Feminist Literary Theory Expanded

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Feminist Literary Theory

When we examine a text with the Feminist Literary Theory, we take on the role of a feminist and how they might view the text. Feminist cirtics wish to show society:

The errors of ways of thinking concerning women.
That literature and society have frequently stereotyped women as angels, barmaids, prostotutes, brainless housewives, slaves, helpless ladies, or old maids.
Women must break free from such oppression and define themselves.

View the video below to get a better understanding of Feminist Literary Theory.

When we examine a text using Feminist Literary Theory, we want to ask ourselves the following questions:

How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
What constitutes masculinity and femininity according to the text?
What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)?
How are male and female roles defined?
What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
What does the work say about women's creativity?

It is important to note that when using any theory to examine a text, we try to keep out our personal views, and examine the text according to the theory.