6.9 Elaine Showalter

Elaine Showalter's work revolutionized feminist literary criticism. She introduced gynocriticism, focusing on women writers and female experiences in literature. This approach aimed to uncover a distinct female literary tradition and challenge male-dominated perspectives in literary analysis.

Showalter's theory divides women's writing into three phases: Feminine, Feminist, and Female. She also developed key concepts like double-voiced discourse and the anxiety of authorship, which have shaped how we understand and interpret women's literature.

Elaine Showalter's background

• Elaine Showalter is a pioneering American literary critic, feminist, and writer who has made significant contributions to the field of feminist literary criticism
• Her work has been influential in shaping the discourse around women's literature and the role of gender in literary analysis
• Showalter's theories and concepts have had a lasting impact on the study of literature and continue to be widely studied and applied in the field of literary theory and criticism

Education and career

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• Showalter received her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College and her PhD from the University of California, Davis
• She has held teaching positions at Rutgers University, Princeton University, and Brandeis University, where she is currently Professor Emerita
• Showalter has been a visiting professor at several institutions, including the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford

Major works and publications

• Showalter's major works include "A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing" (1977), "The Female Malady: Women, Madness, and English Culture, 1830-1980" (1985), and "Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siècle" (1990)
• In "A Literature of Their Own," Showalter traces the history of British women writers and argues for the existence of a distinct female literary tradition
• "The Female Malady" explores the cultural and historical links between women and madness, examining how mental illness has been gendered in the 19th and 20th centuries
• "Sexual Anarchy" investigates the cultural and literary representations of gender and sexuality during the late 19th century, a period marked by social and sexual upheaval

Gynocriticism

• Gynocriticism is a term coined by Elaine Showalter to describe a form of feminist literary criticism that focuses on the study of women writers and the representation of female experience in literature
• It is a critical approach that aims to develop a female framework for the analysis of women's literature, taking into account the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which women write

Definition and goals

• Gynocriticism seeks to establish a female literary tradition and to explore the unique qualities and concerns of women's writing
• The goal of gynocriticism is to create a space for the study of women's literature on its own terms, rather than in comparison to male-authored texts
• Gynocritics aim to uncover the ways in which women's writing has been marginalized or excluded from the literary canon and to reassess the value and significance of women's contributions to literature

Contrast vs androcentric criticism

• Gynocriticism stands in contrast to androcentric criticism, which centers on male authors and male-centered perspectives
• While androcentric criticism often treats male experience as universal and dismisses women's writing as inferior or peripheral, gynocriticism asserts the value and specificity of women's literary voices
• Showalter argues that traditional literary criticism has been dominated by male perspectives and has failed to adequately address the unique qualities and concerns of women's writing

Focus on female writers and characters

• Gynocriticism places a strong emphasis on the study of female writers and the representation of female characters in literature
• It seeks to explore the ways in which women writers have depicted female experience, identity, and subjectivity in their works
• Gynocritics examine how women writers have challenged or subverted dominant gender roles and expectations, as well as how they have negotiated the constraints and opportunities of their historical and cultural contexts

Uncovering women's literary tradition

• A central aim of gynocriticism is to uncover and celebrate the rich history of women's literary tradition
• Showalter argues that women writers have often been excluded from the literary canon due to gender bias and that their contributions have been undervalued or overlooked
• Gynocritics work to recover and reinterpret the works of forgotten or marginalized women writers, and to establish a sense of continuity and community among women writers across time and space

Showalter's literary periods

• In "A Literature of Their Own," Showalter proposes a model of the historical development of British women's writing, which she divides into three distinct phases: the Feminine, Feminist, and Female phases
• These phases represent different stages in the evolution of women's literary identity and consciousness, and are characterized by specific themes, styles, and concerns

Feminine phase

• The Feminine phase, which Showalter dates from the 1840s to the 1880s, is characterized by women writers' imitation of dominant male literary models and conventions
• During this phase, women writers often adopted male pseudonyms and wrote in genres that were considered appropriate for women, such as the domestic novel or the sentimental romance
• The Feminine phase is marked by a sense of internalized inferiority and a desire to conform to male standards of literary excellence

Feminist phase

• The Feminist phase, which Showalter dates from the 1880s to the 1920s, is characterized by women writers' rebellion against male literary norms and their assertion of a distinct female literary identity
• During this phase, women writers began to challenge the limitations placed on their artistic and intellectual freedom, and to explore new themes and forms that reflected their own experiences and concerns
• The Feminist phase is marked by a sense of anger, protest, and a desire to subvert patriarchal values and assumptions

Female phase

• The Female phase, which Showalter dates from the 1920s onward, is characterized by women writers' search for a new language and a new aesthetic that can adequately represent female experience and consciousness
• During this phase, women writers began to move beyond the binary opposition of male and female, and to explore the complexities and contradictions of gender identity and sexuality
• The Female phase is marked by a sense of self-discovery, experimentation, and a desire to create a new literary tradition that is grounded in women's own experiences and perspectives

Key concepts in Showalter's theory

• Showalter's theory of gynocriticism introduces several key concepts that have become influential in the field of feminist literary criticism
• These concepts provide a framework for analyzing the ways in which gender shapes literary production, reception, and interpretation

