Genre
Nonfiction
Setting and Context
The action depicted in the book begins in the Victorian Era and continues until present time.
Narrator and Point of View
The action is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood used here is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are the women, and the antagonists are depicted as being the men who tried to keep women from advancing throughout history.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is between equality and prejudice.
Climax
The book reaches its climax when the narrator expresses what she thinks beauty should mean.
Foreshadowing
The first sentence in the book foreshadows the fact that the main subject discussed by the narrator will be finding out what the true meaning of beauty really is.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The main allusion we find in the book is the idea that the world as we know it today was created by men and moulded by their ideas and beliefs.
Imagery
One of the most important images is that of countless women marching on the streets, asking for equal rights and equal opportunities. This image is an extremely important one because it transmits the idea that modern women are no longer happy with just being told what to do and how to do it but that they want to decide what kind of life to have.
Paradox
One of the most paradoxical ideas presented in the book is that women tend to romanticize the past and wishing they were living while at the same time claiming equality.
Parallelism
A parallel is drawn between the modern woman and the typical woman who lived 200 years ago. The parallel is used here to highlight the importance of taking an active role in militating women's rights.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The mini-skirt is used in this book as a general way through which the narrator transmits the idea of freedom.
Personification
We have a personification in the sentence "and the streets crumbled under their determination".
