Introduction
Female agency refers to women’s capacity to ultimately effect change that has a ripple effect across society. This involves altering society’s opinion of a lady and constructing an image that previously did not exist (Timko & Maria, 2020). The concept of female agency is exemplified in three novels: Wieland, Hope Leslie, and Clotel, in which a woman is given multi-dimensional roles and personalities, as demonstrated below.
Charles Brown’s work The Wieland is centered on two key themes: gender and gothic. Female characters in the novel serve as role models and objects of desire due to their diligence and perseverance in completing their assigned tasks. The author’s goal is to alter people’s perceptions about women, which he does via a figure named Clara Wieland. Teresa and Judith are two further feminists featured in the narrative.
Conflicts arise in Hope Leslie over the role of women in establishing the new republic and the interaction between indigenous people and early Americans. Hope Leslie’s narrative concludes with the Indian Magawisca being replaced by a champion with whom he interacted. Female agency is exemplified by women who are informed of contemporary affairs, self-sufficient, and religious. They are self-sufficient and do not require a man’s favor.
Clotel was written in 1853 by William Wells Brown and chronicled the story of a slave named Currer, who gives birth to two daughters, Althea and Clotel, both of whom are extremely intelligent and perform as well as white Americans. They meet their end following their employer’s death when they are sold, but the feminist Clotel finds a way to escape and subsequently marry her new owner.
Female Agency in Hope Leslie
Sedgwick was born in 1789 into a pious household with a solid educational background. He held several state and federal posts as a senator and congressman and served as a speaker and judge. She was able to write extensively on the nation’s political, social, and economic challenges due to her position. Her feminist personality developed due to how her father fostered her and how steadfastly he acted as a representation of patriarchal pressures. Her father was a federalist who was dedicated to serving both his family and his nation. Sedgwick, as a heroine, abandoned his father’s crucial faith. Sedgwick composed Hope Leslie in favor of feminism, which begins a new chapter in a woman’s perspective story. Initially, machismo reigned supreme, barring females from demonstrating their capabilities. A female character is born into a heroic tale and is unafraid of the consequences of her actions as a woman.
To begin, Sedgwick reintroduces female bildungsroman into the nineteenth century, when women required political and social integration. She discusses feminism’s techniques and demonstrates how they are related to the modern nation in which women are welcomed for political, social, and economic involvement. Exclusion is a severe problem that robs afflicted individuals of their security, happiness, and rights. Magawisca, an Indian character, is imprisoned twice after being wrongly accused of committing major crimes. Hope Leslie contributes boldly to Magawisca’s release, so restoring her joy. As demonstrated by Hope Leslie, Sedgwick shows a multi-dimensional female character, indicating that women have been exposed to various positions. The latter is both disruptive and an excellent example of women in public settings. Madam Winthrop and Esther Downing are both admirable instances of excessively subservient ladies. Puritan women are obedient to their elders, and Madam Winthrop is an excellent example. She is the governor’s wife, who taught the maiden and matron the value of wifely respect and submission to her husband. Character differs according to the character she performs.
Women have always been presented as strong and resourceful, and they display these characteristics without including their male companions in their daily activities. When Hope is in peril, she rescues herself and does not require assistance from a guy. When her secret with her sister backfires, she flees by boldly claiming to the boatman that she is a virgin and has never had an affair with any man. Captivity has been used to show women that they must take what is rightfully theirs from patriarchal males. After rescuing Magawisca from imprisonment, she rejects the traditional tale as the expected compensation. All of the story’s primary female characters are described as sympathetic. Esther’s kindness and charity are lauded in the novel’s final words. She views Hope’s public speech as an example for all women. Trope confinement has also been employed in relationships to increase support for women’s equality. Female characters in the narrative demonstrate empathy and will not stand by and watch others suffer.
Female Agency in Wieland
The work deals with a wide range of subjects, including gender and morality, among others. Brown’s work has led many to infer that he prefers to address abstract concerns rather than tackle queries regarding political or social matters, which is consistent with his personality. The female characters have been shown as victims of various events, despite Brown’s attempts to protect them by not presenting them as potential predators. By breaking the boundaries of stereotypes throughout the novel, the author depicted them as actual fighters in his eyes. He also attempted to avoid ladies who could not be trusted, who could not be relied on, and who were underdeveloped.
