IO script
Little Red Cap
- Bildungsroman
- Coming of age
- Rite of passage
CONCLUSION: Both writers come out and successfully regain power at the end
Literary text and extract
The World's Wife: Little Red Cap
Wider Bodies: Salome, Queen Kong
Non Literary text and
extract
Moranifesto: The Leg Season
Wider Bodies: Muppet Face, Perhaps I don’t believe in
redemption anymore
Global issue
The Patriarchy
INTRODUCTION:
In my IO, I will be focusing on the global context of Culture, Community and Identity in
particular the global issue of the patriarchy. The literary text that I have chosen is a part of
Carol Ann Duffy’s collection “The World’s Wife” which is a compilation of dramatic
monologues. Each poem in the collection is adapted from famous tales and reimagined from
the female perspective with women being the centre of traditionally male dominant stories.
The non literary text that I have chosen is “Moranifesto” which is a series of opinion columns
published in the British paper “The Times” written by Caitlin Moran, a well known English
journalist and publisher. Her writing is often characterised by her honest and humorous
approach to topics that are often considered taboo or controversial. She is an advocate for
women rights and gender equality. Both writers explore the patriarchy through the female
lens by using humour with figurative and linguistic devices. (157 words)
LIT MAIN TEXT (LITTLE RED CAP):
Introduction: To begin with, I will be looking into my literary text “Little Red Cap”. Little Red
Cap is based on the original fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” written by the Grimm
brothers, however, it is also autobiographical of Duffy’s previous relationship with an older
poet named Adrian Henri.
Duffy uses the characterisation of Little Red Cap and the bildungsroman form of this poem to
chart her progression as she transitions from childhood to adulthood , to which she tries to
challenge the patriarchy however subconsciously conforms to it. The imagery and the
anaphora used in lines 3 and 4 “What big ears he had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!”
demonstrates her adoration towards older men as she transitions into adulthood. Little Red
Cap is aware of the potential dangers seen in the verb “knew” in line 8, however, her sexual
curiosity still drives her to follow the wolf “towards the woods”. Symbolising the dangers of
the world as she steps out of childhood. Moreover, the rhetorical question seen in line 17
“what little girl doesn’t dearly love a wolf?” shows her conformity towards the patriarchy as it
implies how every girl desires a masculine man. The volta seen in line 27 “But then I was
young - and it took ten years” demonstrates her naivety as she realises her individuality was
being suppressed by the wolf. Although this poem is semi-autobiographical, the character of
the wolf symbolises men in today’s patriarchal society. This is closely linked to my global
issue of the patriarchy as Duffy portrays men to be strong and powerful, much like the
wolf.(266 words)
Moving on, Duffy illustrates the female reclamation of power against males towards the end
of this poem. The anaphora “I took an axe” seen in lines 32, 33 and 34 demonstrates the first
time that Little Red Cap has taken control over her own life as she has always been obedient
to the wolf seen from the beginning of the poem. Moreover, Little Red Cap came “out of the
forest with her flowers, singing, all alone.” seen in the last line of this poem. Suggesting that
she is unfazed despite going through that traumatic experience, implying that nothing can
stop her from accessing her true desire for literature indicating that she feels no regret. This
goes to show that she is finally able to reclaim her independence and power as a woman
defying the traditional stereotypes for women to be dependent on men. Intertextuality is
shown in the ending of this poem contrasting the original story where she is portrayed as a
damsel in distress only until the man comes to her rescue, linking to my global issue as Little
Red Cap defies the traditional stereotype of a woman, by reclaiming her independence,
signifying that she has overthrown the patriarchy.
This poem is the first poem of the collection to act as a statement of intent as she
demonstrates her goals of eradicating misogyny from the patriarchal society. (232 words)
Salome: Another poem in the collection that explores the global issue of the patriarchy is
Salome. Duffy employs the characterization of salome to highlight the gender role reversal
by providing Salome with masculine traits. Salome is demonstrated as emotionally
independent seen through the dismissive tone “What was his name? Peter? Simon?
Andrew? John?” pondering about the names of the men she had beheaded. The series of
questions indicate that she objectifies her sexual partners, insinuating that she uses them
purely for her sexual amusement. Furthermore, Duffy uses intertextuality as she mentions
the names of Jesus’ disciples to show that even the most virtuous men are not virtuous at
all. Moreover, the narrator’s volume of power and sense of authority is indicated as she “rang
for the maid”. This demonstrates she anachronistically lived a modern and wealthy life of a
Queen rather than the life of a woman who conforms to the societal gender roles from the
biblical times. This links to my global issue of the patriarchy as it demonstrates that Salome
possesses a sense of authority and power, illustrating that she is above the patriarchy. (185
words)
Queen Kong: Another poem in the anthology that explores the global issue of the patriarchy
is Queen Kong. She refers to her man as “my man” and “my little man” to demonstrate her
possessive nature. Through this, he is seen as much weaker, smaller in size and the more
vulnerable one between the pair. A sense of ownership is established through the phrase
“he’s mine” which objectifies him as she sets a patronising tone while demeaning her male
companion. Moreover, Queen Kong is seen as the dominant figure as she “scooped him up”
instead of the stereotypical man being protective of a woman. Duffy uses this to challenge
the traditional rule of a man portraying Queen Kong to be strong and independent.
