Women Characters in Literature

Study Female Roles in Society using Online Video

With this title, you'll learn how the depiction of women in literature both reflected and influenced the roles of women in society. Use our 2 online educational video titles to trace the portrayal of women in literature through a survey of selected literary works, from biblical times to the English Renaissance. Discover the parallels between the literary depictions of heroines and the historical contexts in which the authors wrote. Learn how the depiction of women in literature reflected and influenced the roles of women in society--from the fallen Eve of the Old Testament to the commanding Portia in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

Learning Objectives:

• Trace the historic portrayal of women in literature through a survey of selected literary works from biblical times to the English Renaissance Draw parallels between an author's depiction of a heroine and the societal perceptions and expectations of women at the time during which that author wrote.
• Learn how the depiction of women in literature both reflected and influenced the roles of women in society, from the fallen Eve of the Old Testament to the commanding character of Portia in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'.
• Gain insight to the development of female literary characters from objects of veneration or shame to subjects who have distinct, complex personalities imbued with both strengths and weaknesses.

• Literature > Women In Literature > Heroines Sirens Shrews
• Early Literary Images (Runtime: 19:09)
• Woman Saint or Sinner Part 1 (Runtime: 19:39)