Feminism Criticism

Feminist Criticism

Over the years, many different theories have been introduced that have altered the literary canon of our time. It is believed somehow or another that politics of language and literature interconnect with those of race, class, and gender to determine canon and curriculum selections (American Patchwork). Scholars that analyze, interpret, study and evaluate literature are called literary critics. These critics provide what is known as literary criticism through some form of critical theory. Most literary critical theories cannot be described by a simple definition. These theories have very in depth explanations and provide debate among literary scholars. The selected literary critical theory in this essay is the feminist theory.

It's evident from the name that feminist criticism deals with women. The article, "The Breakthrough: Feminism and Literary Criticism," by Judith Walzer is very informative. It describes the process of the feminist movement and the feminist literary theory. Walzer states in the article that the creation of the feminist theory was during the "second wave" of the women's movement during the 1960s. But according to popular opinion about the women's movement, there was a "buildup for some time" among women about women issues (Walzer 103). So, by the 1970s, a number of books were written that focused on nineteenth-century Britain. These works were analyzed and viewed with both literature and cultural values. It became clear that the gender of the author was important to the work and the writer. "After these critical works it was no longer possible to claim that women's literary work was tangential to the "tradition" or marginal or derivative" (Walzer 103). These works created a new field of theory we now call feminist criticism. Works in this area increased so vastly that it seemed "unfair to focus on only a few books written at the start of this period"(103). According to Walzer also, this new perspective will not only add to and deepen our views of women writers, but it might significantly "change our understanding of the periods in which these women wrote and the structure of literature in general" (104).

Feminist criticism also draws "attention to writers and writings that have been neglected" (A Criticism of One's Own). But, not everyone agrees with feminist criticism or their critics. Denis Donoghue believes that "feminist critics have reduced the range of their literary interests." According to his article, he also states that many of feminist critic essays are regressive as critical theory arises (A Criticism of One's Own). According to Denis Donoghue's essay, "A Criticism of One's Own," he believes that feminist criticism has two agendas. The first agenda says, "that there