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Laugh Of The Medusa Analysis

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Furthermore, the relationship between language and sexuality is explored in both Cixous and Rich’s works. Whenever it comes to describing the female, the marginalized, the language associated is always negative. The expression of the female body and sexuality in writing is a point that Cixous highlights as vital. In her poems and essays, Rich writes from her own personal bodily experience. Cixous believes that doing so is a form of liberation. Therefore, Rich liberates herself through her writing. What does Helene Cixous mean by the title of her essay “Laugh of the Medusa”? Looking back at Greek Mythology, Medusa was a horrendous monster with snakes for hair and a stone cold glare. According to the myth, she was so atrocious that one simple look at her would turn a man into stone. Medusa represents the way women are viewed by men. They are “too dark to be explored”, like Medusa. Even after Perseus son of Zeus beheaded her, Medusa still managed to possess wicked powers (Farmer, 2001). Therefore, the idea of women throughout history has always been negative. As a result of their dark history, women have always been degraded and pushed to the side by men. What Cixous meant by the title of her essay is that women should let out the laughs that men have suppressed for so long, the laughs that have been silenced due to patriarchal ideology. Cixous’s intention is to liberate those who are not in favor, those who are marginalized and overlooked, those placed under the category of

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