French Essays Nineteenth Century French Fiction

French Essays Nineteenth Century French Fiction The Representations of Women in Nineteenth Century French Fiction Discuss the representations of women in La Curee (by Zola),Germinie Lacerteux (by Edmond et Jules de Goncourt), La Dame aux Camelias (n.bthe play, not the novel by Dumas fils) and Le Spleen de Paris (by Baudelaire). This research investigates in depth therepresentations of women in such French fiction as La Curà ©e by Emile Zola,Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, La Dame aux Camà ©lias by AlexanderDumas the younger and Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire. The receivedfindings suggest that in these literary works the writers maintain the ideas ofrealism and naturalism in regard to female characters, rejecting the romanticportrayal of females and stressing on their freedom and sexuality. Somefindings of the dissertation are consistent with the earlier studies of Frenchliterature in the nineteenth century, while other results provide newinterpretations of a female issue. 1 Statement of the problem The representations of women in Frenchliterature of the nineteenth century reflect the writers attempts to providetheir own vision on females in the era of Libertinage, praising theirprinciples of liberty, but implicitly criticising their sexuality and weakness.Contrary to Romantic writers, such authors as Emile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, AlexanderDumas the younger and the Goncourt brothers adhere to the ideas of realism andnaturalism in their portrayals of women, proving that only the observation of differentsides of a persons essence can provide understanding of the reasons behindfemale degradation and failure. In this regard, these writers represent theirfemale characters through social, cultural and familial contexts. 2 Introduction In France the nineteenthcentury was characterised by various social changes that gave rise to theprinciples of libertinage and equality, but also negatively influenced the mostsubordinate group French females. The pleasure became the principal featureof French style of life. In view of these changes French fiction of thenineteenth century was divided into four literary movements: naturalism,symbolism, romanticism and realism. Although the currents differed from eachother, they stressed on the importance of a person and the rejection of purereason and social standards. Following these movements, French writers started todiscuss a female issue through their female characters, uncovering such negativesocial phenomena as female subjugation, divorce, prostitution, psychologicaldisorders of women and depopulation. In particular, they revealed that, despitefemales attempts to achieve equality with males, society continued to impose certainsocial norms and stereotypes on women, depriving th em of the possibility tofollow their own paths. A woman who worked as a prostitute or a servant wasusually regarded as a subject, a person of secondary importance in patriarchalFrench world, but it was this female who was often portrayed innineteenth-century fiction. The aim of thisdissertation is to discuss the representations of females in La Curà ©e by EmileZola, Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, La Dame aux Camà ©liasby Alexander Dumas the younger and Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire.The paper is divided into several chapters. Chapter 1 provides a statement ofthe problem that reveals the core of the analysis. Chapter 2 reflects a generaloverview of the issue, observing the social and historical contexts of theperiod when the discussed works are written. Chapter 3 evaluates some criticalanalyses of nineteenth-century French fiction. Chapter 4 demonstrates thetheoretical research methods that are utilised in the research. Chapter 5investigates in depth the representations of women in each novel, focusing onboth principal and secondary female characters. Chapter 6 summarises thereceived results, and Chapter 7 points at the limitations of the dissertation andproposes some suggestions for further research of Zola, Edmon d and Jules deGoncourt, Dumas the younger, and Baudelaire. 3 Review of the literature Nineteenth-century French literatureattracts attentions of various critics who provide rather contradictoryviewpoints on literary works of French writers. This can be explained by thefact that in the period of the French Revolution and Libertinage, Frenchliterature began to move away from the traditional portrayals of characters to themore realistic representations. As Desmarais puts it, all the writers of the19th century are more or less romantic; but none of them could bedescribed as traditional. Introducing innovative elements intotheir literary works, these French writers made attempts to either uncoverdifferent sides of reality or to contrast the nineteenth century with the past.For instance, analysing the literary legacy of Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, ElisabethBadinter cites words of Juliette Adam who claims that the Goncourts so lovedand frequented eighteenth-century women that they despised the women of thenineteenth, consigning them to wickedness, debauchery or imbecility. Charles Baudelairescollection of prose texts La Spleen de Paris was published only after his deathand the critics paid no attention to this literary masterpiece; only at thebeginning of the twentieth century Baudelaires work was acknowledged as one ofthe best prose fiction. In particular, Robert Kopp draws a parallel between LaSpleen de Paris and Baudelaires poetry, pointing at the fact that these prosetexts reflect the themes raised in the majority of Baudelaires poems.Emile Zolas novel La Curà ©e was exposed to censure since its publication, butat the end of the twentieth century it was praised by modern critics as asplendid literary work of naturalism. Contrary to Zola and Baudelaire, the playLa Dame aux Camà ©lias by Dumas the younger was accepted by French audience ofthe nineteenth century with delight, and its principal character Marguerite becamethe prototype of many female characters in films, plays and musicals. One ofthe most famous opera produced on Dumas play was Verdis La Traviata. 