FEMINIST THEORY

 The idea is that patriarchal Western society subsumes the role of women with the use of language constructs and representations of society based on male viewpoints.

Socioeconomic, experiential, and cultural differences do not lend themselves to a universal female ideology and, as such, should not be the basis for understanding any piece of literature.

New language is needed to express feminist viewpoints.

Renders patriarchal hierarchies and ideologies impotent in literature.

Began in opposition to male critical theory

Tended to follow the patriarchal formula

In “A Room of One’s Own”, Virginia Woolf posited a hypothetical sister to Shakespeare, who, given the same conditions, would write works as good as Shakespeare’s.

More recent feminist critics have posited a female voice that fundamentally differs from the male voice and which does not seek the validation of male theory.