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Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti The poem ‘Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti involves two sisters Lizzie and Laura. At first, Lizzie and Laura are characterized as typical “maidens” who perform the role of maids as they were defined during that era. Rossetti says that Lizzie and Laura “Fed their poultry, sat and sew’d; and Talk’d as modest maidens should” (208, 209) reflecting the conventional life of the two sisters as they upheld the traditions of the nineteenth century. At this point, they appear to follow the society-set rules for the modest maiden. However, they break the societal norms when Laura purchases and eats fruits from the Goblin men. This involved Laura clipping a golden Curl in exchange for the fruit sold by the goblin men. Though by doing so Laura defiles her body, on the other hand, she shows a break from the traditions and is an independent woman as she does whatever she wants with her body. It can be said that ownership of her body shifted from restrictions and societal definition of a “modest maiden” (208) to an individual. The desire to experiment beyond the traditions comes and “Curious Laura chose to linger” (69). Unfortunately, this marks the beginning of Laura’s list of endless ailments. However, her sister’s strength works for her and covers her weakness, and likewise, Lizzie acts from her inner desire without conforming to societal desires. Lizzie undergoes transformation, through which she is able to make a balanced decision as she considers the results of either her action or inaction on the decision to either save her sister or leave her to perish. Lizzie runs over her selfish interest and breaks societal norms to shield her sister against the wrath of an unwarranted transaction. Lizzie “put a silver penny in her purse” (324) in order to break the tradition where women did not have the money to pay their bills by this she circumvents the norm of paying Goblin men’s fruit using a woman’s body. By making this decision, Lizzie changes the course of their lives from that of conventional women to liberal women. Lizzie decides to lead an autonomous life independent of societal norms and expectations. Lizzie realizes that she has to step up for her sister, and this was not the typical role of women during this time but she defied the norms. The poem also brings about the notion of gendered negotiation and Lizzie is found to be the redeemer of fallen women. Laura is the woman representing women who choose autonomy but other women have to step up to help them. Both women portray strong characters, however, one ends in the wrong while the other ends on the right side. Nevertheless, it should be considered that every action has a reaction and so every decision has an outcome. The two sisters dared to break the norms and become independent women at a time when women were men’s subjects. Even when men still see Lizzie as a woman whom they can bend, she stands her ground and this saves her sister. Regardless of the outcome, the motivation was to break from the norm and objective they achieved.

Work Cited Rossetti, Christina Georgina. Goblin Market and other poems. Macmillan, 1862.

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: How Woolf is building on Wollstonecraft’s work and shaping the ideas for women of the Twentieth century The modern woman enjoy a lot of opportunities that their predecessors did not enjoy as they remained a preserve for men. This can be attributed the progressive work of previous writers and philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf. Some of the major works of the two female authors are A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects) by Mary Wollstonecraft and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. These two stories give a progressive approach to the push for equal rights for women. Virginia Woolf’s and A Room of One’s Own was published two centuries after Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects and reading through the two short stories it is easy to tell that Wolf’s work is a continuation of Wollstonecraft’s call for equal opportunities for women in the society.	It turns out that Woolf expands the idea that was initially proposed by Wollstonecraft by centering her argument around women’s employment as the foundation for enhancing the liberation of women. While Wollstonecraft saw lack of education as the main problem causing inequality between men and women, Woolf pointed to the fact that also economic dependency restricted women’s activity significantly. Hence, accessing employment opportunities would be the most logical step toward the fight against patriarchy and the related suffocation of women’s rights. Therefore, as both authors illustrate their philosophical view of liberation and emancipation of women as Woolf expands on the platform that was laid by Wollstonecraft by including employment opportunities along with education. The two works contain multiple similarities and since Woolf’s work came later this can only mean that her work is a continuation of Wollstonecraft’s work. Similarity can be seen in how they portrayed gender in their literary works, they depicted it as a tool of oppression. This suggests that gender-related roles and stereotypes limit the opportunities for women to gain autonomy. Woolf continues to reject the idea of gender roles as a principle that should define relationships within the community. Like Wollstonecraft, Wolf promotes the notion that perceived gender roles have nothing to do with the potential of a woman. Wollstonecraft identified that gender does not define one’s ability or inability to learn and acquire a skill “if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge” (Wollstonecraft). As in a continuum, Woolf establishes that stereotypes that are gender-related set by society are not related to women’s ability to work; “It is true I am a woman; it is true I am employed, but what professional experiences have I had?” (Woolf). Woolf expounds on Wollstonecraft’s idea of the liberation of women. According to Woolf, the twentieth century should not only have access to quality education but should have equal access to employment opportunities. Just as being a woman does not hinder one from learning, it does not limit their ability to work as well.

Works Cited Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, with Strictures on Political and Moral Subject. T. Fisher, 1891. Woolf, Virginia. "A Room of One’s Own (1929)." The People, Place, and Space Reader. Routledge, 2014. 338-342.

Name Tutor Course Date Opinion Reflection-The Day They Burned the Books The colonial worldview of racial and gender inequity is examined in "The Day They Burned the Books." Mrs. Sawyer is portrayed as a "good, respectable, beautifully educated brown woman" by the narrator. In contrast, Mr. Sawyer is depicted as a drunken European who often humiliates and assaults his wife. The narrator's description of Mrs. Sawyer as a bright, attractive lady before she met Mr. Sawyer further emphasizes the idea. The disagreement between Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer symbolizes the inequality of women. The rest of the text is composed of these two binary oppositions. What the differing audiences would have said the text’s is the ideology of inequality which is influenced by a number of elements. One aspect is the status of the European white males who are already there before the start of the narrative. The author also employs color to represent these two opposites in a binary system. The veins in Eddie's wrists, which symbolize his European ancestry, are described by the narrator as blue. Additionally, the narrator says Eddie's eyes are a light blue rather than a vivid blue, implying that his "blueness" is contaminated. The narrator uses blue again to describe Mrs. Sawyer's appearance following Mr. Sawyer's passing. "She looked gorgeous, too," she gushes, "beautiful as the sky outside, which was a very dark blue, or the mango tree, with its long sprays of brown and gold." The color blue is valued and cherished in this period and location. When the narrator says, "The blinds were constantly halfway down and entering in out of the light was like wading into a pool of brown-green water," he or she is using color as a metaphor for a dual personality. The blinds are partially closed, suggesting that one is missing, while the green represents a blue mixed with brown, representing the European and African civilizations, respectively. The two civilizations collide after the narrator and Eddie take the books. After the altercation with Mrs. Sawyer, the narrator says, "When we got into the street, we walked sedately for we feared the black children's mockery." This illustrates how simple it was to fall into the trap of detaching and dreading one or both binary oppositions at that moment and location. Fear of the black children's mockery unites the narrator and Eddie, and they switch to the opposite side. This transition of binary oppositions reenacts the tension inside the text. In the conclusion, while the narrator and Eddie sit under the mango tree, the narrator almost ends up in conflict with Eddie as she realizes how much she loves him and sheds some tears for him. Her oppression and quiet thus start. That evening's crimson sunset struck her as depressing and terrifying. She was unable to break the hush around her. The author uses "Fort Comme La Mort," a book the narrator detests, to illustrate how love can be blinding. This implies that she wants to avoid learning about the human emotions depicted in Maupassant's book. The placement of this book towards the conclusion of the narrative shows that cultural forces have transformed the narrator into the downtrodden mother and Eddie as his father, the aggressor.

Work Cited Rhys, Jean. "The day they burned the books." Tigers Are Better Looking (1968): 37-43. Joe kaka77 (talk) 06:24, 7 December 2022 (UTC)