Double-voiced discourse

• Double-voiced discourse refers to the idea that women writers often speak in two voices: one that conforms to dominant male literary conventions, and another that expresses their own female perspective and experience
• Showalter argues that women writers have had to navigate the tension between these two voices, and that their works often contain a subtext of female subversion and resistance
• The concept of double-voiced discourse highlights the ways in which women writers have had to negotiate their identity and agency within a male-dominated literary tradition

Anxiety of authorship

• Anxiety of authorship is a concept that Showalter adapts from Harold Bloom's theory of the "anxiety of influence," which describes the struggle of male writers to overcome the influence of their literary predecessors
• Showalter argues that women writers face a different kind of anxiety, one that stems from their marginalized status within the literary tradition and their fear of being judged as inferior or unoriginal
• The anxiety of authorship can lead women writers to adopt strategies of self-censorship, self-doubt, or self-effacement, and to struggle with issues of authority and legitimacy

Wild zone of women's culture

• The wild zone of women's culture is a metaphor that Showalter uses to describe the space of female experience and creativity that exists outside of male-dominated culture
• Showalter argues that this wild zone is a source of women's power and authenticity, and that it has been largely unexplored or suppressed by patriarchal society
• The concept of the wild zone suggests that women's writing has the potential to challenge and transform dominant cultural norms and values, and to create new forms of expression and knowledge

Female biological experience

• Female biological experience is a central concern of gynocriticism, which seeks to explore the ways in which women's bodily experiences (such as menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth) shape their literary imagination and expression
• Showalter argues that women's biological experiences have often been marginalized or pathologized by male-dominated culture, and that women writers have had to struggle to find a language and a voice for these experiences
• The focus on female biological experience challenges the mind-body dualism that has characterized much of Western thought, and asserts the value and significance of women's embodied knowledge and creativity

Showalter's critical reception

• Showalter's work has had a significant impact on the field of feminist literary criticism, and has helped to establish gynocriticism as a legitimate and valuable approach to the study of literature
• However, her theories have also been the subject of critique and debate, and have raised questions about the nature and limits of feminist criticism

Influence on feminist literary criticism

• Showalter's concept of gynocriticism has been widely adopted and developed by other feminist literary critics, who have used it to analyze the works of women writers from a variety of historical and cultural contexts
• Her ideas about the female literary tradition, the anxiety of authorship, and the wild zone of women's culture have become key reference points in the field of feminist criticism
• Showalter's work has helped to legitimize the study of women's literature as a distinct and valuable area of inquiry, and has encouraged the recovery and reinterpretation of neglected or marginalized women writers

Critiques and limitations of gynocriticism

• Some critics have argued that Showalter's theory of gynocriticism is essentialist, in that it assumes a universal female experience and identity that transcends historical and cultural differences
• Others have questioned the validity of Showalter's literary periodization, arguing that it oversimplifies the complex and diverse history of women's writing
• Some have also criticized Showalter for privileging white, middle-class, heterosexual women writers, and for neglecting the experiences and contributions of women of color, working-class women, and LGBTQ+ women
• These critiques suggest that gynocriticism, while valuable, should be approached with an awareness of its limitations and biases, and should be complemented by other forms of feminist and intersectional analysis

Applications of Showalter's theory

• Despite its limitations, Showalter's theory of gynocriticism has proven to be a valuable tool for analyzing and interpreting women's literature, and has been applied to a wide range of texts and contexts
• Her ideas have helped to shape the way that scholars and readers approach women's writing, and have opened up new avenues for research and interpretation

Analyzing themes in women's literature

• Gynocriticism provides a framework for analyzing the recurring themes and motifs in women's literature, such as the search for identity, the struggle for autonomy, and the negotiation of gender roles and expectations
• By focusing on the ways in which women writers have represented female experience and consciousness, gynocriticism helps to illuminate the unique qualities and concerns of women's literary tradition
• Showalter's theory has been used to analyze the works of a wide range of women writers, from the Brontë sisters and Virginia Woolf to Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood

Reevaluating literary canon

• Gynocriticism has played a crucial role in the reevaluation of the literary canon, which has traditionally been dominated by male writers and male-centered perspectives
• By recovering and reinterpreting the works of forgotten or marginalized women writers, gynocritics have helped to expand and diversify the canon, and to challenge the assumptions and biases that have shaped literary value and significance
• Showalter's work has been particularly influential in this regard, as she has argued for the existence of a distinct female literary tradition that has been largely overlooked or dismissed by male critics and scholars

Intersections with other critical approaches

• While gynocriticism focuses specifically on the study of women's literature and the female literary tradition, it also intersects with other critical approaches, such as feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies
• Showalter's ideas about double-voiced discourse, the anxiety of authorship, and the wild zone of women's culture have been taken up and developed by scholars working in these and other fields
• The insights and methods of gynocriticism can be combined with other forms of critical analysis to provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the ways in which gender, race, class, and sexuality shape literary production and reception
• By bringing gynocriticism into dialogue with other critical approaches, scholars can explore the complex and multifaceted nature of women's literary experiences and contributions