Literature can be based on pure fiction or reflect the issues that are taking place in society. There is a clear distinction between how male authors and female ones write as far as social issues and writing styles are concerned. These differences are seen through an analysis of the characters, themes and the writer’s intended objective while writing. This paper focuses on Kate O’Brien’s “Santa Teresa, Hisaye Yamamoto’s Seventeen Syllables, Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek and Gloria Anzaldua’s The Path of Red and Black Ink. The stories will be analyzed to determine the factors that influence the female writers’ perspective in literature and the responsibilities that writers seek to fulfill through their literary work.
From the readings, a woman’s perspective in literature is influenced by two factors. First, the female authors' literature takes a feminist approach. The literature addresses the issues of gender violence, stereotypes, and gender inequality by portraying female characters as victims of a patriarch society (Davison, 2014). For instance, Cleófilas in the Woman Hollering Creek and Tome in Seventeen Syllables are physically abused by their parents hence portraying gender inequality in the society. Second, literature by female writers is reflects personal experience. For instance, Gloria Anzaldua gives a personal account of her life through The Path of Red and Black Ink. The characters in Hisaye and Cisneros’s literature have an immigration background as Tome is Japanese leaving in America and Cleófilas a Mexican also living in America. The immigration status of the characters corresponds with the authors’ status as immigrants to the United States. Therefore, the authors are telling their personal experiences as immigrants through the fictional characters.
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The four female writers feel responsible for addressing the issues that are taking place in society, portraying the role of women in society and expressing themselves. Each of the four reading reveals issues that are taking place in society. For instance, Hisaye and Cisneros’ work shows the difficulties facing immigrants in the United States through their immigrant characters. They also gender inequality, violence, and deception as women characters fall victim of their male counterparts. The role of a woman in society is portrayed in different ways. Kate O’Brien depicts Santa Teresa as an accomplished as virtues woman that she admires. Hiyase and Cisneros portray a woman as a wife and mother. The extraordinary capabilities of a woman are shown through Tome’s ability to write and Cleófilas’ ability to leave her abusive husband (Hiyase, 1988; Sandra, 1991). The writes express themselves by narrating about their personal experiences directly such as Gloria Anzaldua or indirectly using their fictional characters.
In an effort to fulfill these duties, the literature is dominated by female characters while the male ones take a passive role. Alternatively, the writes take a subjective approach whereby they narrate the stories from a personal point of views such as Gloria Anzaldua in The Path of Red and Black Ink whereby she narrates a personal account of events. Generally, literature from female writers is dominated by feminist ideas.
In conclusion, it is evident that literature by female writers is shaped by their personal experiences, feminist ideas and the duties that seek to accomplish through their work. As a result, their literature tends to feature characters with similar characteristics and also explore similar themes. They can also be written as a personal account of the writer’s experiences. The writers feel obliged to address the issues that are affecting the society with a special emphasis on challenges facing women such as gender violence. The role of a woman is another characteristic that defines literature by women.
References
Davison, J. (2014). The art of writing: The influence of Spanish literary culture on the work of Kate O’brien. Retrieved November 6 2018, from https://www.ethos.bl.uk
Sandra, C. (1991). Woman Hollering Creek .Manhattan: Random House
Yamoto, S. (1988). Seventeen syllables and other stories . Latham, NY: Women of Color Press
