Suppression of Feminist Writers among Male Dominance in Literature - Term Paper Example

Suppression of Feminist Writers among Male Dominance in Literature Introduction: “Feminist criticism” comes in various forms with different attitudes. Some are interested in pondering the works of “women writers overlooked by a masculine-dominated culture” (f.researchspectrumindia.com/Pdf/RS/August.../12%20mujahid.pdf ) Whereas others are mostly inclined to analyze pieces of literature fabricated by men that have been written from the perspective of women, thereby giving a glimpse of how women’s attitudes and perspectives have been shaped over time. Ever since women have set foot in the realm of literature, they have strived to create a feminine gender concept, which shows their independence from being suppressed in the patriarchal society. Contemporary female writers have alike taken this aim further and played a monumental role, in influencing the way the world perceives women, through their literature pieces including autobiographies, stories portraying role of women in the post-colonial etc. Furthermore, how women have been portrayed in popular media as well as films have further shaped the attitude and perception of the male dominated society towards females. However, it was not until recently that women started to have unified perceptions about their feminism, as during the earlier times, their feminist thoughts varied from region to region, thus reflecting thoughts and perceptions of their native country. This is evidenced by the literary works of feminist authors during the “1970s and early 1980s,” which showed the difference in thoughts and perspectives of writers belonging to France, America, Britain etc, thereby showing the impact of country of origin on their thoughts (f.researchspectrumindia.com/Pdf/RS/August.../12%20mujahid.pdf). History of literary tradition imparts some precursors to feminists: An overview Contemporary feminists have criticized the major images of “literary tradition” offered to woman through characters such as “Angel” in case of sweet Snow White and “monster” or evil in case of the “fierce mad Queen” (Add the respective reference here). Several literary theorists belonging to various eras have explored the psychology of literary history, thus making in depth analysis of the feminine concept. Such theorists have argued that when such writers come and adjust with their predecessors and inherit traditional style or techniques from forefathers, anxieties, hostility and inadequacies ensue as a result (primary source) One of the founders of feminist critics in America, Elaine Showalter did some research on feminist writing and termed the process as “gynocriticism” (reference). Showalter further argues about the role of woman writing in the “patriarchal” society and questions about the importance of it. Woman writers write their own literature that reflects their ideas, thoughts, perceptions, beliefs etc, which creates an “intellectual fermentation” throughout the humanities to establish gender. Such criticism focuses on standing against the male dominant literature. (downesonpress.princeton.edu/about.../6hShowalter.pdf). While applying Freudian structures to literary genealogies, in his literary psychohistory, Harold Bloom argues that literary history arises from an individual’s “anxiety of influence,” where the he or she possesses some dreadful thought, thus he is not the creator of his own work but that of the predecessors. Bloom’s paradigm of this relation is similar to the relation of a father and a son as Freud defines it. Bloom postulates that a strong poet creates fight between his precursor, though he struggles in his oedipal status. He compares Milton’s ‘Masculine Satan” as a poet and the poetic process is sexual encounter between a poet and a female muse. He questions “where does this women poet fit in?” “What sex in it?” Bloom’s literary history has always been identified as sexist towards feminist writers (ref 3). A feminist theorist, Juliet Mitchess, asserts, “Psychoanalysis is not a recommendation for a patriarchal society, but an analysis of one,” and this same analysis was given by Bloom when he said that it is an analysis of patriarchal poetics (reference). Therefore his historical constructivity enhances and helps to distinguish between the female writers’ anxiety from male writers (4). Doris Lessing's work 'To Room Nineteen,' where Susan and Matthew Rawlings are married, but later on the former gets “anxious and distant,” thereby pulling away from her husband, who has started to be involved in affairs (reference). When asked the question “where does a woman writer fit in,” here she rather seems to be alienable and indefinable but according to Freaud’s theories of psychosexual development, there is no difference between a boy child and a girl child in their physical growth. Therefore Freud balances the concepts with ‘Oedipus complex’ and ‘Electra complex.’ So it becomes quite clear that female writers do not experience the “anxiety of influence” as defined in the ‘patriarchal model.’ Male precursors symbolize the authority of female writers, whereas females use their experiences in order to build their identity as a writer. This anxiety of influence, which a male poet experiences is also felt by a female poet under the precursor of the male domination, therefore, her writing may isolate her (reference 5). The theory of psychosexual development, which was developed by Freud, has for women, both a boy and a girl, “as they learn to speak and live within society, want to take the father’s [in Bloom’s terminology the precursor’s] place,” and the boy is allowed to do so in the future, whereas the female is forbidden this role (reference). Furthermore, it is believed that both genders are born as a result of the desire of the mother, and, it is “through cultural heritage,” that the mother wants a phallus-turned-baby, while both children seek to be the “phallus for the mother” (reference). However, only the boy is capable of completely understanding the desires of his mother. Therefore, both gender roles repudiate the implications of femininity, and the “battle against this male power is not against that precursors but how he evaluates the female’s writing, a struggle for existence in her literary world, an act of survival” (6). Fathers of patriarchy were handed down to each coming generation with one woman to all descendants. Before the twentieth century, it was seen that patriarchy spread like wildfire. Most of the foremothers struggled in isolation, illness, anxiety as well as madness. The events of Susan’s life in “Room no Nineteen” shows how she her resentment towards life and her husband keep growing and by the end of the second part, she becomes impatient and angry” (Lessing). Intelligence forbids tears when Susan spends her days in the garden without her husband and children, however, Susan’s life takes the road to despair and frustration when she locks herself in bathroom. To get some time alone to herself, she rents a room in a hotel each afternoon, where she can simply sit and think about all the things related to her. Susan’s husband begins to suspect her of having an affair and thereby confronts her regarding the issue. However, instead of saying the truth, Susan resorts to agreeing that she has an affair as she believes that