FROM THE SHADOWS TO LITERATURE

From the medieval times, women were strictly prohibited from participating in various cultural activities like art and music. It was also considered a male-only field. Sure, plays and dramas had female characters but all feminine characters were enacted by male artists wearing masks. It was thought that music and other fine arts polluted a woman’s sanctity and interfered with her domestic duties. They were also discouraged from any sort of literary activity including reading and writing. Any woman showing interest in art and literature was not considered innovative, but on the contrary, was seen as indicative of a poor upbringing or bad taste. Some people even considered them to be possessed by the spirits of the devil, keen on bringing doom to the household.

However, women who were determined to remain in their field of interest did remain, and almost stubbornly so. Charlotte Bronte, the famous English novelist, was initially refused by publishers because they didn’t think that her writing would be taken seriously by the literary circles due to her gender. Undaunted, she approached the publishers under a male pseudonym and began to be taken more seriously. Her first work was Jane Eyre, under the name of Currer Bell, which was widely accepted and reprinted. Nobody raised eyebrows or questioned a male author writing about a strong female character. Indeed, it was well that they didn’t dwell too much on that fact. The novel was widely accepted and reprinted zealously. Charlotte’s other sisters, Emily and Anne Bronte also published their initial works under male pseudonyms, and had they not been successful, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights wouldn’t have made the success it enjoys even now. Gradually, it began to be accepted that some women really did excel in what they did.

       Charlotte Bronte

What does this prove? The ability of a person shouldn’t be hindered by a mundane characteristic like gender. Every person has a contribution to be made to society and it is our duty to provide chances to those who deserve to share the spotlight.