of this chapter.

The Magician, the Savior, and the Cyborg

The chapter analyses female protagonists in recent young adult movies with a focus on the educational side of such productions. The text approaches femininity and empowerment of three well-known heroines: Hermione (from the Harry Potter series), Lyra (from His Dark Materials Season 1 TV series), and Alita (from Alita: Battle Angel). The chapter centers on the roles played by the three characters in the economy of the respective cinematic productions and on how their girlhood is framed by the visual text. The author's purpose is to unearth interpretations of gender-specific roles that impact the young viewers and their understanding of femininity. The chapter intends to open a conversation about the implication of possible worlds theory and social cognitive theory in interpreting depictions of girlhood in fantasy and Sci-Fi young adult movies. From the magician (Hermione) to the (supernatural) savior (Lyra) and ending with the cyborg (Alita), the analysis will also take into account tenets of feminism, Techno Feminism, and behavioral psychology.

The Raven and the White Dove

Starting with mid-19th century, song collecting in Brittany has remained important especially as the status of the Breton language depreciated in favour of French. Today the traditional Breton ballads (gwerziou) are an important instrument of remembering and understanding of both the past of the Breton people, and of their culture, as well as treasure of folk Breton language. The present chapter aims at analysing the representations of women in the traditional Breton ballads, ranging from witches, such as in Janik Kokard's leprotic lover, sinners such as Mari Kelen or saints like Bertet, Virgin Mary's kind midwife, all with the end of understanding the engines that led to (un)customary representations in which the woman is portrayed as both by the gaze of male sovereignty and the restrictions and projections of Catholicism.

The Legacy of the Terrible Mother Archetype in Post-War British Drama

The theatre provides the playwrights with a public platform through which they open up a more comprehensive framework to reinterpret the concept of the feminine. The chapter, in which translation remains a fundamental instrument that will be utilized to offer new interpretations to old ideas about the feminine, explores how the post-war British woman playwright Ann Jellicoe translates a women-related myth and reinterprets the concept of the feminine in The Sport of My Mad Mother (w.1958, r.1962). In this context, the chapter focuses on the concept of the Terrible Mother archetype which represents the female creative power as well as the potential for destruction in the play within a special reference to Jung's premises on the archetypal nature of the femininity and maternity. Thus, the chapter indicates that Ann Jellicoe, taking on board and challenging the perceived social, ideological, and psychological ideals of femininity, reclaims the legacy of the female strength.

The Myth of Motherhood in Communist and Postcommunist Romania

This chapter analyses how the myth of motherhood was construed and enforced on Romanian women in two recent epochs. While in the latter part of communism women were expected to be “mothers of the nation” and produce five or more children for the country and the party, due to an infamous decree passed in 1966, the postcommunist period saw the same pressure put on women to fulfill their “patriotic duty,” this time in the neoliberal logic and in congruence with the Western model. Women imagery is consistent with this role, and this chapter provides insights into how primary school textbooks, together with the main documents and legal initiatives of the two periods, impacted the social expectations of motherhood and affected the Romanian women.

What Do Portuguese Proverbs Say About Women?

Almost every culture has its unique proverbs or traditional sayings that express a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Although the wisdom that traditional sayings convey is not necessarily a trustworthy guide to the cultural values of a specific culture, they may, to some extent, reflect those values. If a link between cultural values and proverbs is acknowledged, old proverbs might illustrate past values, while a new proverb repertoire probably reflects the mores and values of modern times. When examining such proverbs and sayings, an underlying cultural portrait may be outlined. Has this cultural portrait changed over time? In order to answer this question, the chapter will present an overview of Portuguese proverbs concerning women as they are presented by dictionaries published from the 17th to the 21st century; the analysis of these sayings allows for an assessment of how the image of the female figure in the Portuguese society has evolved across time.

In Need for More Tailored Feminist Stories in a Time of Crisis

The chapter follows other attempts to explain the gender backlash within many of current societies. Revisiting some theoretical frames under circulation, and taking Romania as a lived case study, the author argues for the existence of two detached storytelling trends within feminism, which contribute to a crisis of communication, not of content. Academic feminism delivers sophisticated explanatory stories about the gender fatigues aspects, while activist feminism bets on more black and white, confrontational stories and practices. This communication crisis could be accountable for the gender backlash. It is not what feminists say, but how they say it that contributes to the impasse. Today there is a need for more inclusive feminist public stories targeting a wide-ranging society, adaptable to the new realities. Maybe, the author claims, with improved feminist storytellers, the activist feminism of the 21st century could be stronger and cool not only for feminists.

(Desperate) Housewives, Domestic Angels, or Femmes Fatales

Language and linguistic practices, based on androcentric type principles, appear as a privileged vehicle for demanding and reiterating certain values and cultural codes. This chapter aims at analyzing the visual language in the media, with a focus on advertising language, in the attempt to demonstrate how the language used is responsible for the formation and preservation of sexual identity and gender stereotypes. A natural consequence of its reiteration would be the passage from an objectified view of women to physical and psychological violence against them. The images appearing on billboards will be correspondingly analyzed with the intention of reflecting on certain gender-related issues that most often go unnoticed.

Talking About Women

The reference to males and females in Portuguese is related to grammatical gender, but the relationship is not straightforward. The grammatical gender system is quite complex and semantically fragile, allowing a very low degree of predictability of the gender value, especially regarding inanimate nouns. Gender contrasts are also problematic. They only apply to some animate nouns and when they occur, they can be diversely fulfilled. Furthermore, this state of affairs is being threatened by social changes that are the output of increasing access of women to social and political rights, and especially to jobs and positions traditionally held only by men. On the other hand, words referring to men and women have a denotative meaning and different connotations. The definitions provided by some early and contemporary dictionaries will be compared. This comparison will demonstrate that these nouns are unevenly tackled. If dictionaries reflect canonical concepts, then the global understanding of male and female concepts are not that different from what they were three hundred years ago.