A Short History of Women Literary Elements

Non-Fiction

The novel is set in Iraq, a time when women's rights were suppressed. The novel follows five generations of women, starting from the 1800s to the year 2000.

The narrator is Evelyn Charlotte Townsend. The story is told from Dorothy Trevor Townsend's perspective, a woman who died while protesting for women's rights in the year 1914.

Disheartening and empathetic

The protagonist of the novel is Dorothy Trevor Townsend, the lead crusader of women's rights. The antagonist is the patriarchal system that places women at the bottom-most ladder in society.

The major conflict is the death of Dorothy Trevor Townsend, a woman who is protesting for women’s suffrage in 1914. The government is in denial that a woman needs to be treated equally as a man, and therefore, a crackdown is launched against the protesters.

Barrett's decision to divorce her husband to start a blog to protest against the Iraq war is the climax. The woman has at least attained the freedom to stand on her own and go against the system.

When Dorothy becomes the epitome of altruism, she foreshadows a possible revolution against the patriarchal system to ensure that women are recognized in society and given equal opportunities.

Barrett's divorce is satirical to many, but she knows that she is doing for a good cause, blogging against a possible Iraq war.

The author metaphorically uses Caroline and Liz to reference the significance of women's history in the fight for equal rights. Liz and Caroline are determined to keep alive the legacy of their great-great-grandmother, the initiator of equal treatment for women.

The description of the narrator's mother in the hospital builds visual imagery for readers to comprehend the environs of the hospital. Similarly, mentioning the greenhouse lilies in a pot in the hospital depicts the sense of smell to readers.

Starving to death by Dorothy Trevor Townsend is not only paradoxical but unrealistic. One cannot expect to live without eating to get the energy required to protest.

N/A

The word 'suffrage' is metonymy referring to women's oppression

The Iraq war is personified as a monster that burdens women and children on top of the suppressive patriarchal rules that hinder women from attaining their potential.