Feminism in Literature Essay

Feminism has gradu on the wholey become more than far-ranging and subtle in its attacks on manful-dominated fraternity. M any(prenominal) injustices still need to be corrected, hardly equ wholey necessary is a more down-to-earth, tolerant and humane view of fellow human cosmoss. Introduction Many womens liberationists dislike theory. lancinate intellectual categories, argu mentation, seeming objectivity, and the whole tradition they grow out of argon just what womens liberationists are seeking to escape.And if their reasoning seems unsystematic they dirty dog pass off support from the psychoanalysis of Lacan and Julia Kristeva, fromDerridas deconstruction, and from Rortys view that philosophy should mould itself on an edifying conversation seeking rapprochement rather than no-holds-barred gladiatorial combat. Androgynist Poetics Critics, being generally manly, had non generally bear on themselves with sexual practice issues. almost of the worlds great literary produ ctions had been written by men. Sappho, Austen, the Brontes and Emily Dickinson apart, it was tight to think women rightfully had it in them to write at the highest level.Literature was publications, and critics sawing machine no need to distinguish a specifically feminine agency of writing or responding to a text. Virginia Woolf was herself a refutation of that thesis, though her affable breakdown was perhaps brought on by the strain of balancing male self-realization with female abnegation. But in her essay Professions for Women, Woolf complained totally that womens friendly obligations hindered a writing career. Their lives gave them a different perspective, however women were non fundamentally different from men in their mental needs and out tonicitys. GynocriticismThe company libber movement genuinely lots disagreed, and argued that womens writing express a distinctive female consciousness, which was more discursive and conjunctive than its male counterpart. Suc h consciousness was radically different, and had been adversely treated. Simone de Beauvoir in The Second provoke documented the ways Legislators, priests, philosophers, writers and scientists have striven to show that the subordinate position of women is exited in heaven and advantageous on earth. Women had been made to feel that they were inferior by nature and, though men paid lip-service to equality, they would resist its implementation. most men might be sympathetic to womens issues, but only women themselves knew what they tangle and wanted. And perhaps they always knew. The essays collected in Susan Cornillons 1972 anthology Images of Women in fictionalisation all suggested that nineteenth and twentieth century fiction was simply out of true to womens experience. Rather than search for the essentially feminine, critics now turned to the social context of womens writing, to the ways a male-orientated society had formed or deformed individual novels, plays and poems writt en by women.Adventure and romance, whoever written for, seemed to emphasise the male competitive element, and even the submissive partner of gay literature only imitated the female stereotype. not all agreed, of course. Norman Mailers The captive of Sex disliked the blanket criticism of Kate Millets Sexual Politics, present its examples were too selective chosen. Gynesis Nonetheless, by the premature eighties, feminists had advanced to a much more confrontational attack on male hegemony, advocating a sleep togetherd overthrow of the biased (male) canon of literature.French feminists argued that women should write with a great consciousness of their bodies, which would create a more honest and appropriate expressive style of openness, fragmentation and non-linearity. Parallel studies in the visual arts stressed a feminine sensibility of soft fluid colours, an emphasis on the own(prenominal) and decorative, and on forms that evoked the female genitalia. And the problem lay de eper still, in the speech itself. Words had been coined to express a male point of view, and that was hence misogynist. Some 220 words exist in English for the sexually promiscuous adult female, but only 22 for promiscuous men.And in the sexual matters that really concerned them, the vocabulary was hopelessly restricted. Discourse was power, said Foucault, and psychoanalysts likeLacan and Kristeva stressed the liberating role that literature should play, particularly to allow the semiotic flux of the unconscious in early childhood, i. e. before the symbolic world of public discourse imposed its male-favouring rules. Poets worked on the boundaries of the two realms, and Kristeva urged them to en sexual urge political and feminist revolutions by dissolving the conventions of conventionality discourse. sexual activity Theory Five years later the debate had locomote on, from exclusively feminine concerns to the wider issues of gender in social and cultural contexts. patriarchate an d capitalism should be examined more closely, perhaps as Althusser had attempted, and sophisticated models build to integrate the larger web of frugals, education, division of labour, biological constraints and cultural assumptions. Michele Barrett demanded facts, research. How does gender stereotyping arise in various social contexts? How are the canons of literary honesty actually established?What is the practical effect on literature? Shouldnt we remember that attitudes are struck within a fictional framework, and cant be simply pulled out and convicted by a kangaroo judicial system of feminist morals? Critique Literature will frequently hypothecate the cultural assumptions and attitudes of its period, and that of course includes attitudes towards women their status, their roles, their expectations. But a literature doctored of male-orientated views would be impuissance in its first requirement, to present a realistic or persuade picture of the world.Moralizing, which incl udes political correctness, has its dangers. womens rightists have argued for positive discrimination as the only way to