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 women’s
authorship and the representation of women’s
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 women’s 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-Than-
Average Attractiveness

Clip from The Paper Bag

Princess

“The Great Person-Hole

Cover Debate”-Van Gelder
“If Men Menstruated”-
Steinem
“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
woman’s and a man’s 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/litcrit.html
>.
Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess. Canada:
Annick P, 1980.