Daughter
A daughter is a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups or elements. The word daughter also has several other connotations attached to it. One of these being that the term daughter can also be used in reference to female descendancy or consanguinity. It can also be used as a term of endearment coming from an elder.
In patriarchal societies, daughters often have different or lesser familial rights than sons. A family may prefer to have sons rather than daughters because the daughters are subjected to female infanticide.[1] In some societies it is the custom for a daughter to be 'sold' to her husband, who must pay a bride price. The reverse of this custom, where the parents pay the husband a sum of money to compensate for the financial burden of the woman, is found in societies where women do not labour outside the home, and is referred to as dowry.
Perception
In the United States, the birth rate is 105 sons to 100 daughters which has been the natural birth rate since the 18th century. About 80 percent of prospective adoptive parents from the US will choose a girl over a boy. In clinics that enable sex preferences, daughters are usually preferred over sons.[2]
Daughters in Literature
The role of the daughter has been an important theme in literature, especially when exploring relationships between family members and gender roles. Through exploration of the relationship between children and their parents, readers can draw conclusions about the impact of parenting style on the growth and development of a child's character and personality.
Notable daughters whose character and development has been impacted by their parents in literature have been:
Daughter | Parent/s | Novel | Author | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elizabeth Bennet | Mr Bennet & Mrs Bennet (nee Gardiner) | Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | 1813 |
Jo March | Marmee March | Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | 1868 |
Francie Nolan | Johnny and Katie Nolan | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Betty Smith | 1943 |
Scout Finch | Atticus Finch | To Kill A Mockingbird | Harper Lee | 1960 |
Meg Murry | Alex and Kate Murry | A Wrinkle In Time | Madeleine L’Engle | 1962 |
Astrid Magnussen | Ingrid Magnussen and Klaus Anders | White Oleander | Janet Fitch | 1999 |
See also
References[3]
- ↑ Stein, Dorothy: Burning widows, burning brides: The perils of daughterhood in India. Pacific Affairs, Vol 61, No. 3, p. 465. University of British Columbia.
- ↑ Rosin, Hanna (8 June 2010). "The End of Men". theatlantic.com.
- ↑ "30 of the Best Parents in Literature". 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
External links
Media related to daughters at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of daughter at Wiktionary - Quotes for Daughters and Daughters Day
- National Daughters Day Countdown Online