Furthermore, she “picked him, like a chocolate from the top layer of a box”. This
demonstrates that she is in full control as she once again objectifies her male companion
through this simile by demonstrating that she picked him out and chose him. Illustrating that
he was left helpless, vulnerable and without a say. This links to my global issue of the
patriarchy as Queen Kong does not treat men equally and portrays women as being superior
to men through demeaning the male nature. (204 words)
Moving on to my non lit text, we will be looking at Moran’s opinion column “The Leg Season”
NON LIT MAIN TEXT (LEG SEASON):
Moran points out how women are judged and labelled through their physical features making
them vulnerable to the male gaze. The use of alliteration “It’s time to GET THOSE LEGS
OUT, LADIES” in lines 2 and 3 demonstrates that women are expected to show their
desirability by exposing their legs. The overbearing and imperious language along with the
capital letters demonstrate that women feel obligated to appease the male gender by not
wearing tights. Moreover, The use of listing seen in lines 5 and 6 “The scrubs, fake tans, leg
make-up and pedicures” addresses the objectification of the female gender as they have to
follow these guidelines in order to be well prepared for “The Leg Season”. Moran’s sarcastic
tone demonstrates her annoyance towards the patriarchy in line 11 “It’s a great time to be a
lady!” . Moran scrutinises how women are viewed by the opposite gender. She highlgihtshow
the physical attributes of a woman should not be a factor that determines their desirability,
freeing them from discrimination and prejudice. This links to my global issue as she
demonstrates how the patriarchy has always been dominating and controlling to the point
where women have always followed the societal expectations set by men. (203 words)
Moving on, Moran uses emotive language to show that women should have the autonomy to
wear what they choose without being judged or discriminated against. Moran uses humour
as she converses with the tights in line 18 when she states “Oh God! I shall miss you! Don’t
forget me”. Establishing her attachment with her tights as well as her reluctance of letting
them go. It portrays that society expects her to remove the tights which go against her
comfort. Furthermore, the anaphora “I love” seen in line 19 indicates her comfort and
confidence, demonstrating how women should have the freedom to choose what makes
them feel good. Alternatively, men do not have to face such challenges seen in line 28 when
she states that “Men don’t have to worry about this shit”. A tone of anger is set as she
advocates that women should be acknowledged for their character and individuality rather
than be victims of objectification due to their physical attributes. Moran sheds light on the
global issue of the patriarchy as she implies that women should have the right and the
freedom to wear whatever they desire. Women are entitled to have their own rights and have
a say regarding their bodies and appearances. (206 words)
BOW #1 My Muppet Face:
Moran also explores the global issue of the patriarchy through her opinion column “My Muppet
Face”. In today’s modern society, women are expected to present themselves in a certain
manner in order to meet societal standards. However, Moran defies these expectations, despite
the numerous criticism she receives, as she “wants to project how she truly feels on the inside”.
She uses emotive language when she states “I want to look alive”. Linking to my global issue of
the patriarchy as she implies that her true self is being suppressed by today’s patriarchal society.
Furthermore, she wants to be honest and display her true self and be transparent without being
judged or “rated”. She encourages women to present themselves in a non-hypocritical manner
and be open about how they feel and discourages women to pursue a “calm, emotionless
expression when having their picture taken for a magazine or a newspaper.” This links to my
global issue because she advocates for women to be forthright and freehearted without
succumbing to patriarchy. (169 words)
BOW #2 Perhaps I Don’t Believe In Redemption Anymore:
Another column from “Moranifesto” that highlights the patriarchy is “Perhaps I Don’t Believe
In Redemption Anymore”. Caitlin Moran’s frustration and anger is seen in the polysyndeton
“we give them rape alarms, and Mace, and fear.” indicating that we are teaching our girls
how to be well equipped and not become victims of the male gaze. However, they are never
free from predators seen in the asyndeton “brutal, entitled, fearless greed of the boys”. This
is linked to my global issue of the patriarchy as men never have to worry about getting
raped. She honestly states that we should be “stopping the source of the problem”. This
implies that this societal problem must be addressed and eradicated at root level and instead
of teaching women how “not to get raped” we need to solve this issue targetting males and
misogynistic mindset. She points out that women should have the right to live freely and not
live in fear, advocating for the removal of the patriarchy. (161 words)
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, the global issue of the patriarchy is fully explored by challenging the
stereotypical gender roles in both the texts. In Carol Ann Duffy’s poems from the worlds wife
collection, the female characters break the traditional ideology of women being soft hearted
and affectionate possessing masculine attributes. Meanwhile, the extracts from Caitlin
Moran’s opinion column advocates for equality and women’s rights by using tone and
register. Ultimately, the female characters of both the texts come out and successfully regain
their power towards the end. Even though the authors adopt different approaches to explore
the global issue of the patriarchy, they both have the same end goal in mind which is to free
women from misogyny. Both writers bring to light that women are entitled to equal rights and
opportunities which must be showcased freely. (135 words)
MORAN:
● British writer
● Opinion Columns published in The Times (British Magazine)
● Socially Liberal, Left of the Political Spectrum, Feminism
● Advocates for equality and social justice
● “Moranifesto” - Pun - Moran’s Manifesto
● She is not afraid to voice her opinions and challenge the status quo
●
●
Target Audience: Persuadable Right Wingers in order to try and convince them
of her views
Anti-Didactic
DUFFY:
● World’s Wife:
- Quite typical of Duffy’s humour
- Challenging the view that women throughout history have been
defined/repressed by male counterparts
● Approach of The World’s Wife: Revisionism - reimagining things in a different
way in history through humour and/or wordplay to highlight the erasure of
women and to invite readers to question/challenge this
● Feminist approach - 3rd wave feminism
● Intention:
- To place women at the centre of these stories
- Shows complexity of women
- Multifaceted/Multidimensional