Introduction
Mourning Dove, a female American writer, started her career under the inspiration of a friend who lived in her family. The author adopted various names such as Humishuma and Christine Quintaset amongst others. She pursued her academics in the Sacred Heart Convent and Goodwin Mission schools, and this propelled her desire to engage in writing as a profession. Mourning Dove perceived that the practice was vital in addressing the neglected, but important issues in the Indian-American community. She was driven by the urge to address the evil deeds and male chauvinism that were directed towards the weak gender in the Indian community (Baym 1161). The paper argues that the author presents women as victims of male chauvinism in the Indian society.
Summary
Mourning Dove was a feminist and she addressed issues through literature. Cogewea, the Half-Blood explains the tormenting adventures that Chipmunk, an Indian native, experienced in her community. In the introduction, the narrator indicates that Evil Owl Woman, a villain in the novel, pursued Cogewea. Chipmunk struggled to save herself from the villain’s move to capture her, but eventually lost. The author perceives that the reader will understand the strenuous practices embraced by women to achieve their freedom. Despite her call for help, her grandmother was incapable to assist. Mourning Dove explains that once held captive, Chipmunk lost contact with the society but managed to escape. After some time, she joined a racing competition and suffered discrimination from the majority of the participants. For example, during the competitions, she raced at the outermost track. The narration continues to highlight Cogewea’s zeal in the racing that prompted her to win against the male opponents. Despite the zeal, the judges’ compliments were sadistic and so were those that came from the other contestants (Baym 1162). Cogewea concluded that the compliments were not genuine, as the parties had shown their discomfort to include her in the contest from the beginning. Cogewea’s determination to win against the odds in her life was an indication of the urge of different people to succeed despite their gender.
Feminist literary critic approach
The Norton Anthology of English Literature provides that the American society professed a culture, which was aged for centuries. Therefore, the culture constrained the establishment of equality and the respect desired for the female gender. As a feminist, Mourning Dove observed the freedom as a right; hence, she declined to accept male chauvinism as a norm that every Indian American native should have accepted at the time. The use of narratives and passages served as a critical presentation of facts, which Indian community’s culture embraced, but which were harmful to the minority groups. Further, the writer viewed the rules issued by the governing bodies as demeaning and distressful to the female gender (Baym 1164). The importance of the passages was understood upon her death in 1930s.
The patriarchal practices embraced by the Indian community and the subsequent system of governance humiliated the writer; hence, the use of Cogewea in the passage was aimed to imply the abilities that were bestowed upon the female gender, but were yet to be exploited for the benefit of the society. According to the author, Cogewea’s challenges were overwhelming and dangerous throughout her life ordeals; thus, her level of intelligence and zeal enabled her to win against the odds. The author presumed that the use of a female character in the challenging and distressing situations set an authoritative platform to address the negative beliefs held by her native Indian tribe against the female gender.
The intriguing passages disclaim the system of leadership adopted by the Indians based on gender inequality and abuse. The biographical research instruments used in the study of Mourning Dove’s life prove Hector, the author’s first husband, as an abusive Indian husband, whom she eventually left. There is no doubt that Hector McLeod abided by the community’s culture; thus, he practiced male chauvinism while subjecting Christine to the torment that she was working to eradicate (Baym 1165). The continued practice left Christine no alternative other than to divorce him by relocating to the country’s South. Upon reaching the South, Mourning learnt about the differences between the region’s inhabitants with her natives, and intensified the search for additional folklores. The author’s feminist nature was overwhelming and she wrote authoritative literary passages with the knowledge that the named governments would cease from the ill practices. The Indian Government was attacked for its form of prejudice (Baym 1166). It is thoughtful to perceive that the author aimed at implying that women bore similar characteristics to the male population.
In the early stages, the writer learned about the disrespectful attitude of the Indian community towards women, since she suffered from punishments in the Indian mission schools. The author was contented with making a historical change through the passages. The notion that prevailed amongst the Indian society was that women were subjects to their male counterparts, and Mourning Dove was devoted to ensuring that the culture was subdued for the redemption of the female population. Her resolution to remarry Fred Galler emanated from the desire to have peace and restrain from the ethnical ideologies held against the female gender.
Her pursuit to ensure that the community restructured its stereotypical beliefs revolved around her personal experiences. In the early 20th century, the author was neglected by her matrimonial family; thus, she was unable to contest against the decision held by her family to marry her first husband (Baym 1167). Her revolting nature compelled her to overcome the situation by choosing to flee her home state and find refuge in an alien community. Through her Half-Blood Novel, the author indicated the stereotypical beliefs held by the female gender of the Indian community. For example, the part where she narrates about Cogewea’s call for her grandmother’s help upon being pursued by the Evil Owl Woman, is an indication that the women felt incapacitated to render any support.
Eventually, the use of Cogewea’s intelligence in overcoming the challenging life experiences is a form of redressing the stereotypes professed by the community over the female gender. The fact that her second husband was helpful in her writing career implies that her feministic ideology targeted to establish the notion that the community should have embraced the activities conducted by their women. In a conclusive approach, Mourning Dove succeeded in her endeavors as the second female American author. She lived a happy life with the husband of her choice, and was not subjected to ill-addressed beliefs (Baym 1162). Throughout the study, it is evident that the author opposed any form of cultural and social practices that discriminated against women for the benefit of the male.
Works Cited
Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Cogewea, Half-Blood. Eighth Edition. New York: Norton Company, 2012. Print.