Speech/ Speaker Date Context Summary Margaret Atwood ‘Spotty-­‐‑Handed Villainesses: Problems of Female Bad Behaviour in the Creation of Literature’ 1994 •
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Contemporary literary composer Poet Strong nationalist and cultural concerns Established herself as a controversial writer in Canada, bringing many radical ideas, including feminism to the centre of political discussion She campaigned against the oppression of women and pushed for equal rights in all aspects of life for women Not an extreme feminist Raises the issue of the role that women should take in society, looking at it through the portrayal of women in literature Clash between the feminist and the counter feminist movement-­‐‑ topical and widely discussed oration Through the heroines in her novels, she explores how society shapes the lives of women Depicts women who see their identity and value in terms of their appearance, their capacity to bear children or their ability to marry the right man When these men or women in their lives betray them or let them down they blame themselves-­‐‑ turning point-­‐‑ finally able to reconstruct their identity according to their own values rather than the values forced on them by society-­‐‑ take control of their own lives and identities She wishes to inform and challenge the views and attitudes of her audience Wishes to entertain her audience Deals with the issues of feminism and the perceived view of it being evil Attempted to provide the audience with an entertaining insight into the portrayal of women, especially female villains in novels, short stories and plays Initially felt it necessary to outline the aims of fiction and the process by which it is created-­‐‑ purpose it to explore the scope and genres of fiction, answering questions which are posed by this area of academic interest Moved on to explore the pressing issue of feminisms influence on literature Leant some support to the movement Attempts to differentiate herself from the extreme feminists-­‐‑ and aimed to distinguish herself from the feminist movement in Themes Techniques criticising their view that evil women should not be depicted in literature • Established the idea that it was acceptable to portray some women as evil in literature-­‐‑ accurate reflection of society which consists of ‘the murderers, the seducers, the espionage agents, the cheats, the bad mothers and the stepmothers’ as well as a plethora of good women. • Aim appeared to defend the current portrayal of both good and bad female characters in fictional works and to differentiate herself from the feminist movement Role of Women in Society • Explores the changing role of women in society • Exploration takes place through her investigation of the portrayal of female characters in literature, and the changes they have undergone over time • Traces the history of significant fictional women in literature through modern female characters • Congratulates women’s movement for expanding the roles of women in literature and simultaneously society-­‐‑ does also criticise them for limiting the reality of this portrayal • Balanced appraisal for the benefits and detriments feminism has had on fictional female characters parallels her views of the impact the women’s movement has had in society • Advocates that women should be free to choose whether they want to be seen as good or bad and it is wrong to deny them the right to have evil in them • Supports the portrayal of evil and good women in literature ‘we have not enough evil in us’ • Admires the varied roles females take on in fiction and society Literature Reflecting Reality • Discusses the relationship between literature and reality o Fundamental difference is that in literature there is a requirement that ‘something has to happen’-­‐‑ require definite action o In reality we don’t necessitate action and are satisfied with the absence of the ‘something’ that we require in literature-­‐‑ we are happy with a kind of ‘eternal breakfast’ and ‘we ask for nothing’ to really happen • Differences don’t mean that literature is ‘merely a piece of Art’ bearing no relationship or ‘completely divorced from real life’ • Atwood believes that the essence and foundations of literature stem from reality, as literature grapples with the ‘human condition’ which is inevitably a reflection of the writer’s world • The ideas discussed in literature are a reflection of the attitudes and values present in reality • Personal and humorous tone • She establishes contact with her audience early in her speech by reminding them of a well known nursery rhyme and talks of her response to it •
