Page 266 - DENG501_LITERARY_CRITICISM_AND_THEORIES

Literary Criticism and Theories

Notes universe is indeterminate. Psychoanalytic criticism focuses on the word of Freud, and the concept
of the unconscious. The textual content is both conscious and unconscious and the critique involves
the uncovering or decoding of the two. Additionally, Freudian psychoanalysis identifies repression
and sublimation, two unconscious processes that involve the struggle with identity. Gynocriticism,
examines the female struggle for identity and the social construct of gender. If gender is inherently
constructed from an ideology, then that ideology is by nature, indeterminate and fluid, susceptible
to the analysis of differences. According to Elaine Showalter, gynocriticism is the study of not only
the female as a gender status but also the 'internalized consciousness' of the female. The uncovering
of the female subculture and exposition of a female model is the intention of gynocriticism.
According to Showalter, literary history has seen three distinct phases of gynocriticism. Until the
twentieth century, the female literature tradition was constructed of images and values of the
idealized 'feminine', constructed from the patriarchal oppression that sought to identify the woman
as "other". During the twentieth century, the 'feminist' movement saw a reaction to the patriarchy
of previous times and protested the ideology of the feminine. The most recent development is the
'female' criticism, where a female identity is sought free from the masculine definitions and
oppositions. The recognition of a distinct female canon and the development of the 'female reader'
are fundamental aspects of gynocriticism.
23.2 Gynocriticism and Psychology

Gynocriticism arose as a feminist critique as a result of the Freudian psychoanalytic perspective of
the female inadequacy. According to Freudian psychology, the female possesses a psychological
deficiency in the lack of male anatomy and as a result suffers envy and feelings of inadequacy and
injustice combined with feelings of intellectual inferiority. However it is not just the physical
female inadequacy that led to the inception of gynocriticism. The prejudice against the female,
incites a specific noesis that becomes attributed to the female. Psychologist Karen Horney theorised
that the ideal of woman is not necessarily innate to her sex but that the patriarchal pressures and
cultural influence compel her to behave in conformity with the image. This prejudice has concealed
the female literary tradition to the point of imitating the masculine.

The male 'phallic prejudice' itself, creates a female consciousness that demands a
critique of the female perspective.

23.3 Flaws as a Critique

However gynocriticism aims to uncover a female psyche, it frequently fails to encompass the
female as a whole. Often critics critique the feminist literature to the exclusion of other considerations
such as race, class, social interest, political inclination, religion and sexuality. According to Friedman,
the self 'is not singular, it is multiple'. Identity is not constructed of gender alone. The female
encompasses other attributes such as race, class, sexuality etc. that are all subject to different
positions of oppression and are in fact, related. The separation of these properties would create a
one dimensional view of the female. However if gender and identity are merely constructs then it
becomes difficult to assign any inherent qualities of nature or language by which to critique.
23.4 The Future of Gynocriticism

Gynocriticism is a literary theory that is relatively new and continues to evolve. Until the patriarchal
ideology of the female is resolved and gender inequality and social subjugation are neutralised,
then it remains necessary to review and examine the female literary canon. Indeed, even when
gender inequality is no longer an issue, interrogation of 'female' literature will remain valuable, as
it is the study of sameness and difference in gender that delineates the 'female' literary theory.

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