Critical Resource

Feminism and point of view in Karne Hesse’s Stowaway and Witness By Wendy Glenn

Glenn, Wendy. "Consider the Source: Feminism and point of view in Karen Hessse's Stowaway and Witness." BNET.com. Winter 2003. ALAN Review. 22 Apr 2008 .

Glenn’s review of Karen Hesse’s novel Witness focused on the themes of feminism and points of view, rather than religion. According to Glenn, “this novel continues to question patriarchy, it distinguishes itself from other works in her body of fiction in the use of point of view other that that of the first-person female protagonist” (Glenn). She describes how Hesse explores gender issues but also provides a look at patriarchal culture from multiple points of view. This critic feels that this aspect strengthens the feminist pulse that beats in Hesse’s earlier works.
She believes that feminism is portrayed because the women appear to be the stronger characters, while the men are portrayed as weaker. “The men fall prey to the Klan’s rhetoric, believing involvement will help them to garner or maintain power”(Glenn). The women disagree with the KKK from the beginning of the novel while many of the male characters are still thinking about it as a possibility. “ The novel’s women, however, see through this rhetoric and stand against the values of the Klan. Not a single female character in Witness chooses to associate with the Klan; each seems to discern and reject the deceptive tactics used by the group to recruit members”(Glenn). This is representative of the feminist thought. The women in the novel don’t have the same rights as the men, but they do understand the difference between right and wrong. By showing the female view points the reader sees that women are strong and have opinions. This book empowers women from different races and cultures, through a story about women who stand up to the KKK when their male counterparts don’t.
Upon reflection I realized that the themes of feminism is a more relevant theme than religion as Glenn suggests. The diversity in Hesse’s novel are important because the author is trying to empower all women. The author of this resource admits that Hesse took a risk in straying from her typical first person, female protagonist that she has had in her other novels. By having an array of characters, they serve as her voice box allowed her to get her message in this book across without stating her opinion (Glenn).