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Women in Literature Panel

April 16, 2011 / Anna / 0 Comments

EDINBORO UNIVERSITY – In honor of Women’s History Month, four students participated in a “Women in Literature Student Panel” on March 31 in the Frank G. Pogue Student Center’s Multipurpose Room A.

Discussion focused upon women authors and characters don’t receiving the recognition that they each deserve.

“Recognizing the importance of women in literature… is an important step in a journey to developing a more dynamic view of the role of women in society,” said Morgan Larchuk, vice president of Sigma Tau Delta at Edinboro University.

Corey Saxton, a sophomore English Literature major, analyzed the characters in Virginia Woolf’s book To the Lighthouse and how they display the concept of the ideal woman.

Saxton said that Woolf’s perception of the “perfect woman is… so constituted that she never had a mind or a wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the mind and wishes of others.”

Yet, this could create a problem for women writers who want to publish their own work. According to Saxton, Woolf states: “this perception of women… stands in the way of any female author wishing to express her true thoughts on morals, sexuality and human relations.”

Next, Edward Jackson, a junior secondary education and English major, introduced and spoke about Judy Blume and how her writing impacted literature.

“Overstated moral lessons have caused [Judy Blume] to become the center of censorship controversies,” he said.

“Judy Blume’s books have not only directly touched generations of readers,” Jackson stated, “but have also helped to pave the way for a whole genre of realistic fiction for young people.”

The panel also examined the stereotypes in the stories. Larchuk talked about why stepmothers in fairy tales and other types of stories are seen as “usurpers” (taking a position that doesn’t belong to them) and “deviants” (lack of fitting in with the social norms).

Since the stories were written down a long time ago, many of the ideas from that time are still passed around, she said.

“Women who did not represent the traits of conventional femininity are cast as villains because cleverness, will power and manipulative skill are allied with vanity, shrewishness and ugliness,” Larchuk said.

“While fairy tales may seem innocent and cute, said Larchuk, they send an underlying message to women who don’t conform to expected role women are supposed to play in society.

“But not all independent women are pictured as evil. Megan DeLancey, a sophomore English major, ended the panel with a discussion on one of the best known characters of the Harry Potter’s series: Hermoine Granger.

“Since 1997… one witch has shown what it takes to be an amazing role model to girls and women alike,” said DeLancey. “[She demonstrates] what it means to be herself and stand up for what is right.”

“As readers follow Hermoine through the her years of growing up and learning at Hogwarts, she teaches them that girls don’t need to wait for a man and don’t need one to complete them, DeLancey pointed out.

The panel was held by Sigma Tau Delta in order to show the importance of women in literature and stories. According the program, Women’s History Month is a time when many of us look forward to hearing new ideas and broadening our perspectives on women throughout the world and throughout history. by

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