Feminist Criticism
Raccone Valeria
Verón Melina
Literature II
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
Definition
“Feminist criticism examines the ways
in which literature (and other cultural
productions) reinforce or undermine
the economic, political, social, and
psychological oppression of women.”
(Tyson 81)
Traditional Gender Roles
What is patriarchy?
It “can be defined as any culture that
privileges men by promoting
traditional gender roles.” (83)
It is present in different aspects of life
Expressing feelings: - Anger
- Sympathy
 Programming education

 Diagnosing
illnesses
It is also present in traditional stories
Feminist Assumptions
 Women
are oppressed by patriarchy.
 Woman is other.
 All of Western civilization is rooted
in patriarchal ideology.
 Gender is determined by culture.
 Gender equality is promoted.
 Gender is present in every aspect of
human life.
(Tyson 90)
Feminism and Literature
Pay attention to:
-
Patriarchal ideology present. Is it
reinforced? Or undermined?
The way in which women are portrayed.
Cultural factors present, such as race, and
class.
Women’s situations in the world
Feminism,
Gender Issues and
Literature
Feminism and the issue of gender
stereotypes
There is a system that encourages men and
women to take different roles in mixed
company:
 Men: active, productive, assertive
 Women: passive, receptive, inquiring.
Masculine
Feminine
 Feeling
Thinking
 Compliant
 Aggressive
 Liking a network that disperses
 Liking a hierarchy that
authority
establishes authority
 Oriented to touch
 Oriented to sight
 Open
 Closed
 Emotional
 Rational
 Going into the world to work  Maintaining a home, nurturing
 Allowing for different truths
 Seeking a single truth
 Listening
 Speaking
 Being passive or taking weak
 Taking strong action
action
 The unconscious, dreams,
 The conscious mind
fantasies

(Bonnycastle 201)
Things have changed


Essentialism: there is some essence to being a woman and
her fullfilment is achieved by accomplishing that essence.
Anti-essentialism: these essences are fictions created by
the society.
Since 1960, in the Western world…
more women have had a paid job
 women have enrolled in higher education
 discrimination based on sex has decreased in some
professions
 women’s issues have become a matter of identity politics
 women’s movement have generated new awareness on the
part of men

Queer Theory

“advocates dissolving the clear boundaries
between male and female, and between straight
and gay, because these categories are sources of
stereotypes and oppression.” (Bonnycastle 206)

establishes that all identities are constructed,
approximate and unstable.
Literary criticism based on queer theory can help
free us from the assumptions of our culture about
what is natural, and so it often undermines what we
accept as natural or realistic in fiction.
Gender stereotypes and literary
criticism
Literature seems to bear a heavy imprint of
patriarchal culture.
 The English language is sexist and it conveys the
implication that men are central and women
marginalized.
 Commentary by men on a dominantly male
canon reflects patriarchal concerns.

Dealing with gender issues in individual
works of literature
Whose experience is rendered most fully and
faithfully?
 How does the author present the society and
its ideology?
 How is the reader constructed?
 Whose desires and fantasies drive the novel?

Maya Angelou
•
•
•
•
She was born in 1928
She is a poet, memoirist, novelist,
educator, dramatist, producer, actress,
historian, filmmaker, and civil rights
activist.
She is considered a spokesperson of the
Black people and women
Her common themes: racism, identity,
family, and travel.
“Phenomenal Woman”
Kamala das
She was born in 1934. She died in 2009
 She was an “Indian poet, memoirist and
short-story writer whose work was
known for its open discussion of women’s
sexual lives.” (Daily News)
 She wrote in English and Malayalam, a
non-Indo European language spoken in
the South Indian state of Kerala.

“An Introduction”
•
Included in Summer in Calcutta
Kate Chopin
She was born in 1850. She died in 1904.
 She was an American author.
 Her fiction “focuses on the lives of
sensitive, intelligent women.”
 “The Awakening (1899) was condemned.
It was called morbid, vulgar, and
disagreeable.”

(Katechopin.org)
“The Story of an Hour”
Setting:
- The Mallards’ house
- 19th Century
Characters:
- Mrs Mallard
- Josephine
- Richards
- Brently Mallard
Plot:
A woman who suffers from a heart trouble,
Mrs Mallard, is told that her husband died in
an accident. Although she feels sad for a
moment, she is joyful since she would be
free.
Narrator:
Third person Omniscient
Themes:
- Joy
- Death
- Patriarchy
Symbol:
- The open window
Climax: when Brently Mallard gets home.
Quotes
About Mrs Mallard
“free, free, free!” (184)
“She would live for herself” (184)
“Free! Body and soul free!” (185)
“…she was drinking in a very elixir of life
through that open window.” (185)
“Brick Lane”
A film adapted from the novel “Brick Lane” by Monica Ali.
Setting:
- London, Brick Lane
- 2001
Characters:
- Nazneen Ahmed
- Chanu Ahmed
- Karim
- Rukshana 'Shahna' Ahmed
- Bibi Ahmed
Plot:
A Bangladeshi girl named Nazneen, who moves to London, leaving
behind her sister and home, for an arranged marriage. In London, they
live in a small flat on Brick Lane and have two daughters. Meanwhile, her
sister, Hasina, sends her letters telling of her carefree life back in
Bangladesh. When her husband, Chanu, loses his job, Nazneen takes up
sewing and meets Karim, a young man who supplies her dress material,
and whom she feels attracted to. After the events of September 11,
2001, racism increases in the community and Chanu considers going
back home. Nazneen must now chose between staying on Brick Lane
and continuing her affair with Karim or accompanying her husband back
home.
Themes:
- Racism
- Traditional men and women’s roles
- Patriarchy
- Freedom trough language
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. Global Renaissance Woman. Mayaangelou.com. 2013.
Web. 26 Feb 2013.
Angelou, Maya. “Phenomenal Woman.” Random House, 2000. Print.
Bonnycastle, Stephen. "Feminism, Gender Issues, and Literature". In
Search of Authority: An Introductory
Guide to Literary Theory.
3thed. Peterborough,Ontario: Broadview Press. 2007. Print.
Brick Lane. Dir. Sarah Gavron. FilmFour and Ruby Films. 2007
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour”. 1894. Print
Daily News “Being consistently inconsistent”. January, 2011.
www.dailynews.lk
Das, Kamala. “An Introduction.”Summer in Calcutta. 1965. Print.
Katechopin.org. " The Kate Chopin International Society”. 2013. Web.
www.katechopin.org
Tyson,Lois. “Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide”. 2nd
Edition. New York and London: Routledge. 2006. Print