By:Julie Miezejeski, Liz Lynde, Caitlin Monahan,

Marissa Trantino

Feminism
Literary criticism displayed by feminist

theory
Before 1970- the first and second waves of
feminism dealing with politics of womens
authorship and the representation of
womens condition within literature
Third Wave-more complex conceptions of
gender- considering in terms of Freudian
and Lacanian psychoanalysis

Goals of Feminist
Critisism
To uncover and develop a female tradition of
writing
To interpret symbolism of womens writing so
it will not be ignored by a male point of view
To rediscover old texts

Goal Continued
To analyze women writers and their writings in

a female perspective
To oppose sexism in literature
To Increase awareness of sexual politics of
language and style

Advantages of Feminist
Criticism

Women have been somewhat

underrepresented in the traditional cannon,
and a feminist approach to literature
redresses this problem.

Disadvantages
Feminist turn literary criticism into a political

battlefield and overlook the qualities of works

they consider "patriarchal." When arguing for
a distinct feminine writing style, they tend to
relegate women's literature to a ghetto status;
this in turn prevents female literature from
being naturally included in the literary
cannon. The feminist approach is often too
theoretical.

Feminist Fairy Tales

Engage in a debate about literary

conventions and societal norms

A response to other tales by women
French fairy tales exemplify political and
historical conditions in France beginning
with those from the female perspective
Example: Mlle de La Force, Mme de Muart,
Mlle Bernard- all patronized women in
classical literature such as nurses or maids

Literary Examples
Excerpt from Sleeping

Persun of Better-ThanAverage Attractiveness

Clip from The Paper Bag

Princess

The Great Person-Hole

Cover Debate-Van
Gelder
If Men MenstruatedSteinem
The Feminine
Mystique-Betty Friedan

Example Questions When

Using
Feminist
Criticism

How do men and women differ?

Are their female heroines? If so, how do they
differ from the male heroes?
Does the literature include the use of
stereotypes as it relates to women?
How does the use of pronouns represent
masculine ideology? (ex. he in place of he or
she)

Questions Continued
Can the gender of the author be determined

simply through the text? (stylistic differences

between a womans and a mans writing)
Does the text represent what it means to be a
woman?
Does the text seem to favor one gender over
the other?

Bibliography
Garner, James. Sleeping Persun of Better-

Than-Average Attractiveness.
Literary Criticism. 1999. 15 Mar. 2009
<www.literatureclassics.com/ancientpaths/litcr
it.html>.
Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess.
Canada: Annick P, 1980.