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This paper explores one of the early short stories by Louisa May Alcott in order to offer an example of a problem that plagued women in 19th century America, wanting to thrive both in the domestic and in the public spheres. By focusing on "Love and Self-Love," an early short story, the paper highlights one of the major concerns at the time of the emergence of the first protofeminist movements: the balance between women's inclination to sympathy for others and their own self-esteem. The plot revolves around self-respect and stages forms of female empowerment by using fiction as a form of education oriented towards creating awareness in the public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section critiques the 1982 novel "The Color Purple," by American author Alice Walker. Topics discussed include the dialectical reasoning demonstrated by Walker which may be compared to the Vipassana meditation movement associated with American Theravada Buddhism, the acknowledgment of African American Buddhist Literature (AABL) techniques in the narratives and epistemologies presented by Walker, and the issues regarding self-worth and enlightenment addressed in the novel.

The author presents a literary criticism of the English novel "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë. Topics include the theme of self-perception in the character Jane Eyre, how she overcomes her sense of self-consciousness, and the issue of social roles and how self-worth is not determined by them.

The author presents a literary criticism of the English novel "Middlemarch" by George Eliot. She discusses the false pride that the character Casaubon has in his research, the sense of low self-esteem that he experiences, and the sense of shame that comes from realizing the low quality of his research.

A literary criticism of the book "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" by the economist Adam Smith is presented. It breaks down the book to analyze the ways that individual personalities, interactions amongst strangers, and one's own self-love can be a source of moral development in society. It argues that commercial societies, which have aspects of the aforementioned topics, are great examples of environments for moral development.

Several scholars have drawn attention to the existence, in Native Son, of more than one discourse. However, such critics have focused mainly on Richard Wright's use of heteroglossia in the novel as evidenced by the different voices of Bigger Thomas, Max and the third person narrator, the state attorney's arguments in the court room, and the rhetoric of the press. Yet Wright's striving "to make words disappear" leaving us conscious only of our response to his art, suggests that his language operates not only at the linguistic but also at the paralinguistic level. In this paper, I explore Wright's use of nightmare as a technique for creating a field of discourse that is enabling for Bigger in his quest for self definition. I argue that the nightmares that begin each of the three sections of the novel constitute a "private" field of discourse for Bigger, separate from the "objectifying" discourse of the establishment that occupies most of the narrative, and that these "internal" and "external" discourses also contextualise Bigger's perception of himself as subject or object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the concept of self-esteem. It highlights the discussion of Robert Nozick on self-esteem in his work "Anarchy, State, and Utopia," claiming the term as based on how an individual's fares in competition with others on the dimensions valued by the society. It explores the relationship between self-esteem and equality. Furthermore, the author cites two strategies in promoting individual self-esteem in a liberal society, the decrease on the emphasis of abilities and the encouragement of independence from the valuation of others.

The article explores the use of the term self-esteem in the pamphlets of author John Milton. The use of the word to mean skill of faculty as found in the works of author Augustine Baker is presented. Milton's use of the term predates Baker's, and the author suggests that modesty and professional self-interest explain why Milton did not visit prostitutes. Other topics include profane love, pride in literature, and chastity.

Reports the esteem levels of medical editors in Great Britain. Instances indicating the uppityness of editors; Insincerity in criticism; Suggestion for editors to stay humble.