4 Research methodology The research in this dissertation isconducted, utilising a social constructionist approach and a feminist approach.Applying to these methods, the paper analyses the representations of women fromdifferent perspectives and interpretations. The social constructionist approachuncovers the impact of society on the formation of women and its attitudetowards those females who reject the existing stereotypes. Thus, this method iscrucial for investigating the portrayal of women in French fiction. Anotherappropriate method is the feminist approach that is aimed at observing genderissues in literature, criticising patriarchal society that specifically createsthe differences between men and women and imposes specific roles on women. Asfemales have been usually conformed to certain stereotypes in literature, thefeminist approach makes an attempt to destroy these stereotypicalrepresentations. In this regard, both approaches analyse the portrayal of femalesin nineteenth-century French fiction throu gh social contexts. 5 Discussion 5.1. Naturalism of La Curà ©e by EmileZola Emile Zola belongs tothose writers who in their literary work present the characters that areclosely connected with their environment. In the novel La Curà ©e Zola reflectsfemale characters through social contexts, demonstrating the impact of theenvironment on them. Thus, the writer is more interested in the temperaments ofhis women rather than in other aspects of their personalities. Zola considersthat female temperaments can explain their emotions and actions, theirrelations with other people and their attitudes to the world, in which theylive. In La Curà ©e female characters are greatly influenced by the events of theSecond Empire and the changes that Baron Haussmann introduced in Paris. As a resultof these changes, Zolas women are in search of pleasure and money. After thedeath of Aristide Rougons wife, the character is left with two children anddecides to marry a wealthy female Renà ©e Beraud de Chatel, transforming his nameinto Aristide Saccard. Their marriageprovides Aristide with financial security, but this marriage of conveniencesproves to be unfortunate for the principal female character that is finallyleft without means of subsistence and a family. Renà ©e looses her childrenduring pregnancy and becomes engaged in various sexual intercourses. At firstshe initiates the relations with Saccards son, until he marries anotherwealthy but very ill woman Louise who dies soon after the marriage. Thus, Zolacreates two male characters a father and a son who marry women withdisabilities for money, because they do not have another way to enrichthemselves. But Zola doesnt consider that these men are responsible for femalesfailure. Renà ©e is portrayed as a woman who constantly suffers from neuroticattacks and devotes her life to balls, talks and sexual pleasures. Renà ©eappears to be a product of French patriarchal society that puts a woman into asubordinate position, destroying her self and making her suffer from ownweakness. According to thefeminist approach, such subjugation results in negative consequences for awoman, because she starts to substitute one extreme for another. Inother words, a woman turns from excessive subordination to uncontrollablefreedom. Before her marriage to Aristide, Renà ©e gets pregnant and is abandonedby one of her lovers, and Aristide appears to be a rescue for womansreputation. This female character is portrayed as a simple sensualist who findsreal pleasure in social life and sexual relations. When she meets Aristidesson Maxime, a young teenager who greatly resembles her, she becomes his lover. Althoughthe writer implicitly criticises Renà ©e, he constantly points at the fact thatit is French society that shapes this female who finally destroys not onlyherself, but also people around her. Renà ©e is against Maximes marriage toLouise, considering her to be a weak and ugly girl. She is not able to realisethe power of money for such people as Maxime and Aristide; she is used to spendmuch money and she regards it only as means that help her exist in Frenchsociety. Renà ©e is emotionally involved into the affairs with Maxime and sheutilises this young person for her own pleasures. This female is amazed bythese forbidden relations and doesnt want to think about the consequences ofher action. In the characterof Renà ©e, the writer embodies the essence of Parisian life; similar to Paris,Renà ©e is obsessed with luxury and pleasures, but behind this gorgeousappearance there are degradation and suffering. This female character reflectsreality of the nineteenth century when people run to certain extremes and werefurther destroyed by these extremes. Renà ©es wrong ideals are a result of herlack of appropriate education and social permissiveness that deprive a youngwoman of creating a normal family with loving husband and children. By the endof the narration Renà ©e is completely destroyed by her obsession with pleasure;but Zola observes her weakness and foolishness through the social pressure thatshe is not able to withstand. As Zola puts it, she had slid down a slipperyslope, yet she had not remained passive the whole way down. Desire had awakenedin her too late to combat it, after the fall had become ineluctable. The same regardsthe secondary female character of the novel Angà ¨le, the first wife ofAristide. She is also portrayed as a weak, passive and unhealthy female who isnot able to endure life in Paris. Contrary to Renà ©e, Angà ¨le is not involvedeither in social life of Paris or in sexual relations because of her povertyand poor health, but her submissiveness is also formed by society, in which shelives. As Zola claims, To be poor in Paris is to be poor twice over. Angà ¨leaccepted misery with the passivity of the anemic woman she was. She spent herdays either in the kitchen or lying on the floor playing with her daughter.Angà ¨le is really devoted to her husband and children and refuses to be isolatedfrom young Clotilde when Aristide decides to move to