The Lives and Deaths of Anna, Emma, and Edna. A Scientific Approach to 'Anna Karenina', 'Madame Bovary', and 'The Awakening'

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 100, American Public University System, language: English, abstract: Since their debut in the nineteenth century, Anna from Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina', Emma from Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary', and Edna from Chopin's 'The Awakening' have been misunderstood due to a lack of scientific knowledge regarding female physiology and psychology, as well as the climate caused by the patriarchal societies in which the novels are set. Close readings of the primary texts and an examination of the biological and evolutionary principles in Brizendine's 'The Female Brain' and Yuval Harari's 'Sapiens', as well as previous criticism concerning the characters, reveal the motives behind the characters' decisions. Contrary to prior criticism, the three protagonists were neither angels nor monsters; they were mere humans, controlled by their physiology and instincts, and constrained by a dictatorial patriarchy, resulting in their deviant actions and their suicides.