There are no “gender” texts, only “gendered” readings. Discuss with reference to 2 texts.

The act of writing by the author is never neutral, simply because what is written is the influence of the values of the writer’s culture during that
period. As such, the writer often transfers these values into the text unintentionally. Although there are both ‘gendered’ texts and ‘gendered’
readings, it is not possible for only one to exist. Gender is subjective, and readers will take a ‘gendered’ position when approaching a text,
whether consciously or unconsciously. The seven Harry Potter series has been considered by many as a feminist text, and by some, as not. By
comparing and contrasting a ‘neutral’ text such as this against a classic feminist text, The Yellow Wallpaper, one can then identify and
distinguish how, by adopting a feminist approach, the reader can view the text as a feminist one. A feminist reading would demonstrate the
limitations of the female represented in a text and show how the binaries of hierarchal structures are prevalent not just in the 19 th Century, but
in all societies, even today.

Language and writing are tools for naming and describing the realities that exist in the world, however, language is not all that transparent.
Instead, language is the site where reality and social orders are created and constructed, and it shifts according to social contexts. In both texts,
language is used to demonstrate how women represented creativity and irrationality whereas men represented the logic and the rational. In
The Yellow Wallpaper, the heroine’s creativity is set in conflict with her husband’s rationality, hence he attempts to remove that creativity and
replace them with his own solid rationality. Sunlight in the text is also associated with John’s ordered and dominating schedule and the rational
sphere of men, whereas moonlight represents the unreal and imagination. The heroine is better able to achieve a sort of equal level with her
husband at night, when he is unable to monitor her as closely and when her imagination is able to roam freely. The moon, a traditional symbol of
femininity, allows the narrator that freedom. It is also under the feminine moonlight that the narrator finally discovers the woman in the
wallpaper’s plight and recognize it a reflection of herself.

In Harry Potter, Rowling also often uses a discourse of rationality to mark male characters as reasonable and a discourse of irrationality to mark
female characters as foolish. For instance, the Veela which appear in Goblet of Fire can be suggested to represent the sirens in The Odyssey, and
as such, are associated with the irrational, the sexual, danger, and evil. The Veela seem to support a view of gender as a binary, in which females
are alluring and irrational sexual beings. Ron Weasley is also quick to claim Hermione’s desire for justice for the House Elves as silly and
irrational, and claims to know that the house elves do not mind working hard and being exploited. Rowling as such depicts how males are often
seen as trying to impose their rational thoughts and females and tend to position themselves as Reason.

Women are also often portrayed as weak characters, whereas men are often seen as the strong heroes. Hermione in Harry Potter serves as a foil
to Harry, and often cowers in fear, especially so in the first book, Philosopher’s Stone, where she panics at the sight of a troll, leaving Harry and
Ron to deal with the monstrous creature instead. Although Hermione is characterized as smarter and more knowledgeable than the other male
characters, ultimately her knowledge only contributes to Harry’s adventures and advantage, not hers. Fleur is seen as the weakest opponent in
The Goblet of Fire, and fails to rescue her sister or finish any tasks after the first round. McGonagall is described by critic Heilman as “smart, but
not wise”, and is relatively easy to trick most of the time. Furthermore, the names of the schools also seem to propagate a patriarchal ideology,
and Beauxbatons refers to beauty and grace, whereas Durmstrang refers to strength and violence. Hence illustrating how the text seems to
advocate the binaries of male and female and their differences in strength. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the heroine is often fussed over by John and
he treats her in an infantile manner, referring to her as his “blessed little goose” and “little girl”. He refuses to accept the heroine as an equal and
carries her back up to the nursery for more bed rest in order to silence her. As such, by reading both texts through a Feminist focus, we can
implicitly discern the how the binaries are perpetually seen throughout both novels, and even despite the ‘gender’ of the texts, both can undergo
a ‘gendered’ reading.

Nonetheless, both texts differ in the sense that while Gilman’s heroine is still ultimately trapped and confined by society, Rowling’s depiction of
her female characters illustrates how they grow from series to series, and how they eventually learn to assert their own rights and while they do
not directly challenge the patriarchal order that is still prevalent in the novels, they do demonstrate their strengths and indispensability. In her
work The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir, one of the most prominent advocates of Feminism, describes women as the ‘other’, or the ‘weaker
sex’, and points out that the best way for women to become equal to men is by accepting roles otherwise reserved for men, and not by accepting
roles of a lower order created by men. . Hermione’s character for instance, undergoes androgenisation, and grows beyond the stereotype of the
weak woman and gradually attains abilities usually attributed to male heroes, and the importance of her knowledge in the later novels is
continually accentuated. Gilman’s heroine however, loses her sanity in the end, and despite having ‘released’ the woman behind the wallpaper,
which metaphorically refers to her freedom, she still has to ‘creep’ over John as she crawls over her, signifying that her is still an obstacle to
obstruct her freedom, and that she must still be secretive after her liberation, as social norms will not accept her freedom from the domestic
sphere, and so she must creep furtively and lie in wait, like the woman behind the wallpaper who waits for the moonlight.

Therefore, both texts clearly illustrate how each novel portrays the binaries of hierarchal structures that are prevalent in both the magical and
19th Century society. By reading both texts critically through a Feminist viewpoint, it enables the reader to discern the patriarchal order that
oppresses women. Women are stereotyped as weak and feminine, and are often associated with irrationality and imagination, whereas men are
portrayed are strong, masculine, and bearers of logic, reason, and rationality. It also demonstrates how society shapes a character, and that
while biology determines a character’s sex, it culture that determines their gender. Women are still expected to conform to behaviours and roles
that made them less than the male, and even Harry proclaims that Hermione is “good on feelings and stuff, but you just don’t understand about
Qudditch”. Females are often alienated from male-dominated roles and hence are marginalized. However, both texts seem to defy that and as
such, their female characters gradually grow and develop into strong characters.

Hence, although Harry Potter is often considered as a ‘neutral’ text, it proves that the ‘gender’ determination of a text lies in the power of the
reader. As the Yellow Wallpaper has been openly determined as a classical feminist text for so long, readers are bound to approach it in a
feminist light, due to the ideological culture that have hence shaped their thought. Therefore, although language is ultimately bias and
patriarchal in its origins and usage, it is eventually the reader’s ideology that shapes the reception of the texts. Because women have been
marginalized for so long, stereotypical maleness and femaleness are thence built into the patriarchal culture and expresses in the language of
both art and life. Language categorizes and structures one’s concept of oneself, others, and society, and as such, male bias is already encoded in
our linguistic conventions. Authors ultimately subscribe to the patriarchal bias of language, however, they both seem to use it to expose the
plight of women, whether implicitly or explicitly, and they use it to highlight the apparent differences and double standards in society.

Therefore, a ‘gendered’ text can never exist, and the text is, and always will be shaped by the consciousness of the reader, and the influence of
his or her society. Ultimately however, both authors seem to strongly advocate for equality between men and women, which ties in with the
work of all feminist till today. However, it should also be noted that both texts ultimately do not entertain notions or ideas of homosexuality, and
that the gender binaries present only represent males and females. Hence, readers should take into consideration alternative readings which
might open one’s consciousness to broader and more comprehensive perspectives.