Paris. However, Paris, thecity of changes in nineteenth century France, requires changes in individualsas well. Those people who fail to adjust to these changes are destroyed, thatis just the case with Angà ¨le. Aristides firstwife appears too kind and weak, the features that do not allow her to survivein the cruel and degrading Parisian world; however, such characters as MmeSidonie, a sister of Aristide, is aware of the role of money in Paris. Zolaportrays this secondary character as a person who eliminates her emotions andinstead applies to pure reason. When Sidonie visits a dying Angà ¨le, shecompletely ignores any morality or decency in her talk with Aristide: She wasa good woman, his sister continued, speaking as though Angà ¨le were alreadydead. You can find women who are wealthier. Zola criticises suchfemale scorn, implicitly demonstrating that Paris destroys the souls of womenand makes them act, like machines, without any emotions and feelings. Thisrealistic portrayal reflects the negative impact of certain social norms onindividuals. Sidonie is used to interfere into the lives of other people anddecide their fates. Therefore, in his representations of women Emile Zolastresses on t he fact that power and wealth deprave females in France, butsimultaneously he contrasts these mean women with such good females as Angà ¨leand Cà ©leste. As the writer describes, Cà ©lestes devotion pleased Renà ©e all themore because she knew her to be honest and thrifty, a woman without a lover anduntouched by vice. 5.2. Misogyny in Germinie Lacerteux Similar to Zola, Edmondand Jules de Goncourt in their literary work Germinie Lacerteux create thefemale characters that reflect the ideals of femininity existed in Frenchsociety in the nineteenth century. Although their women reveal certain liberty,they are too preoccupied with their own sexuality. Through their femalecharacters the Goncourt brothers reflect their misogynistic vision of femaleswho are not able to suppress their sexual desires and who become the slaves oftheir natural instincts. Throughout the narration Edmond and Jules de Goncourtexpress their longing for eighteenth-century females with their refinedappearances, exquisite manners and flirtation; they long for the period ofstrong aesthetic values and cultivated morality. Thus, their female charactersare usually portrayed as depraved females who end tragically because of theirweakness, poor education and lack of intelligence. GerminieLacerteux, the principal female character, is a woman who is sexually abused inearly years and who is not able to marry when she comes to Paris. However, hermotherly instincts are too powerful and she starts to look after a niece andanother child Jupillon. But when Jupillon is transformed into a man, Germinieexperiences a sudden passion towards him, and it is this passion that destroysher reputation and turns into poverty, because the love had been for theJupillon young person only the satisfaction of a certain curiosity of the evil,seeking in the knowledge and in the possession of a woman the right and thepleasure of scorning it. When Jupillon abandons Germinie, shestarts drinking and is involved in numerous sexual intercourses that bring herto death, similar to Dumas Marguerite and Zolas Renà ©e. In this regard, Edmondand Jules de Goncourt uncover female passion that can gradually destroy a womanand depreciate her, criticising Germinies uncontrollable sexual desires andins tead maintaining the ideas of female virginity. As Jupillon tells Germinieduring one of their talks, you appear yourself well still, you are not myheart, you are not my life, you are only my pleasure. Contrary toother French writers of the nineteenth century that mainly portray females fromthe upper-class society, the principal female characters of Edmond and Jules deGoncourt belong to the middle-class. Such shift from aristocratic females topoor females reflects great realism of the narration, eliminating romanticismthat is usually utilised in French novels. The Goncourts naturalism explainsthe reasons of female sexuality and their further failure. According to the writers,it is really difficult for such a woman as Germinie to suppress her naturalinstincts and adhere to social morality that rejects any powerful emotions.Such females make attempts to change their conditions of living, but finallythey appear in the similar conditions as at the initial stage of life. TheGoncourts present this viewpoint not only on the example of Germinie, but alsoon the example of a secondary character Miss de Varandeuil, an old kindspinster who hires Germinie as a servant to her and who becomes ful ly attachedto a young girl. As Edmond and Jules de Goncourt put it, This old womanisolated and forgotten by death, only at the end of her life, trailing heraffections of tomb in tomb, had found her last friend in her servant. However, suchclose relations between a master and a servant are not unusual fornineteenth-century French literature that usually reflects female servants asdevoted and hardworking people who gradually occupy the principal place in thenarration. Despite their different social positions, Germinie and Miss deVarandeuil finish their lives in loneliness, with the only difference thatGerminie doesnt suppress her sexual desires, while Miss de Varandeuil isolatesherself from the rest of the world, as well as from her powerful emotions.According to the social constructionist approach, a woman is created bysociety, in which she lives; thus, her sexual behaviour is also formed by theenvironment. In this regard, the differences in sexual desires ofGerminie and Miss de Varandeuil can be explained by their different backgroundsand upbringing. Miss de Varandeuil is the representative of a brokenaristocratic family that loses its fortune during the French Revolution, whileGerminie comes from a middl e-class society that adheres to easier manners. 