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2014s_jenny_feminist_criticism.ppt
- 1. 1 Feminist Criticism Presented by Jenny Li, MA Program College of Foreign Languages, FJCU
- 2. 2 Presentation Outline Feminism and feminist criticism Feminist criticism and the role of theory Feminist criticism and language Feminist criticism and psychoanalysis Woman¡¯s role: Wuthering Heights Questions Works cited
- 3. 3 ? The ¡°women¡¯s movement¡± of the 1960s: a renewal ? Mary Wollstonecraft¡¯s A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) ? Virginia Woolf¡¯s A Room of One¡¯s Own (1929) ? The direct product of the women¡¯s movement of the 1960s ? The movement realized the significance of the images of women promulgated by literature ? Not an off-shoot or a spin-off from feminism ? But one of its most practical ways of influencing everyday conduct and attitudes Feminism and feminist criticism
- 4. 4 ? The representation of women in literature: socialization ?Toril Moi¡¯s explanation ? Feminist: A political position ? Female: A matter of biology ? Feminine: A set of culturally defined characteristics ? 19th-century fiction: the focus of interest is on the heroine¡¯s choice of marriage partner, which will decide her ultimate social position. ? 1970s: exposing ¡°mechanisms of patriarchy¡± ? The cultural ¡°mind-set¡± in men and women which perpetuated sexual inequality (male writers constructed typical images of women) ? Elaine Showaiter: ¡°andro-texts¡±¡ú¡°gynotexts¡± Feminism and feminist criticism
- 5. 5 ? 1980s ? Feminist criticism became much more eclectic (drew upon other criticism) ? Attacking male versions of the world¡úExploring the nature of the female world and outlook. ? Elaine Showaiter: the history of women¡¯s writing ? Feminine phase (1840-1880): imitated ? Feminist phase (1880-1920): maintained ? Female phase (1920 onwards): looked particularly at¡ ? Three particular areas: theory, language, psychoanalysis Feminism and feminist criticism
- 6. 6 ? A major division within feminist criticism has concerned disagreements about the amount and type of theory. ?Anglo-American version of feminism: more skeptical about recent critical theory, and more cautious in using it. (close reading and explication of individual literary texts) ?English feminist criticism: tends to be ¡°socialist feminist¡± in orientation. (cultural materialism and Marxism) ?French feminists: language and psychology (the literary text is never primarily a representation of reality.) Feminist criticism and the role of theory
- 7. 7 ? Do women have any specific language form? ? Virginia Woolf: language use is gendered ? A ¡°woman¡¯s sentence¡±: the clauses are linked in looser sequences, rather than carefully balanced and patterned as in male prose. ? Helene Cixous, French theorist: ecriture feminine ?It is associated with the feminine, and facilitating the free play of meanings within the framework of loosened grammatical structures. Feminist criticism and language
- 8. 8 ? Kate Millett¡¯s Sexual Politics (1969) ?it condemns Freud as a prime source of the patriarchal attitudes against which feminists must fight. ? Juliet Mitchell¡¯s Psychoanalysis and Feminism (1974) ?a defense for Freud against Millett. ? Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949) ?¡°One is not born a woman; rather, one becomes a woman.¡± Feminist criticism and psychoanalysis
- 9. 9 Woman¡¯s role: Wuthering Heights ? Gilbert and Gubar¡¯s strategy with Bronte¡¯s novel: a female version of the male form ?In male form: the hero¡¯s growth to manhood is traced, as a process of ¡°triumphant self-discovery¡±, whereby an identity is discovered and a mission in life conceived and embarked upon. ?In female form: the heroine¡¯s growth to womanhood records a process of ¡°anxious self-denial¡±, this being the ¡°ultimate product of a female education.¡±
- 10. 10 Woman¡¯s role: Wuthering Heights
- 11. 11 Woman¡¯s role: Wuthering Heights ? Catherine: she does not know her own name, and therefore cannot know either who she is or whom she is destined to be. ? The process: ¡°social castration¡± ? Leave behind all her instinctive preferences, signified by the Heights ? Take on an alien attitude, signified by Thrushcross Grange ? In order to achieve acceptability and femininity¡
- 12. 12 Woman¡¯s role: Wuthering Heights ? The marriage with Edgar Linton: locks Catherine into a social system which denies her autonomy ? In Thrushcross Grange: Catherine represses her desire and stays in ¡°reason¡± ? The return of Heathcliff: the return of her true self¡¯s desires
- 13. 13 Questions ? Do women/men have any specific language form? ? Do you agree that women are ¡°defined¡± or ¡°constructed¡± by society/men? If not, then who/what defines women? (language?) ? Are the terms such as ¡°male/female¡±, ¡°hero/heroine¡±, ¡°history/herstory¡± the products of feminism? Do they strive for a gender balance in language? ? If a man concerns about female issues, and makes great contributions in this field, can he be called as a ¡°feminist¡±? (The Guy¡¯s Guide to Feminism by Michael Kimmel and Michael Kaufman) (ex. abolitionist)
- 14. 14 ? Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 2nd ed. Manchester University P. 2002. ? Èû –µÇµÈÖø£¬„¢ÏóÓÞ×g¡£¡¶®”´úÎÄŒWÀíÕ“Œ§ ×x¡·£¬Îå°æ£¬±±¾©£º±±¾©´óŒW³ö°æÉç¡£2006Äê 12Ô¡£ Works Cited