Feminist critique of J.

Alfred Prufrock

Feminist criticism deals with "the ways in which literature (and other cultural
productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and
psychological oppression of women" as said by Lois Tyson in his book 'Critical
theory today'. It provides the critique of phallocentric and patriarchal ideologies
in literature, which is mainly dominated by men.
In The poem 'the love song of J Alfred Prufrock', Eliot's perspective on women
keeps on changing throughout the poem.

"In the room the women come and go

talking of Michelangelo."

Through this line, the poet might be stereotyping women. Women are unable to
comprehend and converse about complex issues like politics or economics, so all
they do is roam around talking superficially. These women are shallow in the
sense that they judge people very quickly on the basis of their physical
appearance rather than their personality. In a way, Eliot is degrading women by
marginalizing them by the barrier of language. French feminists argues that
language is 'inherently patriarchal and degrading' towards women because it was
developed in a time when women were considered inferior to men. Also, they
believe that structure of language supports masculinity. In the initial part of the
poem, women are devalued and generalized by the poet. This line is repeated to
emphasize the same idea. He might be talking about a group of women but he
categorized them all in one category, as if they don't have their own individuality
and these women can easily be replaced by some other women.

"With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) "

The speaker keeps on emphasizing the shallowness of women. They'll judge him
because he is not physically appealing. In a way, he can be accused of being
judgemental and superficial as well. He too is stereotyping them. This might be
the result of his own insecurities regarding his aging body.

"And I have known the arms already, known them all—

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare"

Once again the poet implies that all women are same and there's no distinguish
between them. The speaker is judging them just on the basis of their body parts
as if they're not part of the same body but are fragmented.

"(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!) "

Women are confined to the patriarchal idea of beauty. They are not supposed to
have any hair on their arms. This line is within brackets, which might suggest that
this is not a matter to be said aloud. It's almost as if the speaker is whispering it.
The exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence depicts the shock or surprise
of the speaker on finding hair on her arms. Women are supposed to hold the
standards set by a phallocentric society.

"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me."

Now, the speaker's perspective of women has drastically changed. In these lines,
he's referring to women as magical creature, mermaids. Here, women are
considered superior, almost sacred or unreachable. The way he is addressing to
them, it seems like he's longing for them. He admires their beauty and their
physical appearance. He has already accepted the rejection as he is getting older
and weaker. Mythologically, mermaids are known to lure the sailors towards their
death by singing to them. Similarly, the speaker might be trying to reveal the dark
and dangerous side of women.
In the poem, women were talked about but the poem was 'not necessarily about
women'. It almost suggests that women are the objects of male gaze.