5.3. Realism of La Dame aux Camà ©lias The play of Dumas theyounger La Dame aux Camà ©lias portrays a beautiful prostitute Marguerite Gautierwho breaks the relations with her lover, Armand Duval, to improve hisreputation and soon dies of her incurable illness. In this female character thewriter embodies his lover Marie Duplessis who died at the age of twenty-three. Dumaspresents Marguerite as a romantic woman, despite the fact that her real lifewas not so romanticised. At the end of the play Marguerite claims that she haslived for love and she doesnt hesitate to die for love. By applying to suchtragic end, Dumas uncovers the social system of his times, when a woman fromthe middle-class couldnt be engaged in the relations with a male of the upper-class,or otherwise she could destroy his life and reputation. On the exampleof this character Dumas the younger reflects womans degradation, but Margueritesdeath as a result of illness evokes sympathy towards her. Marguerite saves notonly Armand, but also his sister who at last receives an opportunity to occupyan appropriate position in upper-class society. In this regard, a life of onefemale is sacrificed for the sake of another woman, although Marguerite ispresented as an unusual female with many virtues. She is not only beautiful,but is also intelligent and noble. In the play Dumas the younger portraysMarguerite as a person with a slender figure, white face and dark hair. She hasamazingly bright eyes, full lips and unusually white teeth. She possesses agood taste in her dresses, in music, in art and behaves in a noble way. But,above all, this courtesan has a big heart, expressing sympathy andunderstanding towards other people. As Dumas describes her, There was a kindof candour in this woman. You could see she was still in the virginity of vi ce.No wonder that Armand falls in love with Marguerite from the first sight;however, this popular French prostitute has never loved before she meetsArmand. As Armand tells the truth about his feelings towards her, Margueritelaughs at him, but he gradually persuades her in his love, and she returns hisaffection. When Armand speaks with his father, he says, Perhaps I am in thewrong, but I can only be happy as long as I am the lover of this woman. However, whenMarguerite finds out that she is ill, she realises that her past has deprivedher of future. Although noble people in nineteenth-century France were usuallyengaged in sexual relations with prostitutes, and these relations were regardedas natural, the situation was different in regard to love. The relations basedon love were fully prohibited by upper-class society, and an aristocratcouldnt love or marry a prostitute, because such action would destroy him.Marguerite has no choice, but to destroy the relations with her lover in themost complex period of her life. Dumas the younger reveals that Frencharistocratic society creates certain social norms; those persons who try tooppose to them, are excluded from society. Thus, Marguerite appears to be avictim of these social norms, as she is engaged in illicit sexual relationswith men. As these relations are concealed, they are ignored by society, butwhen they are exposed, they destroy the reputation of a person who belongs tothe upper-class. Marguerite realises that her bad reputation threatens not onlyArmand, but his family as well, and she decides to break her relations with theonly person she truly loves. Such actiondemonstrates that Marguerite is better than females of the upper-class, becauseshe understands her responsibility. Marguerite creates her own existence, but,as the writer puts it, Do not let us despise the woman who is neither mother,sister, maid, nor wife. Although this female character has neverbelieved in love and has utilised males for her own benefits, the relationswith Armand change her. Marguerite doesnt want to destroy Armands life, as shehas destroyed her own. As she tells him, your family would cast you off if youwere to live with a woman like me. Let us be friends, good friends, but nomore. Despite the fact that Marguerite takes this seriousdecision because of her sincere love to Armand, Dumas the youngersimultaneously shows that she adheres to the demands of French society.Marguerite is used to act independently, but in this particular case shedecides to reveal her subjection to society. In this regard, the writer provesthat the principles of Libertinage that w ere established in France in theeighteenth century were attributed only to males, while females were punishedfor any display of independence. In the case ofMarguerite, this female is first punished for her illegal sexual intercoursesand further for her love to Armand, the representative of the upper-class. Throughouther life Marguerite has collided with many obstacles and has successfullyovercome them. But she fails to defend her love against social prejudices.Contrasting Marguerite with females of the upper-class, Dumas the younguncovers the degradation of French society that rejects emotions and insteadadheres to the failed morality. When Marguerite abandons Armand without anyexplanation, he constantly humiliates her during their meetings. As Margueritefeels that her illness progresses, she comes to Armand one more time and she cantsuppress her desires. But Marguerite understands that she has to leave Armandwho is unaware of true reasons behind her escape. As a result, Armand destroysMarguerite during the ball by publicly giving money to her. After suchhumiliation Marguerite looses her friends and clients and dies in po verty andloneliness. In prologue Marguerites lover receives her letter and realises thetrue virtues of this beautiful and intelligent female. As Dumas claims, Margueritewas a pretty woman; but though the life of such women makes sensation enough,their death makes very little. In real lifeMarie Duplessie greatly influenced Dumas the younger, but it is he whoabandoned her, realising that he didnt have enough money to support this richcourtesan. However, as Dumas became more involved into the life of Frenchsociety, he began to observe the social attitude towards courtesans and decidedto reflect this attitude in his play La Dame aux Camà ©lias. Through the characterof Marguerite the writer reveals his own opinion of a female. He portrays abeautiful and intelligent woman, providing her with many virtues and love, butsimultaneously