Feminist Literary Criticism By Elaine Showalter

Feminist criticism is often defined as a literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory, and/or feminist politics (Napikoski). Feminist criticism can be divided into two parts. The first type of feminist criticism revolves around the idea of the woman being the reader of male-constructed literature. This type of feminist criticism consists of the female reader focusing on stereotypes and misconceptions about women. The second type of feminist criticism concentrates on the woman being the writer. This type of feminist criticism demonstrates history, themes, genres, and structures of literature by women. In the past, it was very common for literature that had been constructed by men to be taken into consideration more than literature composed by women. Both “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett were written in the 1800’s and revolved around the point of view of females. Both of these authors use symbolism in order to represent and enhance the ideas of feminism in their stories.

There are many female writers, some known better than other. Female writes most of the time focused their stories in experiences or personal point of view on what is going on around them. Other women write fiction of unusual worlds and character that people can relate to with the struggle or experiences. Margaret Atwood the “Canadian nationalist poetess is a prominebt figure concerned with the need for a new language to explore relations between subjects and society“ (Omid, Pyeaam 1). Atwood wrote her first novel called, “The Edible Woman”; this first novel categorized her as feminist, based on the main character of a strong woman. In an interview with Emma Brockes, Atwood affirms, "First of all, what is feminism? Second, which branch of

Feminist literary theory assumes that a text is not simply a work of fictional literature that is separated entirely from the physical world. In this lens, the boundaries are non existent. The circumstances of how a work was written influence its criticism and analysis. The location, gender and class of the author and characters are vital to a feminist criticism (Feminist Literary Theory 1) .

When on the topic of feminist writing, understanding the time period in which the author’s writing takes place persists as vastly important. Historically speaking, western culture follows a model thoroughly dominated by men. That commonality remains

Feminist concentrate primarily on ‘gender inequality’. The feminist theory is strongly influenced by the Marx theory.

Women are humans, humans with emotions and the need for self expression. The men, throughout history, have degraded the female sex, they have always seen women as objects and a machine that helps reproduce and carry on their blood. Society formed the ‘perfect’ role for women and it was expected that they follow it. They were expected to be the loving, responsible, obedient, stay at home wives. Due to such an inequitable lifestyle given to women, they decided to fight for equality and defend their gender. They will later be known as feminists. According to Literary and Cultural Theory by Donald Hall, feminists focal point is to investigate the various ways women have been limited to social power and the liberty to self

A common theme that can be seen in feminist literature is that a woman’s identity is defined by the patriarchal culture of the era as well as the men in their lives. This theme can be seen through pieces such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “My Ringless Fingers on the Steering Wheel Tell the Story” by Laura Boss, and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin.

In comparing the three authors and the literary works of women authors Kate Chopin (1850 -1904), The Awakening, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's (1860-1935), The Yellow Wallpaper, and Edith Wharton's (1862-1937) Souls Belated, a good number common social issues related to women are brought to light and though subtly pointed out are an outcry against the conventions of the time. In these three stories, which were written between 1899 and 1913, the era was a time in which it seems, that women had finally awaken to realize their social oppression and were becoming rebellious in their pursuit of freedom from

Throughout history, women have been fighting for equality and personal freedom in patriarchal societies. One avenue that feminist activist used to speak out against female oppression was literature. As G.H. Lewes put it in his 1852 literary work “The Lady Novelists,” “The advent of female literature promises woman's view of life, woman's experience: in other words, a new element” (Lewes). This new element was definitely propagated by two literary leaders for women’s rights in the Victorian Era feminist movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin. These women were both part of the realism movement that rose to prominence in American literature during the 19th century and used their stories to shed light on the problem of female

This paper will not be able to cover the complexity of feminism as a whole since it has become a very broad subject. In addition, feminism has also been a heavily debated issue that has been around for numerous years. The argument of feminism is that women are, and always have been throughout history, treated differently than men by society. Therefore, women are being stripped down of opportunities to their benefit economically, socially, politically, culturally, and several more ways. This essay will highlight and analyze the cultural aspects of feminism from the texts of Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Donald Hall’s “Feminist Analysis” from Literary and Cultural Theory, Charlotte Gilman’s short story ”The Yellow Wallpaper”, Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour”, and Tillie Olsen’s short story “Tell Me A Riddle.” Cultural feminism, the ideology of the roles and stereotypical characteristics of women. Therefore, women are unable to express themselves due to being oppressed by patriarchal society. Thus, preserving and nurturing “female culture” will benefit society. As a final point, this paper will point out and identify women being isolated from their culture and personal values.

In the early nineteen century, women were not explicitly part of literature. they were used male pseudonym to publish their works. However, later in the century, there was a shift in women’s implication in literature. women began to be publicly recognized as writers, and they were using their writings to advocate for women’s rights and to reject stereotypes that were commonly associated with them. For example, in the early nineteen century, books and novels were mostly describing “piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity” as attributes of a good woman (Fortin). Writings by women were describing women that where rejecting values of the patriarchal society; women that wanted freedom and independence. The writings of Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman exemplify the features of the Feminist phase of female literary tradition. Published respectively in 1892 and 1895, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin are the quintessence of feminist literature. They both used characterization, setting, ad irony to protest a misogynistic society and to request women’s rights and autonomy.

In some cases of feministic criticism, the creator of the text in question didn’t intend to present women in such a way. This is particularly troubling and supports

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 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

During Victorian era novelist had to develop ways to avoid posing as threats to the order of the society . Something which even make the look anti-feminist, but still many of female writers of that period are known today for their early feminist agendas embedded in their works. Elizabeth Gaskell was one of Britain’s best known female writers, She was a conservative women. Although she was not the part of “the women question” a movement started in mid nineteenth century and gave rise to what we today called feminism, But still