Context and quotes including analysis for Mrs Dalloway and Their Eyes Were Watching God for A-Level English Literature. Analysis develops the context and allows for interpretations to be made, particularly useful for developing essays and essay plans exploring purpose and background of both novels.
Identity
- Bloomsbury group: exploring less conventional relationships ‘Angel in the House’
- Hurston’s choice of colloquial language - affirming a black, working class Southern
identity
- ‘Ah done lived Grandma’s way, now Ah means tuh live mine.”
- Clarissa finding her identity with Sally Seton - female relationships incorporate
identity
- Isolation of marriage - not knowing/having identity without husband - Janie being
known as Mrs Starks or the mayor’s wife rather than Janie; ‘This being Mrs Dalloway;
not even Clarissa anymore; this being Mrs Clarissa Dalloway’ - “everyone gives up
something when they marry”
- Finding purpose in life - Clarissa hosting parties to feel needed, important ‘The
makings of a perfect hostess’ - makes her upset; Janie having to run the shop when
she is married to Joe - moves away when she is with Tea Cake - finding purpose for
herself
- Janie’s sexual awakening
- “Ah didn’t know ah wuzn’t white till ah was round six years old” - search for
identity/finding role in society
- Passive approach to life - “waiting for the world to be made” (Their eyes); Clarissa
waiting - theme of time in ‘Mrs Dalloway’
- Isolation of life in general “She felt far away from things and lonely”
- In 1973 Alice Walker found Hurston’s unmarked grave and paid for a headstone -
called her the ‘matriarch of black literature’
- Racial segregation laws in southern america - Jim Crow laws
Gender
- “Uh woman by herself is uh pitiful thing”
- “Interested in politics like a man” - women desiring stereotypically masculine features
- ‘Angel in the House’ - Woolf wanted to “Kill the angel in the house”
- career / role in the future - Elizabeth Dalloway not wanting the same as her mother
- Clarissa as a housewife - “Makings of a perfect hostess”; Janie being forced to
conform to what Joe wants of her - her braided hair is symbolic of how she is
restricted within their marriage - finds better gender balance when she is with Tea
Cake
- Men objectifying/controlling women - Joe controlling everything about his relationship
with Janie; Peter Walsh following woman he finds attractive - objectifying her
because of his desires - ‘A Room of One’s Own’ essay - the Suffrage movement
“must have roused in men an extraordinary desire for self-assertion”
- American women got the vote in 1920 but many black men and women were
still unable to vote due to racial discrimination in voting
- ‘Sweat’ - revolutionary because of its feminist themes and dialogue about the
consequences of seeking independence as a black woman
- The ‘new woman’ of the 1890s - Sally Seton’s embodiment of this - age of ‘flapper
girls’ - single women felt empowered , middle-class wives had the same expectations
pre and post WWI
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller elisamelzer. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £11.06. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
