Without Alterity or Diversity life would be a boring monotony. To experience new facets of life or society we need help. Stereotypes are helpful. They give us the possibility to organize our world. Everything is put into its place, neat and tidy. As long as they are an instrument which builds only the base for further recognition and evaluation of human beings they are useful. When they become our only source of getting acquainted with other human beings, when they are fixed and immobile, stereotypes become a destructive force.
“A "stereotype" is a generalization about a person or group of persons. We develop stereotypes when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all of the information we would need to make fair judgments about people or situations. In the absence of the "total picture," stereotypes in many cases allow us to "fill in the blanks." Our society often innocently creates and perpetuates stereotypes, but these stereotypes often lead to unfair discrimination and persecution when the stereotype is unfavorable. “( Gary M. Grobman)
Stereotype as a general term shows a 'clear' ambiguity, therefore I want to categorize them into positive and negative stereotypes. Positive is the one which is a first means of evaluation without prejudices and with good intentions, negative is the one which is the only means of prejudicial evaluation. It is easier to learn and experience novelties when there is a kind of guiding light.
The following pages will show that learning with open eyes and sympathy for the 'Other' first needs stereotypes. Two different parts can be correlated. Sometimes even if two similar, but slightly different parts merge, like Josephs Conrad's goddesses. When guidance is needed, which is always the case when we encounter new spheres, in literature or in life, stereotypes can be helpful, as long as we are aware of the fact that they are just the first step into a new world.
How stereotypes in literary texts are a means to develop positive or negative feelings for a figure, how flexible they were created and in which way a figure developed I want to show with a gender-orientated, reader-responded view on three texts written by three authors: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness will provide the 'goddesses', The Passage to India written by EM Forster the 'blue-stocking' and Rose Tremain's The Colour the 'new' woman.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Depiction of female stereotypes
- Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
- EM Forster: A Passage to India
- Rose Tremain: The Colour
- Developing of the different stereotypes in the line of the plot
- Conrad
- EM Forster A Passage to India
- Rose Tremain The Colour
- Environment and the development of stereotypes
- Conrad
- E.M. Forster
- Rose Tremain The Colour
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines the portrayal of female stereotypes in literature, focusing on how these stereotypes are used to create positive or negative feelings for characters, their flexibility in development, and how they contribute to a gender-orientated, reader-responded view of the text. The analysis uses three texts as examples: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, EM Forster's A Passage to India, and Rose Tremain's The Colour.
- The role of stereotypes in shaping reader perception of characters
- The interplay of positive and negative stereotypes in literary works
- The flexibility and development of stereotypes throughout the narrative
- The influence of gender on the interpretation of stereotypes
- The connection between stereotypes and the environment in which they are presented
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter explores the concept of stereotypes and their role in shaping our understanding of the world, arguing that while they can be useful in organizing our experiences, they can also become destructive forces when they become fixed and immobile. The author then introduces the focus of the paper - the depiction of female stereotypes in literature.
- Depiction of female stereotypes: This chapter outlines the categorization of female stereotypes into positive and negative types. The author then focuses on Joseph Conrad's *Heart of Darkness*, analyzing the representation of female figures in the novel and identifying two primary stereotypes: the idealized "goddess" and the "tedious accessory."
- Developing of the different stereotypes in the line of the plot: This section continues the analysis of female stereotypes, focusing on how the stereotypes evolve and develop within the plot of *Heart of Darkness*, exploring how their presence contributes to the overall narrative.
- Environment and the development of stereotypes: This chapter explores the relationship between the environment in which the characters are situated and the development of stereotypes, examining how the setting of *Heart of Darkness* influences the portrayal of the female characters.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This paper focuses on the key themes of stereotypes, gender, and literature, exploring how female stereotypes are depicted and developed in three literary texts. The analysis uses concepts such as "goddess" and "tedious accessory" to describe the portrayal of female characters and examines the interplay of positive and negative stereotypes in creating reader perception.
- Citation du texte
- Bettina Korte (Auteur), 2007, Portraying the other, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/151783
