The Female in Frankenstein: Man’s Attempt to Abort Femininity

Although Frankenstein speaks exclusively through the voices of men, feminist ideals persist through the characters’ conflicts with each other as the novel unfolds. The prime example is Frankenstein’s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, whose main conflict manifests between himself and his creation. This relationship parallels the emotionally complex experiences of women through the journey of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood. Shelley uses Victor, to introduce issues of birth and creation without disrupting the status quo of male-dominated narratives popular at the time she was publishing. Shelley effectively creates a monster, both literal and metaphorical, that induces the same fears of getting pregnant and giving birth that women encounter in a society that already restricts and controls most aspects of their lives.

Issue XVIIIContent EditorsApril 16, 2024feminism, motherhood, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, female gothic

The Principles of Trauma Informed Care in the Context of Childhood Domestic Violence

By Shefali Golchha, NMIMS University, Mumbai

With the global discussion surrounding human rights constantly expanding, people express continued concern about their own safety, vulnerability, and agency. This is reflected in the number of crimes against children, women, and minorities that surface each day and the scholarly work that is derived from these experiences. Patricia Uberoi, known for studying family, marriage, and kinship systems in India, mentions that, while the family is imagined as a safe space, it is also a site of exploitation and violence.

Issue XIContent EditorsDecember 17, 2020children, human rights, India, violence, trauma, culture, feminism, methodComment

Tres representaciones de sororidad y resistencia femeninas en la postguerra española en La voz dormida de Benito Zambrano

Se dice que en las guerras todos pierden. Sin embargo, no hay alguna duda de que existen grupos de personas que pierden más que otros. Este fue el caso de las mujeres a partir de la derrota de los republicanos ante los nacionalistas tras la Guerra Civil española (1936-1939).

Archives, Issue IXContent EditorsMay 7, 2019Spanish, women, feminismComment

Hypermasculinity and Fetishized Martyrdom in Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber"

Rosalyn Stilling

Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber” is a touchstone of postmodern fairy tale revisions, deftly marrying the latent content of Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” with her entrancing and opulent prose. She boldly addresses the sexuality, gender relations, and biblical comparisons inherent in Perrault’s tale in her prose, particularly by blending allusions to Judeo-Christian figures with sadomasochistic practices. Carter expands upon these elements present in “Bluebeard,” while keeping her focus on the representation of villainous Bluebeard and his abuses towards the innocent bride.

Archives, Issue VIIIContent EditorsJune 1, 2018Catholicism, sexuality, gender, feminism, symbolism, folk literature, literature, violence, ChristianityComment

Subverting Patriarchal Control through the Construction of Meaning in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

By Nikolas Oliver

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is the story of a woman who, while under patriarchal control, constructs and instills a meaning upon the environment around her, which allows her to subvert partially that control.

Issue VII, ArchivesContent EditorsApril 6, 2017power, relationships, expression, feminism, short story, symbolism, dynamicComment

Ormond’s Subversion of Heteronormative Gothic Characteristics

By Lindsay Brents

During his attempts to create American literature distinct from its European heritage, Charles Brockden Brown wrote Ormond; Or, The Secret Witness. Written and set in the 1790s in the United States, this novel establishes a recognizably Gothic plot, only to thwart the expected sexual violence by allowing the heroine to kill the man who threatens her.

Archives, Issue VIContent EditorsApril 11, 2016women, feminism, power, novel, sexuality, relationships, gender, heroismComment

Erasing the Grotesque

By Quinn Gilman-Forlini

The Book of Repulsive Women is a collection of eight poems and five drawings by Djuna Barnes first published in 1915. Despite the fact that this was Barnes’ first publication of what she considered to be her “serious” work, she later hated the book and wished to repress the fact that she had written it at all.

Volume 4, ArchivesContent EditorsSeptember 5, 2014poetry, art, women, feminism, artist, imagery, expression, LGBTQ+Comment

Deciphering the Manic Pixie Mythos

By Julianna Joyce

Unnaturally colored hair, alternative style, an affinity for the Smiths, and just socially awkward enough to be lovable, the alternative girl has found her way out of the high school and college hallways and directly onto the silver screen. In the last twenty years, television and film have begun to feature the quirky, alternative female alongside the usual female characters who embody homogenized ideals of feminine beauty. Television shows such as New Girl, Girls, and even NCIS have featured the alternative girl as either a protagonist or an important secondary character. The acceptance of diverse and alternative female characters into mass media represents a move towards drawing in the “Indie crowd,” a now marketable demographic made viable by the hipster movement.

Volume 4, ArchivesContent EditorsSeptember 4, 2014television, film, stereotypes, feminism, theory, women, gender, fiction, relationshipsComment

Sexism in American Art Museums

By Nicole Corrigan

In the 1960s, the second wave of feminism came crashing over America and led to the criticism of many cultural institutions that had long been bastions of sexism.

Archives, Volume 3Content EditorsAugust 25, 2014sexism, feminism, art, museum, artist, representation, exhibitionComment