A Comparative Study of Female Characters in The Wandering Island and To the Lighthouse Under the Light of Feminism

Feminism is a belief that women and men are equally worthwhile creatures, but most communities define a degree of superiority for the male group. In modern ages, some social movements have struggled to achieve equality between women and men and restore women’s ignored rights. Presence of women themselves and their activities are significant and require more scholarly studies. Women novelists have created memorable writings through these movements. Born in 1882, Virginia Woolf’s great contribution to feminism is indisputable and Simin Daneshvar’s writings and lectures, a source of inspiration to many writers in Iran, reveal her inclinations towards feminism. The aim of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and Daneshvar’s The Wandering Island and The Wandering Cameleer in the light of feminism. The approach of this paper is explanation and clarification of feminists’ idea that women are first human beings, and are independent creatures with different biologial, cultural and psychological characteristics. Following close reading of the texts of the novels and utilizing feminist views, the novels were compared and many similarities were observed in them. Among many other issues, the focus of the paper is on female characters of the novels, both traditional and modern, who have shared wishes, fears, concerns, and sufferings. The patriarchy power applies similar strategies to oppress women, although they are located in different regions of the world.