depriving her of the possibility to marry a person she lovesbecause of her bad reputation. When after their prolonged parting Armand asksMarguerite, whether she is happy, she answers: Have I the face of a happywoman, Armand? Do not mock my sorrow, you, who know better than any one whatits cause and its depth are. Thus, Dumas the younger implicitlydemonstrates that ideal love relations can be established only between a virginand a ma n with sexual experience. At the same timeDumas regards close relations between opposite sexes as a battle. AlthoughMarguerite has a kind heart and sincerely falls in love with Armand, she is nota virgin and is not able to fully belong to one man, with all her heart, bodyand soul. On the one hand, Dumas the younger reveals that a prostitute may be abetter woman than a virgin, but, on the other hand, he rises againstprostitution that transforms women into the subjects and deprives them of thepossibility to become good mothers and wives. According to the socialconstructionist approach, it was natural for a man of the nineteenth century toestablish sexual relations with different women, but women had to adhere tostrict social norms. In the play Dumas shows that the marriage with aprostitute is equated with a crime, but Marguerite redeems her reputation. Butsuch prostitutes, with a heart, were infrequent in Dumas time, although someof his secondary female characters are also beautiful and intelligent. Forinstance , he introduces M de N. into his narration, a prostitute and anacquaintance of Marguerite. As the writer characterises her, the man who wasthe lover of such a woman might well be as proud as M. de N., and she wasbeautiful enough to inspire a passion. When Armand utilises herto revenge Marguerite, she reveals an unusual intelligence when she claims,you love Marguerite, and you want to have revenge upon her by becoming mylover. You dont deceive a woman like me, my dear friend. 5.4. Ambiguity of Le Spleen deParis by Baudelaire Similar to Emile Zola,Baudelaire reveals his female characters through social environment; this isespecially obvious in his collection of prose texts Le Spleen de Paris, wherehe shows an impact of Paris on women. When Baudelaire arrived to Paris, he hadto live in various parts of the city, observing the life of women in theseplaces. In the text The Despair of the Old Woman, the writer reflects hissympathy to an aged female who experiences great despair, as she sees a childand wants to smile at him, but the child is afraid of this old woman who doesnthave hair and teeth. This lonely woman is horrified by such attitude and shecries: Ah! For us, unhappy female old women, the age passed to like, even withthe innocent ones, and we make horror with the little children that we want tolike. Baudelaireregards such women as victims of life who symbolise loneliness and misery. Applyingto such horror portrayals, the poet implicitly criticises those women who areobsessed with their material well-being, ignoring the reality and the beauty ofthe world around them. In Le Spleen de Paris Baudelaire draws a parallelbetween one woman and another, as well as between a man and a woman. In thetext The Wild Woman and the Small Mistress the poet presents a dialogue betweentwo females, uncovering their views on life. Though both persons belong to onesex, they are different, as the wild woman describes a mistress, you whichrest only on fabrics as soft as your skin, which eat only cooked meat, and forwhich a skilful servant takes care to cut out the pieces. Suchportrayal reveals the poets double vision, his attempts to evaluate varioussides of peoples consciousness. But Baudelaireis especially sympathetic to widows and old females who are forgotten andneglected by society. In his text Widows the poet provides a detailed portrayalof widows in the parks, claiming that it is easy to recognize them,because each widow reflects loneliness, pain and isolation. Baudelaireintensifies their misery by contrasting these lonely and poor widows withwealthy and idle people who walk in the park: It is always somethinginteresting that this reflection of the joy of the rich person at the retina ofpoor. These reflections show the ability of Baudelaire forobservations and his understanding of a female essence. In his text BeautifulDorothà ©e the poet describes a beautiful Dorothà ©e strong and proud like thesun who walks along the street, bare-footed, and smiles. Perhaps,Baudelaire ponders, she goes to a young officer to talk with him, thats whyshe is so delighted. Such is the image that the girl creates for the rest ofthe world, but no one knows that she gathers each piaster to redeem her littlesister. In another prose poem Which is the true one Baudelaire reveals thestory of a beautiful and unusual girl Bà ©nà ©dicta who is portrayed by the poet asideal. But as he claims, this miraculous girl was too beautiful to live a longtime and she dies very young. Baudelaire realises that femalebeauty and youth are temporary, and many good women die at an early age. In the textPortraits of Mistresses the poet describes four males who talk about theirmistresses, implicitly uncovering their inability to accept femaleindependence. According to the feminist approach, female characters are usuallyportrayed from two different perspectives: either as chaste wives, if theyadhere to the standards of patriarchal society, or as mistresses, if theyreject social rules and stereotypes. However, in La Spleen deParis Baudelaire reveals that such attitude is also aggravated by class andeconomic differences. 