Feminism

It is stated that feminist literary criticism is one of the major developments in literary studies. In order for us to understand feminist literary criticism and what it has to do with literature, we have to understand its history. Most critics like Simone de Beauvoir, who was the first to reveal the “literary history of women's images and to discuss the dominant stereotyped images of female fictional characters”. Virginia Woolf's novel A Room of One's Own develops and promotes feminist literary critics. This story is very important towards feminist critics. Virginia Woolf argues that the male dominated ideas of society prevents women from “realizing their creativity and true potential”. A Feminist literary critic mostly focuses on “how literature has represented women and relationships between women and men” Most critics pay close attention to how women have been denied “a voice of their own”

The text book states that “Feminist Criticism can be divided into two distinct varieties.” The first is “Woman as reader”. The second type is “Woman as writer”. Elaine Showalter describes the first type as being “Feminist critique”. She also describes these types as “Gynocritics”. The text states that Gynocritics “begins at a point when we free our selves from the linear absolutes of male literary history, stop trying to fit women between the lines of the male tradition, and focus instead on the newly visible world of female culture”. These words are spoken from a true feminist who believes in these ideas, and who argues about these ideas. The text also states that Gynocritics is also related “to feminist research in history”, and other types of history as well.