2. The World of Literary Theory Feminist/Gender Psychological Marxist Cultural

3. Psychological Criticism  Based on Freud’s theory of the unconscious  The unconscious is expressed through symbol and dream  The conscious mind represses unconscious drives  Literature is a form of dream which reveals the author’s subconscious inner life  Psychoanalytic principles can reveal inner lives of fictional characters  Psychologically based literary techniques: stream of consciousness  Based on Freud’s theory of the unconscious  The unconscious is expressed through symbol and dream  The conscious mind represses unconscious drives  Literature is a form of dream which reveals the author’s subconscious inner life  Psychoanalytic principles can reveal inner lives of fictional characters  Psychologically based literary techniques: stream of consciousness

4. Psychological Criticism  Considers the psychological relationship between the text and the reader: “the text contains a secret expression of what the reader WANTS to hear” (Griffin)  Based on Lacan’s theory: the unconscious is created by language and thus is structured like language  Considers the psychological relationship between the text and the reader: “the text contains a secret expression of what the reader WANTS to hear” (Griffin)  Based on Lacan’s theory: the unconscious is created by language and thus is structured like language

5. Feminist/Gender  Male literary hegemony ignores women authors and misinterprets women characters  False and stereotypical images of women  New development: focus on masculinity and feminity  Considers female language (gynocriticsim): the language of the mother, female literary forms/styles (circular plots, narratives), rejects the “marriage plot,” the female body and fluidity  Considers the cultural creation of feminine identity: sex vs. gender, normal vs. abnormal  Male literary hegemony ignores women authors and misinterprets women characters  False and stereotypical images of women  New development: focus on masculinity and feminity  Considers female language (gynocriticsim): the language of the mother, female literary forms/styles (circular plots, narratives), rejects the “marriage plot,” the female body and fluidity  Considers the cultural creation of feminine identity: sex vs. gender, normal vs. abnormal

6. Feminist/Gender  Considers stereotypes of female characteristics/attributes: passive, irrational,subjective, domestic, spiritual, impractical  Considers the differences BETWEEN women in relationship to race, class, and economic status  Delves into the oppression and erasure of women by other women  Considers stereotypes of female characteristics/attributes: passive, irrational,subjective, domestic, spiritual, impractical  Considers the differences BETWEEN women in relationship to race, class, and economic status  Delves into the oppression and erasure of women by other women

7. Marxist  Literature is a product of its environment  Literature reflects societal tensions (bourgeois vs. proletariat) as described by Marx  Awareness of class, race, and sexism  Elucidates HOW social forces operate within the text  Literature is a product of its environment  Literature reflects societal tensions (bourgeois vs. proletariat) as described by Marx  Awareness of class, race, and sexism  Elucidates HOW social forces operate within the text

8. Marxist  Offers a critique of capitalism and how it impedes social utopia/wholeness  Focuses on content and not aesthetics  Marxist art must offer social solutions  Offers a critique of capitalism and how it impedes social utopia/wholeness  Focuses on content and not aesthetics  Marxist art must offer social solutions

9. Cultural/Historicism  Politically oriented with sympathy for marginalized groups  Considers culture, discourse, ideology, the self, and history  The text is society’s system for encoding meaning- everything produced by a society is open to interpretation- there is no HIGH/low art  Politically oriented with sympathy for marginalized groups  Considers culture, discourse, ideology, the self, and history  The text is society’s system for encoding meaning- everything produced by a society is open to interpretation- there is no HIGH/low art

10. Cultural/Historicism  Discourses are systems of codes shared by groups, thus sources of POWER  Groups with power impose their ideology on others (hegemony)- such as bourgeois, males, the wealthy, or even nations (colonialism)  Ideology always marginalizes somebody (always an “other”)  Priviliged ideology suppresses contradictory viewpoints without others even recognizing it (hegemony)  Discourses are systems of codes shared by groups, thus sources of POWER  Groups with power impose their ideology on others (hegemony)- such as bourgeois, males, the wealthy, or even nations (colonialism)  Ideology always marginalizes somebody (always an “other”)  Priviliged ideology suppresses contradictory viewpoints without others even recognizing it (hegemony)

11. Cultural/Historicism  The self is created by culture  Literature must be studied in terms of how it was produced  Literature must be studied in relation to power structures in society  The self is created by culture  Literature must be studied in terms of how it was produced  Literature must be studied in relation to power structures in society