Gr.12 English: Literary Theories
February 11, 2013
Feminist Literary Theory
History of Female Writing * Before the 20th century, there were very few female writers * Most were from the 18th-19th century * Back then, writing was seen as an important task * Hence the reason why writing was a “male task” * Women had a lack of authority * Plenty of male literature * Male bias, stereotypes
Waves of Feminism 1. Late 1700s – early 1900s * Mary Wollstonecraft wrote Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) * Women’s suffrage movement (right to vote)
2. Early 1060s - late 1970s * Focus on equality in the workforce * Eg.) Simone de Beauvoir (1972)
3. Early 1990s – today * Second wave was very “white” (middle class white women) * This was an expansion of the second wave * Which focused more on race, gender and sexual orientation
Feminist Criticism * 1950s to 1960s criticism was mostly done by men, but the second wave of feminism was challenging this * The political movement that allowed the challenging of the roles of women in literature and the literary world * Women claimed that men were writing the roles of women * Women were marginalized and disempowered, was all about reclaiming power for women * Issue with the Western Canon were pointed out * Traditionalists were men who decided which piece of literature is important * Eg.) Virginia Woolf (20th century). They were bringing back the literature written by women that was previously ignored * Women would begin to critique patriarchy (male dominance)
Characteristics of Feminist Criticism * Goal: to examine the impact of gender on text * 1. How men write about women * 2. How women read and interpret text * 3. How does feminine language and creativity differ from male language and creativity?
Stereotypes
* Women typically portrayed in stereotypes (the wife, mother, daughter, temptress, sweethearts) * How
Feminist Literary Theory
History of Female Writing * Before the 20th century, there were very few female writers * Most were from the 18th-19th century * Back then, writing was seen as an important task * Hence the reason why writing was a “male task” * Women had a lack of authority * Plenty of male literature * Male bias, stereotypes
Waves of Feminism 1. Late 1700s – early 1900s * Mary Wollstonecraft wrote Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) * Women’s suffrage movement (right to vote)
2. Early 1060s - late 1970s * Focus on equality in the workforce * Eg.) Simone de Beauvoir (1972)
3. Early 1990s – today * Second wave was very “white” (middle class white women) * This was an expansion of the second wave * Which focused more on race, gender and sexual orientation
Feminist Criticism * 1950s to 1960s criticism was mostly done by men, but the second wave of feminism was challenging this * The political movement that allowed the challenging of the roles of women in literature and the literary world * Women claimed that men were writing the roles of women * Women were marginalized and disempowered, was all about reclaiming power for women * Issue with the Western Canon were pointed out * Traditionalists were men who decided which piece of literature is important * Eg.) Virginia Woolf (20th century). They were bringing back the literature written by women that was previously ignored * Women would begin to critique patriarchy (male dominance)
Characteristics of Feminist Criticism * Goal: to examine the impact of gender on text * 1. How men write about women * 2. How women read and interpret text * 3. How does feminine language and creativity differ from male language and creativity?
Stereotypes
* Women typically portrayed in stereotypes (the wife, mother, daughter, temptress, sweethearts) * How