1. A Literature of Their Own!

2. What is Lit Crit? A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important.

3. History Began in late 1700-early 1800 Started with “class” struggles with middle and upper class women Came from Western cultures: America, England, France, Britain, and Germany

4. Revival Initially had a lot more to do with recovering texts and “rediscovering” female authors from the past Encouraging women to write more Reinterpreting male authors with a female perspective Idea of “silences” or “gaps” We can find out how women fit into ancient texts or present texts by what is left OUT, not included… What is missing tells us as much or even more as what actually is included…

5. Feminism and Gender Studies Gender: Socially-constructed roles defined by society The approach of the psyche and gender vs. sex in literature meaning: how does the psyche influence a character’s gender and thereby affect the character’s indirect development?

6. The Oppressed Female? 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 82). This school of theory looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated) and "...this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women" (Richter 1346). Feminist criticism is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of women writers from the traditional literary canon: "...unless the critical or historical point of view is feminist, there is a tendency to under-represent the contribution of women writers" (Tyson 82-83).

7. Simone de Beauvior 1949, The Second Sex Main argument is that women are constructed by men Constructivism isn’t deterministic; Simone argues… Men “constructed” women as part of a “gaze” or an idealistic vision Idea that men “colonized” women Men control the psyche of women, and therefore, control the culture and the way women are seen in that culture

8. Elaine Showalter Posited three phases of modern feminist criticism: Feminine Phase: 1840-1880; women writers imitative of male writers By-line of male names; socially accepted Feminist Phase: 1880-1920; women writers advocate for their writes; not imitating males so much now Female Phase: 1920-Present; tends to depend on opposition Looks for misogyny in older texts

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

10. Works… Cinderella

11. Common Crit Theories Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically; patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept. In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is other: she is marginalized, defined only by her difference from male norms and values. All of western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for example, in the biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world. While biology determines our sex (male or female), culture determines our gender (masculine or feminine). (Feminism and gender studies) 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!