Feminist Criticism - One Approach to Literature

Summary

This video script explores feminist criticism as a lens for analyzing literature, emphasizing its evolution from the 1800s to modern times. It discusses how feminist theory views literature's role in reinforcing or challenging women's oppression, focusing on language, institutions, and societal norms. The script outlines key phases: the feminine phase with male pseudonyms, the feminist phase marked by argumentation and anger, and the female phase seeking authenticity in women's perspectives. It also poses critical questions for literary analysis, such as portrayal of women, gendered values, and the impact of patriarchy on women's creativity.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Literary theory is a lens for viewing texts, not the only way, and can be interchanged with other theories like new criticism or deconstruction.
• 🔍 Literary theory assumes no reading is innocent; it's about studying the text's impact on readers and their emotional or rational reactions.
• 📚 Feminist criticism is concerned with how literature reinforces or undermines the oppression of women in various societal aspects.
• 🌱 Feminist criticism originated in patriarchal societies and challenges male-dominated social constructs that have historically controlled women's lives.
• 👀 It observes, analyzes, and challenges language, institutions, and powers that reflect patriarchal interests impacting women's expression and quality of life.
• 💪 Women's resistance and subversion to patriarchal oppression is a key focus, examining how they fought back against societal constraints.
• 📖 Modern feminist criticism emphasizes empowerment through representation, with women writing about their experiences to challenge the status quo.
• 📈 There are three phases in feminist criticism: the feminine phase with male pseudonyms, the feminist phase with argumentation and anger, and the female phase focusing on authenticity of a woman's point of view.
• 🤔 Key questions in feminist criticism include how women are portrayed, the opportunities available to them, and the values tied to gender roles.
• 🔄 It also explores how the status quo is reinforced or challenged, and how gender relationships and traits from opposite genders are portrayed in literature.
• 🌐 Feminist criticism helps to understand the operations of patriarchy and what literature reveals about women's creativity and their struggle within a male-dominated culture.

Q & A

What is feminist criticism and how does it relate to literary theory?

Feminist criticism is an approach within literary theory that examines the ways in which literature and other cultural productions reinforce or undermine the oppression of women. It is a lens through which we can view texts, focusing on the representation, experiences, and treatment of women within those texts.

How does feminist criticism view the act of reading and interpreting texts?

Feminist criticism assumes that there is no such thing as an innocent reading of a text. It posits that readers do not simply read to read; instead, they engage with the text in a way that can elicit emotional or spontaneous reactions, or they may use reason and structured approaches to interpret the text.

What are the three essential functions of feminist criticism?

Feminist criticism observes, analyzes, and challenges the language, institutions, and powers that reflect patriarchal interests, which have a profound impact on women's expression and quality of life.

Can you describe the three phases that feminist criticism has gone through?

The three phases of feminist criticism are the Feminine Phase (1800s), where women often wrote under male pseudonyms; the Feminist Phase or Polemics (early 1900s to 1970s), characterized by angry argumentation against women's oppression; and the Female Phase (starting in the 1980s), which focuses on the authenticity of a woman's point of view.

How does feminist criticism tie into socio-economic and race criticisms?

Feminist criticism can be closely tied to socio-economic and race criticisms, such as Marxist theory, as it examines the conflicts and hardships that women face in literary works, especially within a masculine-centric ideology.

What are some questions to ask when analyzing a text through the lens of feminist criticism?

Some questions to consider include: How are women characters portrayed? What opportunities are available to them compared to men? What values are gendered? How is the status quo reinforced or challenged? How do female characters subvert the status quo? How are gender relationships portrayed? Do characters take on traits from opposite genders?

How does feminist criticism view the portrayal of women in literature?

Feminist criticism looks at how women are portrayed in literature, including how they are treated by others, described, and whether they fall into stereotypical categories, especially when the text is written by a man.

What does feminist criticism reveal about the operations of patriarchy in literature?

Feminist criticism reveals how women are affected economically, socially, politically, and psychologically within a patriarchal society, as depicted in literature.

How does feminist criticism view women's creativity in literature?

Feminist criticism examines the expression of women's creativity in literature, especially in the context of a world where women were often not allowed to create, and how this suppression affects them.

What is the purpose of using feminist criticism as a lens for literary analysis?

