Violenta's fall from a reputed paragon of feminine virtue and subsequent turn to violent measures is portrayed as a fatal consequence of a flawed social system rather than, as was the belief of the time, a violence innate to the female body. ... The text presents a society in which the stringent regulations of femininity and sexual chastity were upheld, and in so doing, traces the logical consequence of a belief in and implementation of arbitrary societal constructs that at their very foundation are contrary and illogical: the creation of heroines driven to extreme acts of violence that ...

• Word Count: 1986
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Graduate