6 Conclusions The dissertation has analysed therepresentations of women in La Curà ©e by Zola, Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Julesde Goncourt, La Dame aux Camà ©lias by Dumas and Le Spleen de Paris byBaudelaire. In these works the portrayal of females reflects complex socialstereotypes and norms existed in French society. In the play La Dame aux Camà ©liasDumas the younger reveals that French aristocracy was engaged in sexualrelations with courtesans, but, as these relations became a threat to theirreputation, they destroyed any intercourse with their lovers. On the example ofthe principal female character the prostitute Marguerite Gautier the writerdemonstrates that a woman of a low social position with a reputation of aprostitute has no chances for better future, even if she possesses many virtuesand beauty. Although Marguerite sincerely falls in love with Armand Duval, sherealises that their relations destroy not only Armand, but his family as well.Suffering from an incurable illness, M arguerite nevertheless decides to abandonher lover for his sake. Thus, Dumas the younger proves that independent andintelligent females collide with many restrictions and stereotypes inpatriarchal world. The libertine ideas that were proclaimed throughout Francein the eighteenth century were mainly maintained by males, while womencontinued to occupy inferior position to men. Such female oppression wasaggravated by social biases of the upper-class towards people of themiddle-class, the biases that were mainly based on economical differencesbetween two classes. In GerminieLacerteux Edmond and Jules de Goncourt provide a misogynistic vision onfemales, trying to prove that women are too preoccupied with sexuality andsocial position. Similar to Dumas Marguerite, the Goncourts principal femalecharacter also belongs to the middle-class society and who is destroyed by herpassion to a young male. Following the principles of naturalism, the Goncourtsobserve a female from biological and social perspectives. Emile Zola goesfurther; in his novel La Curà ©e the writer reveals that social environmentshapes

Educational Philosophy Essay -- Teaching Education

Educational Philosophy Teachers have the role of shaping students for tomorrow. They help them academically, personally, and socially. I cannot think of any other career that would be as rewarding as teaching. A teacher has the opportunity everyday to change a student’s life. One of the reasons I want to become an educator is because I want to have a positive influence on a student’s life. I think in today’s society it’s crucial for students to feel like they have a positive role model. I have seen what a large impact teachers have made on their student’s lives. That has made me to want to strive and do the same. Another reason for choosing this profession is that I simply love working with children. I do not think that there is any greater moment that when a student catches on to what you are teaching them. This makes the student feel better and it makes you feel like you have succeeded at your job. The final reason I want to become a teacher is th at I feel that I have many great ideas, and I would love to communicate these ideas to my students. My classroom will be a very open and bright environment. I think it is crucial to have light colored walls in the classroom. This way the classroom looks very spacious. I also think it helps when a classroom has windows to allow plenty of sunlight to enter into the room. My walls will be covered with bright posters of inspirational sayings. I will also have bulletin boards to display the students’ work and art projects. I think this will be effective because it shows that the teacher really cares about her students and admires the effort they put into their work. I really want my classroom to be a very comfortable setting, but yet I want it ... ..., and leadership are derived from the many different philosophies. I see my role as an educator as one of great importance. I think my primary goal is to teach the students and help them learn. I also think it is my responsibility, though, to help the students with their own personal problems in anyway that I can. I want to help students with their self-esteem early in life so they can continue to work on it as they get older. I will also strive to help each student work harder. I want to be able to see continuous improvement in my students over the entire year. I want my students to feel like they can come and talk to me regardless of their problem. I want them to know that I will try my best to help them through anything that I can. I will take pride in my role as an educator and in helping students. After all, these students are our future. Educational Philosophy Essay -- Teaching Education Educational Philosophy Teachers have the role of shaping students for tomorrow. They help them academically, personally, and socially. I cannot think of any other career that would be as rewarding as teaching. A teacher has the opportunity everyday to change a student’s life. One of the reasons I want to become an educator is because I want to have a positive influence on a student’s life. I think in today’s society it’s crucial for students to feel like they have a positive role model. I have seen what a large impact teachers have made on their student’s lives. That has made me to want to strive and do the same. Another reason for choosing this profession is that I simply love working with children. I do not think that there is any greater moment that when a student catches on to what you are teaching them. This makes the student feel better and it makes you feel like you have succeeded at your job. The final reason I want to become a teacher is th at I feel that I have many great ideas, and I would love to communicate these ideas to my students. My classroom will be a very open and bright environment. I think it is crucial to have light colored walls in the classroom. This way the classroom looks very spacious. I also think it helps when a classroom has windows to allow plenty of sunlight to enter into the room. My walls will be covered with bright posters of inspirational sayings. I will also have bulletin boards to display the students’ work and art projects. I think this will be effective because it shows that the teacher really cares about her students and admires the effort they put into their work. I really want my classroom to be a very comfortable setting, but yet I want it ... ..., and leadership are derived from the many different philosophies. I see my role as an educator as one of great importance. I think my primary goal is to teach the students and help them learn. I also think it is my responsibility, though, to help the students with their own personal problems in anyway that I can. I want to help students with their self-esteem early in life so they can continue to work on it as they get older. I will also strive to help each student work harder. I want to be able to see continuous improvement in my students over the entire year. I want my students to feel like they can come and talk to me regardless of their problem. I want them to know that I will try my best to help them through anything that I can. I will take pride in my role as an educator and in helping students. After all, these students are our future.