The purpose of using feminist criticism is to study the way women are treated in a text through language and institutions created by a male-dominated culture, and to understand how women acquiesce, challenge, and/or change the status quo.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Feminist Criticism

The speaker, Mrs. Simmons, introduces the concept of feminist criticism as a lens through which to view literature, emphasizing that it is one of many approaches and should be approached with an open mind. She clarifies that literary theory is not the sole method for interpreting texts but rather a tool that can be interchanged with others, such as new criticism or deconstruction. The paragraph outlines the purpose of literary theory, which is to study the text and its effects on the reader, rather than just reading for pleasure. It also highlights that feminist criticism emerged from patriarchal societies and seeks to examine the ways literature and cultural productions either reinforce or challenge the oppression of women. The speaker provides a brief overview of feminist theory, noting its focus on language, institutions, and power structures that reflect patriarchal interests and impact women's lives. The paragraph concludes with an introduction to the three phases of feminist criticism: the feminine phase, the feminist phase, and the female phase, each characterized by different approaches to women's representation and empowerment in literature.

05:00

🔍 Feminist Criticism: Analyzing Women's Portrayal and Resistance

This paragraph delves deeper into the specifics of feminist criticism, discussing the three essential aspects: observing, analyzing, and challenging language, institutions, and powers that perpetuate patriarchal interests. It outlines the historical progression of feminist criticism, starting with the feminine phase in the 1800s where women writers often used male pseudonyms to be taken seriously. The feminist phase, from the early 1900s to the 1970s, is characterized by angry argumentation against women's oppression in a male-dominated society. The most recent phase, the female phase beginning in the 1980s, focuses on the authenticity of a woman's point of view, moving beyond the need to prove legitimacy and instead exploring what it means to be a woman in modern society. The speaker also poses several questions to guide the analysis of literature through a feminist lens, such as how women are portrayed, the opportunities available to them compared to men, and how gender relationships are depicted. The paragraph concludes with a call for a deeper understanding of women's creativity and the impact of patriarchal constraints on their expression.

10:01

🌟 Conclusion: The Evolution of Feminist Criticism

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker summarizes the discussion on feminist criticism, reiterating that it is a lens for viewing texts that examines the treatment of women within a male-dominated culture. The paragraph acknowledges the evolution of feminist criticism through various phases and suggests that it will continue to change in response to the modern world. The speaker invites questions from the audience and provides contact information for further discussion, emphasizing the importance of an open dialogue on the subject. The conclusion reinforces the idea that feminist criticism is a dynamic and evolving approach to literary analysis, one that continues to adapt and grow as society's understanding of gender and equality progresses.

Keywords

💡Feminist Criticism

Feminist Criticism is a literary theory that focuses on analyzing the ways in which literature and other cultural productions either reinforce or challenge the societal oppression of women. It is a lens through which texts are viewed to understand the representation, treatment, and roles of women within a male-dominated culture. In the script, it is discussed as an approach that observes, analyzes, and challenges the language, institutions, and powers reflecting patriarchal interests.

💡Patriarchal Societies

Patriarchal societies are those dominated by male authority and control, where men traditionally hold most of the power in social, political, and economic structures. The script mentions that feminist criticism arose from such societies, particularly in Europe and America, and it examines how literature reflects and perpetuates this male dominance.

💡Literary Theory

Literary Theory refers to the various frameworks that critics use to analyze literature. The script emphasizes that feminist criticism is one such lens among many, like New Criticism or Deconstruction, which can be interchanged to provide different perspectives on a text. It is not the only way to interpret literature but offers a specific viewpoint on gender dynamics.

💡Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a critical approach that seeks to break down and challenge the binary oppositions and hierarchies within a text. The script briefly mentions it as another lens through which one might view a text, different from feminist criticism, focusing on dismantling dualistic structures rather than gender dynamics.

💡Socio-Economic Criticism

Socio-Economic Criticism, often associated with Marxist theory, examines the economic structures and social classes within a work of literature. The script ties this concept to feminist criticism, suggesting that the hardships women face in literature can be closely related to their socio-economic status and class struggles.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity, in the context of the script, refers to the genuine expression of a woman's point of view, free from the constraints of patriarchal expectations. The female phase of feminist criticism is particularly concerned with exploring what it means to be a woman in a modern society, moving beyond stereotypical gender roles to find an authentic voice.

💡Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a false name used by authors, often to conceal their identity. In the script, it is mentioned that during the early phases of feminist criticism, women writers like Charlotte Brontë used male pseudonyms to be published and accepted in a male-dominated literary world.

💡Subversion

Subversion in the script refers to the act of undermining or resisting societal norms and expectations, particularly the patriarchal oppression. Feminist criticism looks at how women characters in literature challenge the status quo and the ways in which they resist or subvert the patriarchal structures.

💡Empowerment

Empowerment, as discussed in the script, is about giving women a voice and the ability to express their experiences and beliefs, especially through writing. It is a modern take on feminist criticism that focuses on the positive representation of women and their stories as a means of challenging and changing societal norms.

