Feminist And Gender Criticism In 'Patriotism' By Yukio Mishima

Janet Lee’s and Susan M. Shaw’s, Women’s Voices Feminist Visions Classic and Contemporary Readings did provide the proper data to support their analyses. Lee and Shaw used sufficient evidence to address their main topic- the analysis of women’s gender studies by examining historical and contemporary writings. In chapter one Lee and Shaw discussed the purpose of women’s studies and examined gender. The ideas of feminism we evaluated, Lee and Shaw explained the negative attributes associated with feminism as well as the history of the gender movement. Women’s studies is a field of study that has been slowly expanding in the academic world sense the 1970’s. Lee and Shaw did provide the results to the data they analyzed. To prove their statements regarding the study of the

Feminist theory, though contrary to what the statement may suggest, is not simply one theory but consists of branches of various critical approaches that target specific aspects of literature in terms of the representation of female writers (and other artists) and the feminine

As stated by Tim Gillespie in his text Doing Literary Criticism, the concept of literary criticism is the field of “interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating” literary works. Thus, literary criticism is not objective; rather, it varies subjectively depending on the critic and the lens, or school, they choose to view the work of literature through. Though the actual content of literature is of extreme importance, the way it is approached is of nearly equal magnitude, as varying approaches open new and insightful views texts previously regarded as static. The feminist lens is one major school of literary criticism.

Analyzing the ways in which a piece of literature includes feminist ideologies can bring out the potential messages that the creators of these productions were attempting to portray, while allowing the reader to critique the literature from a feminist perspective.

As expressed, through the short story “Patriotism,” Yukio Mishima explains how suicide can be an honorable act rather than what most critics would say to be a cowardly one. “Patriotism” successfully depicts Mishima’s real life events of when he had led a rebellion to overthrow the westernized Japanese government. Yukio Mishima successfully portrays how suicide can be honorable through

“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved” (Matthew Henry). Gender roles are how each human is supposed to act, speak, or dress according to their assigned sex. The world has always depended on them to make crucial decisions and they have marked every aspect of society. Several people have taken advantage of gender stereotypes to determine what to do with their lives or to come up with excuses as to why they are carrying out a task. Literature is one of the main agents that exposes human attitude towards life. It has been affected by time

Generally feminist criticism examines how men and women are presented in artifacts. The human race has a

Women are often looked down upon or even portrayed as the weaker partner in a relationship or in society. However, there’s the idea of feminism: women having equal social, political, and economic power in relations to men. There are women who believe in equality between genders while there are those who are simply ashamed of their gender and in result try to take away others masculinity. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter includes an important feminist, who is characterized as a powerful female in literature with strong ideals based on feminism. In contrast, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest includes a female character who does not seek equality between her and the men in the mental hospital. Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter

Feminism in literature has been a major turning point in feminism in the U.S. In Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper", and Glaspell's "Trifles", the author is writing about the roles that females played in day to day life. They both accurately display the ways that females were treated by men.

I really enjoyed reading Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason, which was a great short story that signified feminist criticism. Feminist criticism is known to be portrayed as criticism formed and based of a feminist theory, in other words it's the way society sees gender roles. In this case, in the short story Shiloh, they mention many points and examples throughout the story on how one of the main characters Norma Jean, has to face many issues and overcome obstacles based on her gender, being a woman. They basically imply the way society sees woman playing only certain roles but at the same time challenging the idea of it.

I chose gender criticism this theory to analyze the gender roles and the gender expectations displayed in “Lady Susan”. I chose this theory because “Lady Susan” mainly discussed the relationship between males and females, and the interesting gender roles the characters played. Thus, gender criticism theory can help me to understand and comprehend the underlying meanings of different characters’ conducts and personalities as females.

Feminist Criticism is described as literary criticism to presents different perspectives on how literature discusses issues of gender, focusing on education, financial and social difference in a male dominated society. Critics revolve around power relation between the two genders. They also review how females are represented in different texts and literature and how such representation is sufficient. In addition, feminist critics in politics present literature that seeks to raise consciousness about the important role of women and highlight how language is misused to marginalize women. Influential figures of this form of criticism are George Eliot and Margaret Fuller. They are two who mainly came up with the idea of Feminist Criticism and the basic principles followed by others today. Some famous authors who wrote through the lens of Feminist Criticism are Ellen Moers, Alice Walker, and Tillie Olsen... These writer’s focus on inequality between women and men. Many stories have been written using this thought process as the catalysts for the work.

Feminist criticism scrutinizes the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, politic, social and psychological oppression of women. One of the tools used

Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary

Looking at works of literature through the feminism lens allows the reader to see the relationship between different genders. It allows the reader to see how situations are carefully written to show how the relation of different characters and their difference in gender help show the common treatment and behavior of men and women. Within these situation, many things can be expressed. The writer could be writing to bring one gender into the light and raise them up or they could write to show how low one gender is. In the titles "Pygmalion", "My Fair Lady", and "Pretty Woman", there are many situations where genders and relationships are tested.