his “rational world” will not recognize her “irrational feelings” (reference). While in reality Lessing does not associate herself with using any traditional concept or any movement or label as such, one can see how committed and determined she is regarding women’s liberation as well as the identity search journey that females embark on. This identity search further is not merely confined to a sense of collective identity, but rather individual identity, which each female has of her own, and has to struggle in order to find it in the limited existence she is provided with. Thus extensively throughout her literary works, the author digs deep into female’s uncovered and hidden private experiences as well as their “departure from the unsatisfactory reality of life” in a society which in itself is alienated as well as one which alienates them (reference text). Mitchell and others claim that it is ridiculous to associate a woman artist with Electra complex that matches with Oedipal structure. Mitchell thus explores the inferiority stricken and alternative psychology of women under a patriarchal society. Mitchell argues that the loneliness of the female artist from their male counterpart, their dreadful thoughts of the antagonist, preference of sisterly precursors, her sense of thought about female audience, her anxiety all reaches her inferiority complex, which channelize her efforts into self creation as opposed to their male counterpart (reference 7). Elaine showalter notices three kinds of feminism, namely, rational feminism, radical feminism as well as liberal feminism. She proclaims in that in rational feminism men and woman are equal. Thus, they are equal in their quality and both of them stand in the society to conform and live according to their political and social values. Feminist criticism stands tall to raise questions against the “long-standing, dominant, male, phallocentric ideologies, patriarchal attitudes and male interpretations in literature” (reference). It thus is against various notions of value held by males in literature, and it fights against such notions by criticizing male writers as well as the representation of male characters in literature, thereby privileging females over male. Furthermore, feminist writers have also criticized the general notions of society towards the women, that is, the way which they are supposed to think and feel, the way they are supposed to act etc. Therefore, through the due course of such criticism the various prejudices as well as assumptions made by different male writers throughout history are questioned and analyzed. Furthermore, a very elemental finding of feminist criticism can be seen as the never ending tradition adopted by literature to constantly disguise the work done by women as well as mask the actual perceptions of women under that of males. Furthermore, another fact is that the feminist critics basically believe and support that literature, be it of any kind, has always sought to misrepresent females and their roles throughout history. Thus, through feminism, women have stood against the patriarchal society that has long been suppressing them and furthermore, they have made it clear that they would no longer continue being treated as inferior beings. Almost all feminists would agree that the culture followed in America, or basically the western culture, is one which is deep rooted in patriarchal beliefs and traditions. Thus, it is of no wonder that the society has long since been not only supporting men and their perceptions but also enforcing them on females and the society as a whole. Therefore, feminist critics have revealed the imbalance in power of the two genders and have linked this imbalance with difference in gender perceptions in any given culture, as they are of the view that it is these perceptions, which is reflected primarily through the various literary texts. Females in reality are not inferior to men, but the domination imposed by men since long ago is the main reason for female submissiveness to males (wwwwww.ux1.eiu.edu/~rlbeebe/what_is_feminist_criticis) Emily Dickenson’s about “Infection in the sentence” shows a special place of literary work of woman writers. Female writers seem to be sick of despair about the autonomy and authority of patriarchal society. This traditional anxiety of foremothers is infectious to the descended female writers. Contemporary woman writers are, however, free from this fear, and one of the American poets Gottelib claims, “infection in the sentence breeds” seeking motherly precursors (reference). Dickinson explores words about her own mother to show the female power “I never had a mother”that“ I always ran Home to Awe as a child. ... He was an awful Mother but I liked him better than none,” and that “a mother [was] a miracle (reference). It is to be said that any woman in the society can be labeled as monster if she does not behave like an ideal angel. This patriarchal socialization creates hysteria, the word which Freud adopted from Greek and that means ‘ womb.’ So throughout the nineteenth century, mental illness and other diseases that women suffered were thought to be carried throughout the reproductive system. Woman suffers from ‘agoraphobia ’a fear of open or public place, especially middle aged woman are the victims of this. These are all due to the patriarchal socialization.’ However, a cult of female individualism’ has surfaced in England and America. This illness of woman is not just from fear but the literal sickness until death. Even if the writer is a passive angel or active monster, she is crippled literally and her sick condition breeds a sentence of death that she inherits from foremother (reference 12) On the other hand, Simon de Beauvoir’s book ‘The Second Sex’ (1949) as well as ‘The Female Eunuch’ written by Germaine Greer have played a monumental role in the feminist movement. John Charvet argues that the problem is not with the fact that women should not participate with men in social liberation but that women should try to win her existence forgetting about the past dominance that she suffered. Charvet further asserts that feminism explores five aspects, namely, “woman with marriage, woman as mother, woman as wife, the meaning of sex and woman viewing another woman” (Downesonpress.princeton.edu/about.../6hShowalter.pdf). Feminism merely focuses on a philosophy that discovers and changes the subtle reason of women’s suppression. Virginia Woolf remarks that the usage of the term patriarchal society has rendered in prevention of her creativity and productive work. ((f.researchspectrumindia.com/Pdf/RS/August.../12%20mujahid.pdf ) Conclusion Contemporary women writers lack the struggle of those suffered by the nineteenth century foremothers. Attributes of male counterpart about the anxiety of influence and precursors they treat as the precursors of sisters have been seen. Even the sentence breeds they have evaluated as the motherly precursors. However the struggle of survival, alienation and suppression due to the male dominant authority harmfully affects the feminine literature. Moreover, it is seen that sexist attributes of some male writers, the humiliation about their own identity and creativity further alienates the women writers. Works Cited Lessing, Doris. “To Room Ninteen.” Free Book Notes. 2014. Web. 09th May, 2014. Read More