Abstract

Over the centuries women have been struggling to gain recognition, calling their independent voice to be heard in patriarchal and racist societies. As they follow the standards and the values of their societies, women tend to break the stereotypical and submissive images that degrade their position in their societies. Thus, this paper will scrutinize thoroughly women’s intellectual ability from a Gynocriticism perspective taking Virginia Woolf’s short story “The Legacy” (published posthously in 1944) as an example. The present paper provides an analytical view of the four models of gynocriticism; i.e., biological, linguistic, cultural, and psychological. It also attempts to shed light on some common feminist themes such as the theme of marriage and how oppressed marriage motivates male dominance. The paper addresses the relationship between wife and husband in terms of gender inequality and women’s identity. It also tackles women’s trapped position as distinct from the liberty of men and oppressed by husband in an unhappy marriage. It relies heavily not only on feminist perspectives as gynocriticism, gender inequality, and the theme of marriage; but also on the authors’ personal life. The paper concludes that being unable to speak their voice freely, women view writing as their salvation for their voice to be heard.

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