Five Burning Lights in a Dark Universe :: Women Feminism Rights Essays

Five Burning Lights in a Dark Universe The present just as the past did holds innumerable obstacles for women in search of a professional career. However, as a woman of the 20th century, I am glad to say that the obstacles have decreased through time thanks to the voices of courageous women who dare to talk when everyone else held silent. Many changes occur from the 17th century on, economically, politically and socially; the scientific revolution, the end of monarchy and absolute power, the emergence of democracy, and capitalism are only a few of those changes. This changes also brought changes in peoples attitudes, specially the attitude about women. Since the Greek times, society has underestimated women's potential. However, through history women have dared to challenge the world, and have spoken up to show the world that women are as capable, and talented as men. Aphra Behn, Anne Finch, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Mary Shelly are five of these women from the 17 and 19-century who dared to speak up, and raise their voices to let the whole world know about women's situation and solutions to it. Aphra Behn, born in 1640, was England's first professional woman writer. Behn was a middle-class widow who mainly wrote for TIME and CLEOS, in Greek or fame and fortune for us. In a time where women were suppose to be silent, pure, and in the private sphere or homes taking care of the children and their husbands, a woman dared to challenge society. Behn, challenged society not only by stepping into the public sphere, publishing her writings, but also by writing about women's feelings, desires, dreams and realities. Behn wrote great poetry and we can see her challenging ideas in the title of her poems most of the time, and this challenges become more obvious as we read her poems. "The Willing Mistress," was a vivid example of this, since in its verses Behn writes about a woman's sexual desires and wiliness to have sexual relations with a married man. We can also see a reflection of her ideas, in her speech titled "Mrs. Gwin," where she criticize the gender ideology of the time, and also exposes women's situation. She argues that no reason existed for men to prevent women from writing, governing and fighting, with the excuse that women were weak and inferior, because women have had done it before.