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Alludes to her brother’s teasing-­‐‑ audience can relate to Quickly establishes a humorous tone by analysing her reactions as a five year old in terms of her reactions to a psychiatrist and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Introduces a serious point-­‐‑ Flawed characters are essential if a novelist is going to write an interesting novel Spotty handed villainess-­‐‑ allusion to Lady MacBeth Mixed levels of language Personal anecdotes and asides Literary and Biblical allusions Uses personal anecdotes to make connection with audience Relaxed mood-­‐‑ informal language and colloquialisms Informal nature of her language makes her speech more accessible for the audience and the humour associated with the colloquial phrases is engaging To differentiate herself from the feminist stereotype she refers to some females characters as a ‘sex bomb’-­‐‑ no feminist uses this Soothing and easy tone Chronological structure-­‐‑ direction is easy to follow Question and answer technique ‘What is a novel?’ Cumulative listing ‘Is this the right word?’ ‘What kind of story shall I tell?’ ‘How shall I tell it?’ Humorous metaphors-­‐‑ compare the job of a novelist to gods task of creating the world ‘one detail at a time’-­‐‑ emphasises the difficulty of writing as well as the criticism which comes with it Outlines how her portrayal of weak men is approved by god-­‐‑ he created Adam who ‘sacrificed eternal life for an apple’ 1. Religious allusions help to align the novelist with God who is ‘among other things, an author’ 2. By validating her opinions with religious teachings she also appeals to the religious beliefs of the audience Chronological structure Exploration of female characters-­‐‑ supported by historical references List of roles women have played in novels and the various genres of books in which they have appeared 1. Suggests the use of a metaphor that in the age we live in that there is such a gender and genre crossover that ‘you can throw all of the above at a cauldron and stir’ Logical structure introduces the impact the women’s movement has had on ‘how people read and therefore what you can get away with in art’ Acknowledges the achievements of feminism-­‐‑ cumulatively listing the ‘benefits to literature of the Women’s movement’ Historical Reception Effect on contempora
ry listener 1. ‘The expansion of the territory available to writers, a sharp-­‐‑eyed examination of the way power works in gender relations’ 2. ‘the exploration of many concealed areas of experience’ • Criticism of the movement through paradox to illustrate the divide which has been created between ‘women who wore high heels and make up’ and ‘those in overalls’ • Criticism continues with a cumulative list of rhetorical questions with sarcastic undertones 1. ‘Could one examine the Seven Deadly sins in their female versions... without being considered anti-­‐‑feminist? Or was a mere mention of such things tantamount to aiding and abetting the enemy, namely the male power-­‐‑structure?’ • Shares her vision of how women should be viewed in society and literature • Use of humour and personal anecdotes ‘Snow White is a vampire’ 1. Able to introduce her view of female characters being given ‘power’ and ‘untold possibilities’ • Metaphor-­‐‑ warns against using ‘female characters who behave badly’ as sticks ‘to beat other women’ • Historical references to a wide array of notable fictional female characters-­‐‑ Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty 1. Able to cumulate a list of seductresses, murderers, wicked stepmothers, witches and evil grannies o In providing this list she advocates that women shouldn’t be restricted to the bounds of good characters but instead should be able to express themselves as they see appropriate • Final section is highlighted by Dramatic pauses-­‐‑ allow audience time to contemplate her vision for the portrayal of women in literature • Leaves the audience with a quote from a notable historical figure, Dame Rebecca West, telling women ‘we have not enough evil in us’ • Raised some important issues in the era following strong feminist push she was able to find a balance between support for the Women’s Movement whilst criticising it for its excesses • Mature stance-­‐‑ respected by many for addressing the important issue of women in society, and doing it in an entertaining manner • Still valued today because of its always topical issue of the role of women in society • Theme transcends time as we see discrimination within many aspects of life-­‐‑ gender equality is a long way from being achieved • Still difficulty in defining women’s role in society • Entertaining approach, analysis of female characters 1. Her speech is still widely referred to Feminist Reading • Unfavourable appraisal of the Women’s Movement • Attacked for ‘selling out on the cause’ • Feminist critics found her condemnation of the restrictive nature of the Women’s Movement as an unfair depiction of the situation •
Received well by many less extreme feminists who reacted well to her criticisms acknowledging that feminism does occasionally bring with it some excesses