Feminism: Theory, Criticism, Analysis

This book is organized around three approaches towards understanding feminism-theoretical tenets, literary criticism, and applications. Beginning with an account of the nature of feminist ideology, the book proceeds to examine the complexities of feminist thought and the major concerns of feminist theory. This brings into close focus the issues of the otherness and marginality of woman, the essentialist/constructionist binarism in feminist theory, the relational and individualistic aspects of feminist thought, and the spurt in feminist thought and theory in the wake of poststructuralist theories. The critique ultimately centers on the question-is woman born or made? Feminist literary criticism, as outlined in the book, has developed as a component of the women’s movement and its impact ha brought about a revolution in literary studies. It has opened up altogether new perspectives and provided refreshing and insightful strategies in reading and responding to literary texts. This study offers an analysis of the selected works of Norman Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood and Margaret Drabble form this perspective. The newly emerging dimensions of feminism have also been discussed in the context of the politics of post-colonial culture.