💡Portrayal of Women

The portrayal of women in literature is a central concern of feminist criticism. The script asks how women characters are depicted, described, and treated in texts, especially when written by male authors. It is important to consider whether these portrayals reinforce stereotypes or challenge them.

💡Gendered Values

Gendered values refer to the specific traits, behaviors, and expectations associated with being male or female. The script discusses how feminist criticism examines the values tied to masculinity and femininity, questioning what constitutes these qualities and how they are reinforced or challenged in literature.

Highlights

Literary theory is a lens for viewing texts, not the only way.

Feminist criticism emerged from patriarchal societies and challenges male-dominated beliefs.

Feminist theory observes, analyzes, and challenges language, institutions, and powers reflecting patriarchal interests.

Feminist criticism examines women's resistance and subversion to patriarchal oppression.

Modern feminist criticism focuses on women's empowerment through representation and challenging the status quo.

Three phases of feminist criticism: Feminine phase, Feminist phase, and Female phase.

In the Feminine phase, women writers used male pseudonyms to be accepted by a male-dominated audience.

The Feminist phase was characterized by argumentation and anger against women's societal roles and oppression.

The Female phase seeks the authenticity of a woman's point of view, moving beyond traditional gender roles.

Feminist criticism questions how women are portrayed in literature and their treatment by others.

It explores the opportunities available to women compared to men and the values associated with gender.

The theory examines what is reinforced or challenged in the status quo regarding gender roles.

Feminist criticism looks at how female characters subvert the status quo.

It analyzes gender relationships and how they are portrayed in literature.

The theory considers how characters take on traits from the opposite gender and the impact on others' reactions.

Feminist criticism reveals the operations of patriarchy and its effects on women's lives.

It questions what literature says about women's creativity and their reaction to suppressed creative expression.

Feminist criticism is a dynamic lens that continues to evolve in the modern world.

