Harriet Martineau Essay -- Essays Papers

Harriet Martineau Although we think of sexism as a situation that has been dealt with, we still have much to learn. A key turning point in discrimination against women was the courageous actions of Harriet Martineau. Harriet was born in 1802, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Martineau. She grew up in a home without any encouragement for her education. Instead she was trained, as all other women in her life, to be a homemaker. However this did not stop her efforts to pursue her dream. Even though she risked exile from her family, friends, and society at whole, Harriet continued her studies of women’s lesser role in the social aspects of life. Harriet described her childhood as a â€Å"burdensome experience† (Household Education, 1849). Her mother held a strong sense of tyranny in their home due to her upbringing, believing in a more traditional way of child rearing. Men went to college and women stayed at home, her mother believed. Harriet felt she was trapped in this matriarchal way of life, until her father Thomas died sometime during the 1820’s. For her this was a chance to escape from her mother and an unfulfilling life. Because of the financial difficulties in their family now, she could finally be free from that middle class prison and was able to move out on her own. Now with the burden of her family difficulties lifted from her shoulders she was able to learn more about herself and follow her dream of being a writer. â€Å"I have determined that my chief subordinate object in life shall henceforth be the cultivation of my intellectual powers, with a view to the instruction of others by my writings (http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html),† she said. With an aspiring attitude she started writing. Initially, her writings were more religious in nature because of her belief in Unitarianism. Later however, she adapted Necessarianism, which allowed her to use a more social scientific viewpoint. This lead to even greater success in her writing. Her first work was published anonymously in 1823 in the Unitarian Journal called Monthly Repository. This had a huge impact among readers and was a profound start to her career. Later when her brother James Martineau found out that she was the author he said, â€Å"now dear, leave it to the other women to make skirts and darn stockings, and you devote yoursel... ...lete invalid worsening her health even more. By 1870s she had to slow down her activity in her studies of sociology. And finally in 1876 Harriet died of bronchitis. Twenty years before that she had already written her obituary. People said it was in her usual fashion to be so prepared. She saw the human race, as she believed, advancing under the law of progress; she enjoyed her share of the experience, and had no ambition for a larger endowment, or reluctance or anxiety about leaving the enjoyment of such as she had (Pichanick, 239). Works Cited Hill, Michael R. Women In Sociology "Harriet Martineau" p. 289-297 Chapman, Maria Westman ed. Harriet Martineau's Autobiography Boston, James Osgood, 1877. Pichanick, Valerie K. Harriet Martineau, The Woman and Her Work, 1802-76: University of Michigan Press, 1980. Kellor, Frances. â€Å"Harriet Martineau.† Women’s Intellectual Contributions to the Study Of Mind and Society. http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc.15th edition. Chicago/ Auckland/Geneva/London/Madrid/Manila/Paris/Rome/Seoul/Sydney/Tokyo/Tor-onto, 1974-89.

Dicuss the Roles of the Gods and Goddesses in the Iliad and Medea

The Iliad was one of Greek literature greatest works written by the poet Homer. The Iliad is unlike other oral literature from different times. The Iliad illustrates how people are faced with death every day, but find it difficult to determine the meanings of death are why death occurred. The Iliad (Book I) The Iliad concerns itself with the rage of Achilles and how it begins to break down the Achaean army, and how the tensions were change towards the Trojans. The Trojan War had been going on for about ten years before Achilles and Agamemnon entered the quarrel. The nonexistence of Achilles from the battle only lasted a couple of days and the epic ended shortly afterwards. The way I interpreted the poem it did not describe the origin or the end of the war that frames Achilles wrath. The main focus of this poem was the rage of a mortal which is also the heading of the poem. Another focus was also was the motivation and action of the gods. Before Homer goes into great depth regarding the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, he explained that he felt that Apollo was responsible for the conflict. The conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles highlights one of the strongest aspects of the ancient Greek systems. Agamemnon thought that as chief of the Achaean forces, he should receive the highest prize he was willing to upset Achilles. Both men Agamemnon and Achilles considered not embarrassing the other and decided to put their own interest before that of the people, which jeopardize the efforts of the war. The Iliad (Book XVI) This book refers to the death of Patroclus. Zeus comforts Poseidon after Hera tried to blame her for the havoc that was caused while Zeus was in a deep sleep. Zeus informed Poseidon that Hector will die after he kills Patroclus. Hector leads a charge against Achaeans after Apollo fills him and his soldiers with strength. The two armies fought almost to the Greek camps, but did reach the ships and Hector rallied the Trojans and inch by inch the Trojans advance until Hector is close enough to touch the ships. According to the books Hector stripped Achilles divine armor from Patroclus’s corpse and the fierce fight ended in partial success for the Greeks (pg 158).

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