‘Consider whether or not there are distinct characteristics in women’s writing.’ [70%, 2006]

In this essay I will compare and contrast Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ in order to consider whether or not there are distinct characteristics in women’s writing. Through a close analysis of each text I will offer an interpretation of both stories that highlights the common underlying concerns of the two authors; concerns embedded in the text which might not be evident from a superficial, literal reading of the stories. With reference to Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’, I also hope to illustrate the use of emotionally-rich language that is characteristic in women’s writing.[…]