Transcripts

hi guys mrs. Simmons I am here to talk

about feminist criticism remember that

this is only one approach to literature

and I hope that you approach it with an

open mind and don't get too hung up on

that f-word there first thing I want you

to understand is that literary theory is

always simply a lens that we put on and

and use to view the text that we're

reading it's never the way the only way

to view a text it's a lens that can be

interchanged with another one so if I

decide to view a text through new

criticism I'm going to be specifically

breaking down the elements to that text

and only deal with the text I don't care

about anything else just the text itself

and what it has in it if I decide to

look at this with deconstruction I would

be trying to break down the binaries

that I see are present within the text

but I can always take these lenses off

and put the next one on so feminist

theory is simply one way in which we can

view the text so has another brief

overview of literary theory I want to

stress that literary theory assumes

there's no such thing as an innocent

reading of a text ever

we don't just read to read there's

nothing wrong with that but when we're

talking about literary theory and

literary criticism we are studying the

text and what it does to us does it pull

emotional or spontaneous reactions to

the text do we avoid emotion and use

only reason and highly structured

approaches to make sense of a text and

it's important that we do this because a

well-defined logical and clearly

articulated literary theory and nabel's

readers to develop their own methods of

interpretation and then justify their

interpretation in a way that's very

logical and consistent that way we don't

have a smattering of different ideas

with no cohesive whole using one theory

or maybe two or three theories together

it really helps us broaden our ability

to interpret and gives us a very logical

way in which to prove our interpretation

as an approach that's acceptable so a

quick background of feminist theory and

this is this first quote here that

this from the online Writing Lab at

Purdue says feminist criticism is

concerned with the ways in which

literature and other cultural

productions reinforce or undermine the

economic political social and

psychological oppression of women so

feminist criticism did arise from

patriarchal societies in Europe and

America patriarchal of course meaning

male-dominated but this concept is

inherent in most social constructs most

social beliefs that are around across

the world are a male dominated belief

where for a very long time men

controlled most elements of the society

so what does feminist criticism do well

ultimately it's looking at the conflicts

hardships that women face throughout

literary works especially in a masculine

centric ideology this can be very

closely tied to socio-economic and race

criticisms and the socio-economic

criticism would be Marxist theory so

there are three essential things that

the feminist criticism does it observes

analyzes and challenges the language

institutions and powers that have

reflected a patriarchal interest and

these interests that have a profound

impact on women's expression and quality

of life so language meaning the way we

change words for instance and this isn't

a big deal but for instance that we say

mailman that is in feminist criticism

sexist institutions the concept of a

marriage being the man making the money

the woman staying at home and taking

care of the house that sort of concept

so marriage religion that might tamp

down women's freedom the second bullet

says women's resistance and subversion

to patriarchal oppression so how did

women fight back how did they try to

free themselves from the oppression that

they were facing in their lives and then

finally a more modern take on this as

the empowerment for women through

representation through women writing

about women sharing their beliefs their

experiences and really challenging the

status quo through

having a voice so there are three phases

that feminist criticism went through the

first one was the feminine phase and

this was pretty early on this is in the

1800s or so most women who were writing

would write with a male pseudonym so

they made up a name Charlotte Bronte of

Jane Eyre that we are reading soon in

fact wrote under a male pseudonym curer

Belle and later revealed that she was a

woman lucky for her to positive reviews

but she had to fake it for a while

additionally women during this time

period tried to reach the male-dominated

audience because that was who was

reading their material it wasn't an

equal audience so they were playing it

safe they wanted to be successful as

writers they didn't want to be condemned

for writing things that would not be

accepted by the culture so they played

it safe the second phase is from the

early 1900's to the about the 1970s or

so and this was the feminist phase or

polemics this is argumentation but it

was particularly angry these were people

who were fed up with their lives and

where they were and really criticized

the role of women in society and the

oppression that they faced in a

male-dominated society and so this was

the the angry part of the feminist

criticism development and then the

newest ones starting in about the 1980s

was the female phase where they really

started focusing on the authenticity of

a woman's point of view so they no

longer needed to prove that a female's

point of view was legitimate now they

were trying to figure out what does it

even mean so to kind of break that down

for you what is authenticity they're

trying to decide what does it mean to be

a woman and a woman in a modern society

so they tried to almost do opposites and

realize that didn't work so for example

we know in general on one hand we tend

to associate things like science reason

and logic with men so then does that

mean on the other hand women must be

unreasonable in the logic no that's not

a satisfactory answer so then let's do

something more like deconstruction

there's reason versus intuition logic

versus emotion well does that mean then

that men can't be intuitive or emotional

and conversely that women can't be

reasonable or logical no that is also

not a satisfactory answer it's obviously

not the case and so they had to lead

themselves down a more authentic path to

figure out what a woman's point of view

was and it really started to recognize

the fact that a woman can be

authoritative and logical but also

compassionate and thoughtful and what

they do with their lives so when I did

this over new criticism structuralism

and deconstruction I had questions to

ask while you're reading a piece of

literature so I have some questions here

I know it's a lot bear with me as I go

through and kind of explain some of them

so the first question says how are women

characters portrayed in literature it's

an important question how are they

treated by others how are they described

if they're written if the text is

written by a man how do they describe

the woman does the woman fall into the

category of trying to make another

female character particularly beautiful

when perhaps she doesn't need to be so

that's a something that we really want

to look at is how they're portrayed the

second question says what opportunities

are available to them compared with men

so a comparison there of what they can

and cannot do the third question what

values are gendered or to make this a

little more simple what constitutes

masculinity and femininity what values

do we tie to masculine and feminine

qualities the fourth question says what

is reinforced or challenged in this

status quo so remember this can tie with

race and socioeconomic status but it's

really this concept of what it what is

reinforced what is challenged when it

comes to status quo then the next

question is how does the female

character subvert that status quo how do

they go against it so what is reinforced

or challenged and then how is it

reinforced or challenged next question

is how our gender relationships

portrayed that's really important this

is something that we've been dealing

with since the dawn of man how do men

and women get along how do we make this

work in a world where sometimes equality

isn't really there

and if it is there what problems are we

still facing the next question says do

characters take on traits from opposite

genders how so does this change others

reactions to them this is something

we're gonna see in the first few

chapters of Jane Eyre where she has

traits that are not expected for a young

girl and it completely changes the way

others treat her the second last

question says what is the work reveal

about the operations of a patriarchy so

how are women affected economically

socially politically and psychologically

and then the last one is what does the

work say about women's creativity that's

really important because in a world

where women were not allowed to create

we have to ask ourselves what does that

do to the woman who cannot create how do

they react to that there are some really

important pieces of literature that

challenge this concept of women who feel

so restrained that they don't get to be

themselves and they go to an extreme to

try and cope with their tamped down

treat creativity so our conclusion here

remember that feminist criticism is just

one lens with which to view a text it

studies the way women are treated in a

text through language and institutions

created by a male-dominated culture it

studies the way in which women acquiesce

challenge and/or change the status quo

and it's gone through many phases and

quite honestly we will probably continue

to change in a modern world you have any

questions please leave a comment or send

me an email on our Simmons won at USC to

5/9 net thank you for listening hope was

informative and have a great day