Catherine, cowardly and weak, is protected by Clara during Carwin’s thwarted attack, demonstrating Clara’s robust and educated character traits well. Clara was also in charge of the household’s operations and comprehended events as well as men. Clara subsequently marries a guy who recognizes and respects her strong traits, and it is only a brilliant mind like Clara’s that is capable of doing all of this. Clara has a volatile temperament, as seen by her dispute with Pleyel, and she becomes too subjective when she allows her fury to take control. “There was nothing more obvious than the fact that I had taken my eternal leave of happiness,” Brown writes. Apart from the good that had been taken away from me, life was a pointless exercise” (53). This has provided feminists with a safe forum to voice their rage when they have been wronged without fear of repercussions.
Despite her father’s wealth, Brown portrays Clara as a self-sufficient and prosperous lady who has accumulated her money via the toil of the slaves. On the contrary, women were not granted legal or formal freedom under the covertures legislation, which said that their rights were governed by their father’s will or any man with whom they shared home or resided in the community. They have the right to own property and are not required to allow anybody else to determine what they should do with what they possess. She lived only a few miles away from her brother, who paid her frequent visits. Likewise, she is over heels in love with Pleyel, and she has decided not to be the first person to confess her feelings for the guy she adores in public. That the writer never permitted the woman to be the one who was desperate enough to open out about love is shown by this. As a woman, she had all she needed and was under no obligation to marry to acquire property.
Female Agency in Clotel
The first edition was published in the United States in 1853 by William Wells Brown. It is the first novel written by an African-American author to be published. The story focuses on the union of American citizens and African slaves in the nineteenth century. In this tale, women are shown as weak beings who have no right to do anything without the consent of their male elders’ consciences. Throughout a significant portion of the story, male chauvinism has predominated. Clotel Jefferson is the daughter of Currer and Thomas Jefferson, who were of mulatto and white heritage, respectively, and had a mulatto ancestor. She is sold as a slave to Horatio and ends up having a daughter as a result.
Clotel intends to flee slavery, but he gets apprehended while attempting to flee to do so. Clotel decides to commit suicide rather than return to the nightmare. Those women, formerly considered slaves, were overworked and sexually mistreated because they could not assert their rights, which is clear from this. Women are treated with a great deal of exploitation and despair throughout the tale.
When Clotel’s mother lost her job when Thomas went to Washington D.C., it was clear that the female slaves were being abused. It was her daughter who was sold away, and it was she who died of yellow fever after electing to travel to Natchez, a strong indicator that no treatment was provided to the vulnerable female slaves. Althea, even though she is a very young girl, is sold to Henry to become his property and his wife at an early age. Two daughters are born to her, and they both die of the same sickness that claimed their grandmother’s life years later.
As a result, when Horatio marries another woman, Mary and her mother are sold into slavery. Mary is not unusual, and she suffers the same violence as the other women. As a result of her great suffering, Mary is a Greens servant who is saved by a Frenchman and accompanies him to Europe with him. Although they are exposed to strenuous labor, the women in the novel are utilized as sex objects. Immediately after giving birth, children or their mothers are sold, resulting in family separation, leading to Clotel’s death.
Conclusion
The three novels have exhausted the female agency topic by addressing the role of women and property ownership in current and ancient times and how the author portrays the women in the mentioned topic. In Wieland and Hope Leslie, male characters have been given rights to enjoy all the privileges that men have, unlike the woman in Clotel, where a woman is described as very weak and subjected to a lot of suffering, such as slavery. The role of women in the theme of religion is addressed by systematically analyzing the function of women in the religious setting. Leadership is discussed by explaining how females have participated in leadership in the three novels. Equality among the gender has not been left out since gender inequality is a central theme in all three novels. Females have been subjected to a lot of suffering by being considered inferior and without any right not even suitable to be treated when they fell sick. Finally, the role of women in education has been carefully discussed because women play a crucial role in education.
Work Cited
Timko, Maria Alexandra. A Raisin in the Sun as feminist text: Racialised gender roles, female agency and representation across mediums. Helsingin yliopisto, 2021.