Management Information Systems At Access Fulfillment Ltd

Introduction In an organizational setting, the main application of information is in making sound decisions and finding the best remedies to a problem. These practices are closely related, and form foundations of all successful companies (Oz, 2008: p.8). In order to achieve this, most organizations have embraced different information systems. By definition, an information system is a collection of related company resources, which aid in retrieval, processing and distribution of information that supports the decision making process. (Heijden, H., Heijden, M. and Govardus, 2009: p.3). It obtains data as input and uses it to process and output useful information for decision making. In this paper, we explore on the application of Management Information Systems by Access Fulfilment Limited, a distribution company for a wide range of products, based in Kent, U.K. Management Information Systems at Access Fulfilment Limited According to Sadagopan (2004: p.1), management information systems (MIS) are computer based systems which provide access to data, which is speedy and flexible. There are several management areas where the management information systems have been used to make strategic decisions at Access Fulfilment Ltd. Management Information Systems for Decisions on New Warehouse Locations In an effort to expand the company, new offices and branches are often opened in different locations. To identify the most ideal locations, management information systems often aid in this analysis. Before a final decision is made, internal company information, as well as environmental information is generated by a management information system. This information includes both the shot and long term aspects that should be considered before setting up the new branch. These include the market and changeability, which is a prediction of the possible market response at the tine the branch is set up and the government policy, among others. For the warehouse branches that have been opened in the recent past, which are at Suffolk and Bristol, this system has provided the management team with the necessary information they need to execute the correct strategic decisions. As stated by Sadagopan (2004: p.14), strategic management information systems require mechanisms necessary for the assimilation of environmental information. This is necessary for influencing strategic decisions systematically. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Alternate Financing In every business, the decision for alternate financing is one of several strategic decisions that need sufficient information before being arrived at (Depamphlis, 2010: p.209). At Access Fulfilment Limited, a summary of status information about the internal financial status of the company is made. This summary is then referred to when such decisions are being made. This summary includes details on payrolls, the company budget, overruns, and variance analyses. In addition to this, external information, which is critical to the long-term status of the company, is also considered. The knowledge of these components of the business environment has enabled the managers of the company to make strategic decisions on this issue. This strategic decision, which applies the management information system, has turned out to benefit the company. For more than ten years that Access Fulfilment Limited has been in business, it has experienced substantial growth. One of the contributions towards this is alternate financing decisions. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Maintaining Competitiveness Competition is one of the major challenges faced by every business organizations (Waters, 2010: p.6). For Access Fulfilment Limited, the main sources of competition are other distribution companies that were in business even before it was founded. Having an advantage of a broader customer base as compared to Access Fulfilment Limited, these companies were difficult to compete with. Thus, decisions that had to be made by management to overcome this were very significant for the company. Management information systems aided in making decisions. Through the application of this information system, vital information about these competitors was obtained. This information comprised of the competitors’ present and future strategies for their distribution businesses. This information was quite helpful to the company. Since the managers were aware of what their competitors had planned, strategic decisions about advertisement and all other marketing functions of the company were arrived at. This enhanced Access Fulfilment Limited’s competitiveness in the market. It has also helped the company survive and grow for the period that it has been in the market, as is hopeful for further growth. For this reason, the application of the management information system has been beneficial to Access Fulfilment Limited. