LIT01 | 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

TOPIC Literary Criticism: Feminism, Marxism, and Post-Colonialism

Module
Designed by Vanessa Francesca G. Lasala
5 Mangione, A. E. (n.d.). Marxist Criticism. Writing Commons. Retrieved
August 17, 2022, from https://writingcommons.org/section/res
Source/s
Feminist Criticism. (n.d.). Purdue Lab Writing. Retrieved August 17, 2022,
from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the frameworks of various approaches to
literary criticism, specifically: Feminism, Marxism and Post-Colonialism. Furthermore, you will be able
to analyze and interpret meanings in given literary texts using the theories, principles, and guide
questions of the feminist, Marxist, and post-colonialist approaches to literary criticism. Through this
lesson, you will evaluate literary texts with clearer objectives, and more defined methods of criticism
and interpretation, thus, being able to appreciate the entirety of the text.

Overview

Essential Questions:

How do gender and social status promote or reject biases in the society?

How do you perceive history?

FEMINISM

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" (Tyson 83).
Feminist literary critics aim to reject patriarchal norms in literature that privilege masculine perspectives and
marginalize women politically, economically, and psychologically. Instead, it attempts to understand literature
by empowering the female point-of-view and rejects the patriarchal language that has dominated literature.

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This approach is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of
female writers from the literary canon; in less feminist points of view, there is a tendency to underrepresent
the contribution of female writers.

Common spaces in the Feminist theory include:

• Women oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically

• In every domain where patriarchy reigns, women is the other—marginalized, and defined only
by societal norms
• All of Western civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology (for example: portraying Eve
in the Bible as the origin of sins)
• All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to
change the world by prompting gender equality.
• Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the
production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or
not.

The following guide questions are typically answered to evaluate a text using this approach:

1. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?

2. What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female
roles)?
3. How are male and female roles defined?
4. What constitutes masculinity and femininity?
5. How do characters embody these traits?
6. Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions
to them?
7. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically)
of patriarchy?
8. What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy?
9. What does the work say about women's creativity?
10. What does the history of the work's reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation
of patriarchy?
11. What role does the work play in terms of women's literary history and literary tradition?

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MARXISM

Marxism is anchored on the early writings and philosophy of Karl Marx, wherein he argues that society
progresses through the struggle between social classes. This class struggle originates from the exploitation
of one class by another throughout history. In literary criticism, a Marxist interpretation views the text as an
expression of contemporary class struggle. Literature is not simply a matter of personal expression or taste.
It somehow relates to the social and political conditions of the time. According to Tyson, "marxism attempts
to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience."

The basic goal of this approach to literary criticism is to assess the political tendency of a literary work
and determine whether its social content or literary forms are progressive. Marxist criticism pays close
attention to the division of classes, class struggle, oppression, and political background of the story. In other
words, it focuses more on the social and political elements of a work than its aesthetic (artistic and visual)
value.

Asking the following questions and analyzing the information that is found from answering these
questions will help you to apply the Marxist theory to literature:

1. What role does class play in the literary work?

2. How does the author analyze class relations?
3. What does the author say about oppression?
4. Are class conflicts ignored or blamed?
5. How do characters overcome oppression?
6. What is the social class of the author?
7. Which class does the work claim to represent?
8. What values does it reinforce?
9. What values does it subvert?
10. What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it portrays?
11. Does the work support the economic and social status quo, or does it advocate change?
12. Does the work serve as propaganda for the status quo? If so, in what way does it attempt to serve as
propaganda?
13. How has the author’s ideologies and background affect the way he views the economy, politics or
society?
14. How do the time period, social background and culture in which the work was written affect the
portrayal of the political, economic, and social forces?

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POST-COLONIALISM

Post-colonial literary criticism frequently focuses on relationships between colonizers and colonized
people in literary texts. Post-colonial criticism also analyzes whether a text upholds or subverts colonial
ideals. Specifically, post-colonial critics are concerned with literature produced by colonial powers and works
produced by those who were/are colonized. Post-colonial theory looks at issues of power, economics,
politics, religion, and culture and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony (Western
colonizers controlling the colonized). Methods of colonialism may include the domination, subjugation, or
enslavement of an indigenous population and their land; the exploitation and exportation of resources; or the
creation of a settlement project.

The following are the key concepts in post-colonialism:

1. Othering- involves two concepts: “The Exotic Other” and “The Demonic Other”, wherein the
former represents a fascination with the inherent/primitive, or undeveloped, while the latter is
represented as the inferior, negative, savage, and evil.
2. Diaspora- refers to people who have been displaced or dispersed from their homelands, and who
possess and share a collective memory and myth, and the nostalgic reminiscence of “home”
3. Hybridity- The Schizophrenic state of the migrant as s/he attempts to combine the culture of
origin with that of the host country, without abandoning either
4. Double Consciousness- altered as “many souls, many thoughts… in one dark body”— pointing
to the migrant’s experience in multiple subject positions
5. Mimicry- demonstrates an ambivalent relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. The
colonized subject mimics the colonizer by adopting the colonizer’s cultural habits, language, attire,
values etc. In doing so, he mocks and parodies the colonizer.

These are some guide questions to help you understand literary texts using postcolonialist literary criticism:

1. Where and when is the work set—in a colony, a former colony, or a country that has gained its
independence from Great Britain Spain, France, or another political power?
2. How does the text depict relations between the colonizer and the colonized?
3. What principles of colonialism operate in the text? Do colonial powers usurp land, exploit the
economy or environment, or enslave the indigenous population?
4. How do the colonial conflicts and politics of the text affect its meaning?
5. How does the literary text, explicitly or allegorically, represent various aspects of colonial
oppression?
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6. What does the text reveal about the problematics of post-colonial identity, including the
relationship between personal and cultural identity and such issues as double consciousness and
hybridity?
7. What person(s) or groups does the work identify as "other" or stranger? How are such
persons/groups described and treated?

Tasks

ACTIVITY 3: Identifying Feminist, Marxist, and Post-Colonialist Elements in A Text (by Triads)

Pre-Work Activity: (must be done in an asynchronous session before doing the activity)
Watch the film: 12 Years A Slave (2013) and note down scenes or patterns where Feminism,
Marxism, and Post-Colonialism becomes evident.

Main Activity:

1. Based on the film you have watched for the Pre-work activity, identify the following:
a. 1 scene depicting elements of Feminism (gender stereotypes, marginalization/oppression of
women, patriarchy, misogyny, gender discrimination, etc.)
b. 1 scene depicting elements of Marxism (social stratifications, social class discrimination,
emphasis on the relationship between the rich and the poor, exploitation of lower class people)
c. 1 scene depicting operations of colonialism or post-colonialism (hybridity, mimicry, double
consciousness, diaspora, etc.)

2. In each of these scenes you have identified, explain how Feminist/Marxist/Post-colonialist elements
are being portrayed in and how they have shaped the meaning/message of the film. It is also important
to emphasize how these scenes were put together by the writer to empower or undermine certain
values/issues.

The example below is an excerpt from a Feminist literary criticism:

3. As shown in the example above, emphasize important elements by writing the word/s in bold.
4. Upload your final work as a PDF document.

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