Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements, theories and philosophies which are concerned with the issue of gender difference; it also advocates equality for women and campaigns for women’s rights and interests. Feminist theory is associated with the analysis and explanation of women’s subordinate social situation. It seeks to analyze the condition which shapes women’s lives and to explore cultural perception of what it means to be a woman. In the early twentieth century there were some important feminist thinkers: Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86) and Betty Friedan (1921-2006). Like them Rokeya also appeared as a strong voice of feminism.
Feminism as an ideology should be understood and appreciated as a pioneering movement that has pushed the boundaries of what should and should not be discussed in the political arena. All Feminist traditions are united in their fight towards the equality of the sexes but differ on what they believe needs to change within society. Some areas focus more on legal matters, namely: Liberal feminists, whereas other areas of feminism place a larger focus on social inequalities. This essay will discuss whether feminism is defined by 'the personal is the political ' or not. Liberal Feminism developed as a subculture of Liberalism that was particularly prominent in the late 1800s and early 1900s when women were campaigning for the right to vote.
Hence, Herein lays the close connection between feminism and postmodernism. Thus, Postmodernism indicates the wide horizon opening up for exploration from feminist perspective. A perusal of this is bound to open up new vistas of appreciation and understanding. In Addition to, women writers assert that a Feminist theory should be explicitly historical, attuned to the cultural specificity of different societies and periods and to different groups within societies and periods. They wish to analyse the workings of patriarchy in all its manifestations, desire to think in terms of pluralities and diversities rather than unities and universals and articulate ways of thinking about gender without simply reversing the old hierarchies or confirming them.
A Feminist Critique on Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus Feminism is the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes as well as the movement organized around this belief. (The American Heritage Dictionary). Feminist literary criticism is a literary movement which was enlightened by the feminist theory or the political movement of feminism, it uses feminist ideologies and principles as a tool to critique literature. Feminist criticism is broader and does not only focus on literature. It was a product of the second wave of feminism, which was in 1960s Peter Barry, Beginning Theory An Introduction To Literary And Cultural Theory, third edition, Manchester University Press, P. 116) .
Feminism in its broad sense is a movement that aims at establishing and achieving equal political, economic, cultural and social rights for women. It believes that both men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Feminists call for the right of women to receive education, to have equal opportunities in work as well as equal pay. Additionally, they believe that women should be self- determined and have the right to vote. Feminism actually emerged as a reaction against the unjust treatment and subjugation of women; it aims at the emancipation of women from all forms of oppression.
As a socially conscious writer, De attempts to bring these erring women back into the orbit of socially sanctified morality. Keywords : Lesbianism, psychopaths , harmonious existence , familial bonding, institution of marriage, freedom . Female Resistance against Repression in Shobha De’s Strange Obsession Introduction Shobha De, a renowned and a prolific living writer projects her social vision through affirmation of the feminine self. She predominantly deals with the lives of the upper class society and examines the institution of family and marriage. She opines in Shooting from the Hip: “The whole question of the position of females in
Having tried her hand in novels and short stories and being successful, she has also written one feminist play We Are So Different Now (2009) published in 2011. Shauna Singh Baldwin's engrossment in the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata the "Quintessential dark heroine of Indian mythology" ( An epic retelling: Akila Kannadasan. Web source) seems to be evoked due to her unconventional life full of vicissitudes. The predicament of Draupadi's life in Mahabharata attracts the attention of any writer and Shauna Singh Baldwin is no exception in this regard. Biljana Doric - Francuski, in her article " Woman as Godess or Woman as Victim?
A woman in this nоvel is introduced to the reader in various ways. Emily Bronte describes a female both in positive and negative lights. Due to these pоrtraits the author transfers her own ideas and thoughts about the position of women in society. The novel «Wuthering Heights» is thought to be an example оf feminist literature as it discovers the woman`s world .Feminism is usually defined as a political movement for woman`s freedom which took place in 1960s in Eurоpe and America. During this period the language was one the main issues for discussion.
Indian writers have started to depict both the diversity of women and the diversity within each woman, rather than limiting the lives of women to one ideal. Modern literature emerges with a whole range of attitudes towards the imposition of tradition, some offering an analysis of the family structure and the caste system as the key elements of patriarchal social organization. Some works also reinterpret mythology by using new symbols and subverting the canonic versions pertaining to gender issues. In conclusion, modern Indian literature has gender dynamics in making society aware of women’s demands, and creating a pedestal to etch their self-expression. 1.0.Introduction Women writers have created an insignia to express their position to the world through their works.
They tried to create the consciousness about the basic rights of women in society. The first chapter illustrates the major women novelists and their portrayal of women in the male dominated society. The women novelists like Kamala Markandey, Ruth Praver Jhabvala, Nayantara Sehgal, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Mrudula Garg, Shoba De, Manju Kapur etc. have surveyed to illustrate the plight of women in a male dominated society.