Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Just as cultural differences and traditions from around the world affect literature in all its forms, so do the cultural differences and traditions between the past and present show a diversity in literary style, form, and subject matter. In the past, language was masked, at least for women, behind the rules and guidelines of others: parents, partners, religious leaders, teachers, literary critics, and more. These women’s voices were not heard, and the women were treated as non-existent, thus paving the way for those in power to abuse them in previously unspoken ways. Women hid behind male pseudonyms in attempts to write more than mere recipes or journals. Yet, it is the true journals of today that bring to life the real stories of such hidden women. An examination of these women through their journals/memoirs helps cure the cultural divide between past and present. Evolving memoirs written by these once silent women are arriving on the modern-day scene more and more. Voices of women can now be heard, some shouting proudly, others whispering meekly, sharing stories and healing souls. They tell the stories of being controlled by others, subject to abuse, and finally struggling to make that final escape and make their voices heard. Language as art weaves the truth. It paints the story once hidden behind words and shares this enlightenment with the world.