Feminism In The Time Machine
Charles Darwin once said: ‘We must bear without complaining the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind’. In this essay I will look at this quote in relation to the following texts: firstly, the science fiction novella The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and secondly, the play Mrs Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw to decide whether or not Darwin’s statement is supported by these texts. I will be critically analysing the political ideologies of Wells and Shaw in order to properly evaluate Darwin’s statement.
The plot of The Time Machine involves the protagonist, referred to as the Time Traveller by the narrator, travel through time where he meets the two new species that currently reside on Earth, replacing …show more content…
Bernard Shaw was far ahead of his time when he decided to stage a play centring on prostitution in 1893, unafraid of criticism. Expectedly, he was met with harsh reviews from critics and it was banned for thirty two years until public opinion had changed. Mrs Warren’s Profession was later published in 1894 in a volume called Plays Unpleasant.
The play is still held in high esteem by critics in relation to feminism as the play contains strong working class women and he “did not ignore the difficulties raised by his male experience of the relationship between the sexes or forget the differences within the women’s movement itself.” Shaw wished for both man and woman to work in harmony in partnership with one another in order to achieve various goals for the human race such as “happiness, welfare and perfection.” He had also declared himself in favour of the right to vote for women and has declared that both the sexes should possess equal political rights. (Griffith, …show more content…
Ganz argues that Shaw uses Crofts as a mouthpiece to criticise society; for example, when Crofts says: “As long as you don’t fly openly in the face of society, society doesn’t ask any inconvenient questions.” (265). This implies that the upper classes were free to do anything as long as you do not “fly openly in the face of society” as they were seen as superior; those belonging to the lower classes would definitely not be offered this freedom from criticism. Gareth Griffith believes that “the strong, dynamic women of the plays were said to have inspired many women to break the bonds of their Victorian upbringing.” (Griffith, 157). Vivie is an example of the Victorian ‘new woman’ that broke the mould of the typical ‘feminine beauty’ found in many novels of the
The plot of The Time Machine involves the protagonist, referred to as the Time Traveller by the narrator, travel through time where he meets the two new species that currently reside on Earth, replacing …show more content…
Bernard Shaw was far ahead of his time when he decided to stage a play centring on prostitution in 1893, unafraid of criticism. Expectedly, he was met with harsh reviews from critics and it was banned for thirty two years until public opinion had changed. Mrs Warren’s Profession was later published in 1894 in a volume called Plays Unpleasant.
The play is still held in high esteem by critics in relation to feminism as the play contains strong working class women and he “did not ignore the difficulties raised by his male experience of the relationship between the sexes or forget the differences within the women’s movement itself.” Shaw wished for both man and woman to work in harmony in partnership with one another in order to achieve various goals for the human race such as “happiness, welfare and perfection.” He had also declared himself in favour of the right to vote for women and has declared that both the sexes should possess equal political rights. (Griffith, …show more content…
Ganz argues that Shaw uses Crofts as a mouthpiece to criticise society; for example, when Crofts says: “As long as you don’t fly openly in the face of society, society doesn’t ask any inconvenient questions.” (265). This implies that the upper classes were free to do anything as long as you do not “fly openly in the face of society” as they were seen as superior; those belonging to the lower classes would definitely not be offered this freedom from criticism. Gareth Griffith believes that “the strong, dynamic women of the plays were said to have inspired many women to break the bonds of their Victorian upbringing.” (Griffith, 157). Vivie is an example of the Victorian ‘new woman’ that broke the mould of the typical ‘feminine beauty’ found in many novels of the