correct centuries of bias. Nonetheless, the consensus emerging among black Americans is that positive discrimination is counter-productive. disfavor minorities desperately need the odds levelled, but not patronizingly leaning in their favour. Psychoanalysis has little scientific standing, and Lacanian theory is further contend within the psychoanalytical community itself.Feminism does itself few favours by relying on these supports. A more damaging criticism is the concept of the feminine itself. Does it really exist? There are very real differences in the psychological earn-up amongst the sexes, but testing also indicates what anthropologists have keen-sighted accepted the expression of those differences is more determined by cultural factors than sexual activity per se. Feminists who argue for a more understanding, fluid, and delicate attitude are not so much advocating qualities native to women but for attitudes still repressed by society.That in turn suggests society itself needs exploring rather than sex differences per se, which is indeed a view more recognized in contemporary feminist studies. Feminist Literature Feminist literature, as the name suggests, is establish on the principles of feminism, and refers to any literary work that centers around the struggle of a woman for equality, and to be accepted as a human being, before being cast into a gender stereotype. Not all these works respect a direct approach towards this goal of equality. It is only through such media that women believed a change was possible in the way they were perceived in society.Not all feminist literature has been written by women, but also by men who understood women beyond the roles they were expected to rack up into, and delved into their psyche to understand their needs and desires. Some works may be fictional, while others may be non fictional . Here, we take a look into the characteristics of feminist literature, and give you a list of some of the legion(predicate) works of feminist literature, that make for a good read if you truly desire to get word extensively about this form of writing and what it stood for.Characteristics of Feminist Literature Feminist literature is identified by the many characteristics of the feminist movement. This will dish up you understand exactly what is feminist literature. Authors of feminist literature are cognize to understand and explain the difference between sex and gender. They believe that though a persons sex is predetermined and natural, it is the gender that has been created by society, along with a particular perception about gender roles. Gender roles, they believe, can be altered over time.The predominance of one gender over the other, is a common concept across almost all societies, and the fact that it is not in favor of women is an underlying, yet blatant, characteristi c of feminist or womens literature. Here, it is argued that any society that does not provide bring of learning and knowledge to both genders equally is not a complete and impartial society. Critics argue that there wasnt much difference between male and female authors, and that there was no need to identify a separate class of literature termed as feminist or look for traces of feminism in literature.However, if you read any such work, you will pee-pee how such writers criticized societys andocentric (male-centered) approach, and tried to understand the beliefs and needs of the verso sex with a subjective, and not an objective, approach. Take for example Jane Austens compliment and Prejudice. The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett was a woman of her mind. Despite the societal pressure (put on her by her mother) to choose a partner, and to lead a life that was decided for all women, she decided to choose her own path towards what she wanted.And none of this was blatantly approached. She did not put an outward fight, in order to choose her life course. The entire piece of work is subtle, and the only clear characteristic of the protagonist you will notice is her assertiveness. And that is one clear characteristic of the feminist approach toward literature. Women in literature of the feminist nature are always featured as the protagonist, who, more often than not, do not readily accept the tralatitious role of women as decided by society.They are ready to make their own decisions, to express this choice of personal decision-making, and are ready to transmit with the consequences of these choices, actions, and decisions. Though a daughter, a mother, a sister, or a wife, any piece of feminist literature first deals with a woman as a woman. It is not these relationships, roles, or stereotypes that give these female characters in literature their identity. Their identity is defined by their choices and their beliefs which are then associated with these roles.It is important to note, that, not all works of feminist literature have happy endings, both for the character, and for the author of the work. Women have been ostracized by society for openly demanding equality, and have had to look several negative consequences of their decision to go against the waves. Not only feminist literature, women have been treated as important subjects even in many literary works by men. For instance, Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian author and playwright, often focused on women, womens issues, their troubles faced by society, and the decisions they made based on their personal values and beliefs.If you take a look at the play called A Dolls House, by this very same author, you will clearly notice the strength and character of the protagonist. Not all, but some pieces of feminist literature (particularly non-fiction) showcase and stress on womens suffrage and a demand for equality in society, for political, social, and economic rights. In modern feminist literature, the attack on a male-dominated society became more forthright and straightforward, where women demanded a closer look into the patriarchal and capitalistic approach towards feminism.