Marxist Literary Theory

Marxist Literary Theory A form of critique for interrogating all societies and their texts in terms of specific issues – especially class issues and class attitudes shared within a given culture.

Who was Karl Marx? German philosopher who criticized the injustice inherent in the European capitalist system of economics operating in the 19th century. Believed that capitalism allowed the rich (bourgeoisie) to benefit at the expense of the workers (proletariat).

Key Terms Capitalism Proletariat Bourgeoisie Oppression Exploitation Class conflict

Capitalism - Capitalism is a socio-economic system that allows private owners of businesses to profit from the goods and services they provide. It is popular in nations that value the freedom of the individual over the stability of the society. (e.g United States, Canada, Germany, the UK, Japan). Also known as the free market system, capitalism requires unregulated supply and demand and little or no government interference in matters of trade. Each individual is free to produce what he or she wants and to sell it at whatever price the market will support. 

But at what cost?

Proletariat –are the working class, defined by the fact that the labour of this class works to produce wealth, but someone else (the owners) enjoys the profits that comes from their labour. The working class is exploited by the upper class for their labour, and at certain points in history, the working class gains enlightenment (awareness of this exploitation and the desire to resist it), and seeks emancipation (freedom from this exploitation).

Bourgeoisie – considered to the ‘ruling’ class, those who are middle class or upper class members of society. They are the ones who are the ‘owners’ of land, companies, factories, etc. and who profit from the labour of the workers.

Oppression –Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control Oppression –Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. It is also mental pressure or distress. The proletariat often feel oppressed within the capitalist system. Exploitation - the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work.

Class conflict- Also known as class warfare or class struggle, is the tension which exists in society due to competing social and economic interests and desires between people of different classes. Class conflict can take many different forms: direct violence, such as wars fought for resources and cheap labor; indirect violence, such as deaths from poverty, starvation, illness or unsafe working conditions. This could also include threats- such as the threat of losing a job or the pulling of an important investment. People often may try to ‘rebel’ by protesting, asking for new labour laws, organizing strikes or walkouts at work, demanding fair wages, etc.

The relationship between the two classes is one characterized by exploitation and conflict. The relationship is exploitative because, while the workers produce the products (and the profits) the bourgeoisie possess the rights of ownership to the profits. Given the position of dominance of one class over another in the economic realm, the rest of society will be organized to serve the interests of the dominant class.

Marxist Criticism A Marxist critique of a text would questions such as: What role does social class play in the story? What messages are we supposed to receive about it? How do characters try overcome oppression in relation to their social class or status? Are they successful? How are characters from the lower classes portrayed (the proletariat)? How are characters from the middle or upper classes portrayed (the bourgeoisie)? Do they follow stereotypes? How does social class and/or class impact the characters in the story? Positively? Negatively? Both? Neutral? Does the author provide some implied suggestions of how to change or better the social system seen in the story?