Socialist Feminist Criticism: You Dropped the Bomb on Me, Baby
Feminism and gender studies have been described as having the ability to "challenge literary and culture theory to confront the difficult task of assimilating the findings of an expanding sphere of inquiry" (Contemporary Literary Criticism 567). This area of study has taken center stage during the last fifty years, not only in our society, but also in literary criticism. Although the terrain Feminism traverses can hardly be narrowed down to one single definition, the exploration of the genre can, at times, be the most intriguing feature of the criticism itself. While feminism has undoubtedly changed the way women and gender roles are considered in society today, it has
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This definition of feminism situates sex and gender alongside the subjects of focus of the Marxist theory, even going as far as to intertwine the two. While I, myself, have been trying to determine how much I agree with the points that each individual theory makes, I have found that Socialist Feminist Criticism has had the greatest impact on my writing, reading, and understanding of the world.
It has been noted that "in literature the languages of class, race, and gender are fused." This, throughout history, and in our society specifically, is true. Every role that is developed in literature is "not natural or self-evident but
is always articulated within a system or relationships
predicated upon exclusions of gender, race, and class" (CLC 592). Every character is described within a system of a culture that is based on stereotypes, specific gender roles, and societal issues. Cora Kaplan makes her most significant point when she suggests that "We must redefine the psyche as a structure, not as a content, so that we can move toward a fuller understanding of how social divisions and the inscription of gender are mutually secured and given meaning. Through that analysis we can work towards change" (Kaplan 609). An understanding of the issues that Socialist Feminist criticism tackles can help a reader determine why the literature they are
In this essay I will explore the different schools of feminism such as Marxist, liberal and radical feminism, who share the view that women are oppressed in a patriarchal society but differ in opinion on who benefits from the inequalities. Each school of feminism has their own understanding of family roles and relationships which I will assess through this essay.
Until the 1960s, feminism was widely regarded as a sub-set of liberalism and socialism, rather than as an ideology in its own right. Today, however, feminism can be considered a single doctrine in that all feminists subscribe to a range of ‘common ground’ beliefs, such as the existence of a patriarchal society, and the desire to change gender inequalities. Then again, it can be argued that feminism is characterised more by disagreement than consensus, as three broad traditions: liberal feminism, Marxist or socialist feminism, and radical feminism, which often contain rival tendencies, are encompassed within each core feminist theme. This essay will argue that, despite tensions between its
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of them simply because of their gender.
On January 6, 1941 President Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union Address before congress. He spoke eloquently of a future world founded on the essential human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. (Foner 2014pg842). He used this speech as a rally cry to enter World War 2. (Foner 2014, 757) These four freedoms were meant to establish basic rights for all people in the United states and still today we hold true to these freedoms. (Foner 2014 pg842) Freedom of speech came to coincide with freedom and expression which would be the best defense against corruption of democracy. (Remembering the Four Freedoms 2016). Freedom of worship or religion would be our shield against the forces of bigotry, intolerance, and fanaticism, Freedom from want, a commitment to erasing hunger, poverty, and pestilence from the earth, brought hope for citizens as they fought the Great depression and Finally, freedom from fear, a freedom dependent on collective security, a concept carried forward with our leadership in the United Nations.(Remembering the Four Freedoms 2016) As America battled the great depression, Roosevelt was confident that the war would end the depression and cause the United States to thrive once again. (Foner2014, 843) Roosevelt declared on a radio address in 1942 that the “rights of men of every creed and every race, wherever they live” implying that the four freedoms made so prominent in this time era should be a
Analyzing the ways in which a piece of literature includes feminist ideologies can bring out the potential messages that the creators of these productions were attempting to portray, while allowing the reader to critique the literature from a feminist perspective.
Marxist feminism is a sub-category of the larger feminist theory; this kind of feminism is primarily attentive to explaining how women are oppressed through capitalist systems and the emergence of the concept of private property. According to Marxist feminists, women's true emancipation, all over the world, can only be achieved through a fundamental reorganization of the capitalist economy that does not fairly compensate women's labor. Additionally, Marxist feminists do criticize Marx for what they think was his partial analysis of sexism under capitalism and total indifference to gender imbalance. However, they do not dismiss the basic Marxist fundamentals.
The story of “the cask of amontillado” is mostly about revenge. But there are also a few other side themes in this story. for example The contrast between freedom is extreme (one character has to die for the other to feel free). Another is foolishness can cost your life because he wasn't able to see that he was trying to murder him. And it's about revenge because he was furious by that fact that his own friend humiliated him so he decides to kill him
Feminist Criticism is described as literary criticism to presents different perspectives on how literature discusses issues of gender, focusing on education, financial and social difference in a male dominated society. Critics revolve around power relation between the two genders. They also review how females are represented in different texts and literature and how such representation is sufficient. In addition, feminist critics in politics present literature that seeks to raise consciousness about the important role of women and highlight how language is misused to marginalize women. Influential figures of this form of criticism are George Eliot and Margaret Fuller. They are two who mainly came up with the idea of Feminist Criticism and the basic principles followed by others today. Some famous authors who wrote through the lens of Feminist Criticism are Ellen Moers, Alice Walker, and Tillie Olsen... These writer’s focus on inequality between women and men. Many stories have been written using this thought process as the catalysts for the work.
Women’s rights have been a question greatly discussed for quite some time, and the debate is still continuing despite the possibilities offered to women today. Feminism nowadays has evolved into a movement in a number of directions, starting with women equality and ending with homosexuality. However, feminism originally is an ideology that is based on equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism theory deals with analysing women’s social roles and experiences in relation to gender inequality. Traces of this ideology are vastly represented and can be found in a number of literary works, as notable examples are novels written by female authors (the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and others) during the Age
In a world usually depicted as a “man’s world,” a woman’s role is not considered as significant and thus can be repressed. It is why a feminist perspective or criticism comes into place, especially in literature. By definition, a feminist criticism consist of scrutinizing “the ways in which literature reinforces the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.” (Tyson) In Gail Godwins’s A Sorrowful Woman, the leading female character is concentrated in her efforts in distancing from her structured lifestyle. A feminist would critic Godwins story by as the female character is in pursuit of peace and happiness and wants to escape from the role she has been implanted. The critic would concentrate on the experience woman
The three cultures; Ancient Greeks, Romans and Modern Western Christianity share a gradual progression through time that has affected these cultures. My research has primarily focussed on these cultures attitudes to death. Starting with the greeks I will show from the fall of the Greeks, to the Romans and from the Romans to Western Christianity how these attitudes were passed on or eradicated to make room for something new.
Feminist concentrate primarily on ‘gender inequality’. The feminist theory is strongly influenced by the Marx theory.
Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary
Feminist criticism scrutinizes the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, politic, social and psychological oppression of women. One of the tools used
In 1990 Judith Butler first published her book Gender Troubles, where she questions gender roles. Butler theorizes that gender, as in male and female, is a type of societal/gender colonialism created to keep people who do not fall within the gender roles from being part of the mainstream society. In her 1999 preface, in which she addresses the impact her book had in the decade since its original publication, Butler expresses the concern she had with the “heterosexual assumption in feminist literary theory (61).” Butler utilizes the works of other feminist philosophers to further demonstrate the inconsistency, and disconnect between fighting for women rights and fighting for human rights. Judith Butler makes an interesting argument on the failure to recognize the spectrum of gender, however, she makes a compelling argument on the use of language perpetuating a patriarchal society.