Anita S Dance Feminist Criticism
On May 24, 1933, a role model, advocate for women’s rights, and a literary star was born. Marian Engel was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a single eighteen year old girl, and put up for adoption. Frederick Searle and Mary Elizabeth (Fletcher) Passmore adopted a beautiful baby named Ruth, who they renamed Marian. Marian spent her younger years growing up in a variety of towns across Southern Ontario as her family moved frequently for her father’s work. Engel began her education at Sarnia Collegiate Institute & Technical School in Sarnia, Ontario, and later continued on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She graduated from McMaster in 1955 and without hesitation, enrolled in a Master’s program for Canadian Literature at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Marian was a powerful activist for women’s rights over the years, writing books, short stories, and sharing her experiences with all who would engage. Her evident determination to succeed was first noted at the young age of ten, when her mother told her that the profession of writing was “very hard” and Marian Engel responded to her by saying, “I don’t care.” Marian grew into a strong woman, who was passionately dedicated to her work. She wrote many short stories, and novels that clearly depicted the social justice issues prevalent during her lifetime, specifically the oppression and victimization of women. Engel’s unconditional support of the women’s rights movement during the 1970’s is clearly portrayed in her short story Anita’s Dance. In the 1970’s the women’s rights movement was quickly gaining ground as women began to be granted job positions which had been predominantly male roles, and were no longer confined to a life of dreary domesticity, this is reflected in the way Anita is living, and her general thoughts on the idea of living as a mother and house wife. Anita is a well-educated, self-supportive woman who rejects the male ideals of being a dainty, do-nothing