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Employee welfare Policies Any decision that concerns an organization’s welfare policy is among the strategic decisions that are taken by personnel management. In order to execute this decision successfully, internal information about the staff members is vital (Sadagopan, 2004: p.15). At Access Fulfilment, the information that influences such decisions includes staff size, quality of staff, their salary enumerations, motivations, and many more. However, what really governs this decision in the organization is the future vision and plans that the managers have. It is also governed by the probable labour market conditions in the business environment. By the application of management information systems, both the internal and external information needed by Access Fulfilment is obtained. This system has been quite resourceful in terms of setting the salaries for employees and motivating them. This strategy has enabled the company to retain most of their pioneer employees. Had the company failed to apply this system, probably the external job market could have been promising for the employees without the knowledge of the management team. Thus, failure or delay in adjusting the welfare of the employees to match or surpass the external market could prompt some of them to leave. The Relationship between Management Information Systems and Other Information Systems At Access Fulfilment Limited, several information systems are applied. Apart from the management information system (MIS), there is the executive support system (ESS), decision support system (DSS) and the knowledge management system (KMS), among others. One common thing about these information systems is that they all contribute towards the making of sound decisions that will see the company grow. What differentiates these systems is the level of management in which they are used and when they are used. The executive support system, for instance, is used by top level executives in decision making (Stair & Reynolds, 2011: p.446). Thus, for this company in as much as management information systems are used on various management levels, executive support systems are exclusive to the top management. Decision support systems, on the other hand is a support system for the management, with more capabilities than the management information systems (Janakiraman & Sarukesi, 2004: p.26) Conclusion Access fulfilment has been experiencing reasonable growth ever since 2000, when it started business. Although this cannot be entirely attributed to management information systems, it has been shown that these systems have had their contribution to its success. As aforementioned, this support system has been of great aid to the company in terms of strategic decision making. The aim of management information systems is to offer the right information from company reports (Sarukesi, 2004: p.26). Among the several strategic decisions that this system has helped make, this paper has addressed decisions for new locations, employee welfare policies, alternate financing and maintaining competitiveness in the business. On evaluating of this system at Access Fulfilment Limited, it can be concluded that it has been of a positive impact to the company. REFERENCE Depamphlis, D. 2010. Mergers and Acquisitions Basics: All You Need to Know. Oxford: Academic Press. Heijden, H., Heijden, M. and Govardus, J. 2009. Designing Management Information Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Janakiraman, V. S. and Sarukesi, K. 2004. Decision Support Systems. Delhi: PHI Publishers. Oz, E. 2008. Management Information Systems. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Sadagopan, S. 2004. Management Information Systems. Delhi: PHI Learning. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G. 2011. Principles of Information Systems. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Waters, T.J. 2010. Hyperformance: Using Competitive Intelligence for Better Strategy and Execution. California: John Wiley & Sons.

Disadvantages Of Social Media - 1785 Words

81% of the entire American population have a social media account (Statista). Now more than ever, people are online and connecting. It has created a new kind of connection that will never be able to be matched, and is vital to our generation. With something that is still considered fairly new technology, it’s no surprise that there are concerns about its validity as a positive force in our lives. Social media, although surrounding it is a lot of controversy, is such a vital tool that we are lucky to be able to take advantage of in our world. With something with such a forceful presence in our environment, doubts about its disposition are bound to arise. One of the biggest concerns about social media is the rise of social predators. These†¦show more content†¦Frankly, this isn’t a social media problem. This is a problem with people not being secure enough in their own lives to be able to be happy for others. Social media doesn’t cause depression or anxiety, envy and low self esteem are what causes people to feel this way about social media. Being envious of other people’s lifestyle has been a problem way before social media began to rise, but it’s just now becoming more apparent because of the ability to voice it to the entire world with a click of a button. Regardless of many people being able to relate to this problem, this behavior shouldn’t ever be one that is accepted or justified. Luckily, if you are one of these people who experience this #FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), soci al media platforms come with the option to block, unfollow, and hide content as well as people. On the flip side, social media does open up the door for cyber-bullying. Because you aren’t talking to a person face to face, people can feel a sense of detachment from their words and find it easier to say whatever they want because they feel there are no consequences. This is especially apparent within celebrities. â€Å"Haters† and â€Å"Trolls† are common terms to describe people who spend their time on the internet hating on others. Although this is a very reasonable argument for why social media can be dangerous, it is weakened by the fact that there are tools in place to preventShow MoreRelatedDisadvantages And Disadvantages Of Social Media1536 Words   |  7 Pages Disadvantages of Social Media Jiacheng Liu EAP/VI/C Sarah Peterson April/15/2015  Abstract Social media is an inherent part of current Internet and used by more than a billion individuals worldwide. They provide opportunities to share ideas and interact with others, from old friends to strangers. 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