Seeing literature through a Feminist perspective
Seeing Literature Through a Feminist Perception.
“Feminism”- a term so popular in the contemporary world that it is making women around the world capable of throwing down gauntlets towards any old-fashioned stereotypes! On the other hand, thinking about it pragmatically, hasn’t this term brought a big number of progressions in society?
I know you must be thinking of this as another essay on feminism on the internet. Well, maybe it is. Growing up as a woman I myself have faced some discriminations and prejudices in my own town, which is hands down pretty uncomfortable. When I decided to find out a term for all this misogyny I came across the term ‘feminism’ and being a student who has always been interested in English and Literature, seeing that both the words having a pre-existing relationship intrigued me.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The first female dominated book I ever read was Louisa May Alcott’s feminist fiction ‘Little Women’ which enlightened on the fact that, five females (a mother and four daughters) ran their households without any man in the house in the early nineteenth century. It laid emphasis on the fact that, how important it is for women to be independent which not only highlighted gender equality but also on the fact that Joe (the protagonist) had the courage to fulfill her dreams of becoming a writer even after all the shortcomings she faced in her life.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen is often cited as a critique and an author who was a rebellious feminist. Born in the 18th century, Britain; her works often focused on the reality of those times. Among all her written artworks, Pride and Prejudice was the one which gained a lot of spotlight. Though, it focuses a lot on the ideology that every woman aspires to get married, which completely contradicts the 21st century’s popular culture, it is still considered a feminist fiction as Elizabeth (the protagonist) quarreled through her life with an outspoken and opinionated attitude. Furthermore, among all the iconic lines she portrayed some of the greatest were -“I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine.” And
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me”, which can easily be fathomed by the reader about its hidden femininity.
A room of one’s own by Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, considered as the greatest feminist in the world of literature, wrote a number of legendary books and essays. A room of one’s own which is basically an extended essay that explores the history of women through an unconventional and highly provocative investigation of the social and material conditions required for the writing of literature. In this twentieth century feminist thought, she reviews not only the state of women's own literature, but also the state of scholarship, both theoretical and historical, concerning women.
Definition of Feminism
According to Li and Bolaria (1994), they define feminism as an “awareness of the special problems which are faced by women in contemporary society. Li and Bolaria also stated that it is a commitment to better the condition of women and also characterized by political involvement as well as an atThere is a firm belief that, in eradicating women’s oppression, society itself will be transformed and become egalitarian for all peoples” (84). In a patriarchal society, it is believed and assumed that masculine and feminine behaviours match with the physiological makeup of men and women.
Rise of some women writer
1.Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), a British novelist and poet, was the eldest of three
Brontë sisters. When she was five years old her mother died of cancer and she and her siblings were raised by her aunt. She started writing under a pseudonym because she felt intimidated to write under her real name, she was using the pen name Currer Ball .Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was published under her pen name Currer Bell in 1847, which was a period when women were still oppressed, had no rights nor were respected among men. It got several criticisms because of the way the author dealt with “sexuality”. In the infamous Elizabeth Rigby’s review of Jane Eyre is even suggested that if the book was written by a woman “she would forfeited the society of her own sex.” 30 The puritan Victorian readership criticised the author’s sex, suggesting that such behaviour is not appropriate for a woman, female character of even a female writer. The harsh critiques advocated that Jane’s description as a strong, self-sufficient woman with no obligations to men is a quality only belonging to men, thus is unnatural for women. Jane’s passionate rebellion was perceived by some as absolutely unacceptable suggesting that women are supposed to be subordinate to men. Not to mention, in spite of all the criticism she faced, it was still a success.
2.Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was an English writer, philosopher, critic and foremost modernist of the 20th century.Woolf was not only a novelist but also a feminist and she is also known for her essays, especially for A Room of One’s Own, which is an extended essay defending women’s rights. The essay also includes the very famous quote “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” She also pioneered the stream of consciousness narrative technique which was very typical for her. Woolf was also an experimenter with psychological and emotional motives of characters. She was a foremost feminist and a very significant figure during the beginning of the 20th century, however, as Plan and Seller states in their book A History of Feminism Literary Criticism, some thought she was “overly genteel, far too ladylike to be taken seriously, part of effete Bloomsbury, and even those who praised her, like David Daiches, agreed her art was ‘limited.’ Nonetheless, Woolf is considered to be a feminist and feminist themes are dominant in her books, her focus on the topic even arose after the World War II.
Conclusion
Feminism at that time was not outright spoken and passed rather through literature. Literature was the primary medium to communicate ideas and thoughts about this topic, it was also one of the means of communication because literature could spread around the world when people travelled.
