The presentation of gender in relation to the works of Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield and Jean Rhys

Although we have reached the twenty-first century, a period of sophisticated technology and progress, the debate about gender is still going on; it is present in many fields of our lives. Women and homosexuals, for example, are still facing impertinent treatment. It must have been even worse in the last century, the so-called fin de siècle.

The last century was concerned with reshaping the image of usual relationships and behaviour radically. Relationships were no longer clearly defined or restricted to a specific combination; also the same sex became challenging, even if this meant the disobedience of the conventional idea of sexuality. Moreover, stereotypes concerning female roles started to be violated. The preoccupation with the representation of the female in politics, such as the right to vote, was amongst the most important topics raised. This was due to changes of the people’s social and cultural life, evoked through the feminist movement.

This piece of work will deal with the presentation of gender in selected works of the following female writers: Virginia Woolf and her both rival and friend Katherine Mansfield, as well as Jean Rhys, the modernist writer who died only twenty-three years ago. Building up on theoretical facts, the meaning of gender in the first half of the last century as well as gender-related problems which the protagonists encounter will be elicited. Examples from the novels and short stories will be included.