Feminist_Criticism.ppt

Feminist Criticism Sorties Hélène Cixous Where is she Activity/passivity,　　Sun/Moon,　　Culture/Nature,　　Day/Night,　　Father/Mother,　　Head/heart,　　Intelligible/sensitive,　　Logos/Pathos. Outline Ⅰ. The History of Feminist Criticism Ⅱ. Schools and Proponents Ⅲ. Feminism in Different Headings Ⅳ. Comments Ⅴ. Feminist Criticism in Practice Ⅰ.The History of Feminist Criticism 1.1. 1900s---1920s Rejection of patriarchal gender bias Who are they? 1.2. 1960s---1970s Studying of the female literary history How did they arrive at their present situation? 1.3. 1980s---1990s--- Construction of feminist criticism theory Where are they going? 1.1. First Stage: 1900s---1920s Rejection of patriarchal gender bias Who are they? Proponents: Virginia Woolf; Simone de Beavoir During this stage, women’s goal is to revolt the patriarchal societal construct and define female identity themselves. It was not until the early 1900s that feminist criticism began to grow. Feminists find that female’s existence is defined and interpreted by male, the dominant being in society, which means female is subordinate to male, and she is only a secondary or nonexistent player in the major social institutions of her culture. e.g. god-goddess; female-male; woman-man; 奴; 婉 Feminists insist that women are autonomous beings, they should reject the false societal construct that men are the subject while women are the Other, therefore, women must define themselves outside the present social construct and reject being labeled as the Other. The major aim of this period--a woman must break the bonds of her patriarchal society, define herself if she wishes to become a significant human being in society and defy male’s definition. 1.2. Second Stage:1960s---1970s Studying of the female literary history Proponent: Kate Millett 凯特·米利特 Moving from political to literary arena throughout the 1960s and 1970s, feminists in this stage distinguished sex and gender, arguing that women must establish female social