Feminism-in-English-Literature

FeminisminEnglishLiterature学院：遥感信息工程学院姓名：王纪飞学号：20163025901151.IntroductionIncontemporarysociety,Feminismisviewedasadiversecollectionofsocialmovementsmotivatedbyfeministswhotrytoseektoestablisheducationalandprofessionalopportunitiesforwomenthatareequaltosuchopportunitiesformen.However,feminisminEnglishliteraturelargelyfocusesonlimitingoreradicatinggenderinequalityandpromotingwomen'srights,interests,andissuesinsocietythroughalltypesofliteraryworks.2.Theevolutionoffeminisminenglishliteraryfield2.1TheoriginsoffeministmovementinenglishliteratureInconcerntoliterature,thefeministmovementisaimedatwipingoutthegenderdiscriminationthatthefemalewriters’contributionsinliteraturearelesssignificantthanthatofmalewritersaswellasthelimitationsettotheauthorshipoffemalewriters.InEnglishliteratureworld,thefeminismoriginscandatebacktosixteenthcenturywhenJaneAnge-thefirstwomantopublishafull-lengthdefenseofhergenderinEnglish,publishedthepamphletJaneAngerProtectionforWomeninwhichshemakesseriousclaimsregardingfemale’sauthorshipatthattimewhenit’srareforwomentoargueagainstmalesupremacy.2.2Thedevelopmentoffeminismin20thcenturyFollowingthetremendousreformofcommunity,theevolutionoffeminismkeepspacewithsocialtransformation.Thenumberofpublishedwomenauthorswasgreaterinthenineteenthcenturythaninanyprecedingcentury.Women'saccesstohighereducationincreasedexponentiallyduringthecentury,providingthemwithskillsthattheycouldusetodeveloptheirart.Asthecenturyprogressed,anincreasingnumberofwomenbegantoexpress,intheirwriting,theirdissatisfactionwithgenderrelationsandtheplightofwomeningeneral.ThroughouttheVictorianera,the‘womanquestion’regardingwoman'strueplaceinartandsocietywasasubjectthatwashotlydebated,spurredinlargepartbytherapidriseinliteraturebyandforwomen.Theconditionofwomeninsociety,ingeneral,gotexpressionthroughthesituationsfacedbyfictionalfemalecharactersandtheirresponsestothesesituations.AsJaneAustenaddressedwomen'srestrictedlivesinherfamousworkSenseandSensibility(1811),PrideandPrejudice(1813),MansfieldPark(1814)andEmmaintheearlypartofthecentury,Brontësistersalsodepictedwomen'smiseryandfrustrationintheirnovels.Thewell-knowndictuminJaneEyre‘itismyspiritthataddressesyourspirit;justasifbothhadpassedthroughthegrave,andwestoodatGod'sfeet,equal,-asweare!,’showsthattheeageranddeterminationtoaskforgenderequalityinsociety，thefreedomandrightsforwomentomakedecisionsfortheirlove,lifeanddestiny.Inthelate20thcentury,thedevelopmentoffeminismcanbedevidedintothreestages.Inthecourseofthefirstwave,feminismatthistimeconcernedmainlytothetreatmentofwomenatthehandsofmalemembersofthesociety.Themajorworksthatraisedtheissuesoffeminismduringthisphaseinclude-MaryEllman’sThinkingaboutWomen(1968),KateMillet’sSexualPolitics(1969)andGermaineGreer’sTheFemaleEunuch(1970).Anumberofprominentworksofthepastwerealsoanalyzedduringthisstagesoastostudytheattitudeofmalemembersofsociety,ingeneral,tothefemaleones.VirginiaWoolf,oneremarkablefigureoffeministcriticsinEnglishliteraryworld,publishedbook-lengthessayARoomofOne'sOwn(1929),withitsdictum,Awomanmusthavemoneyandaroomofherownifsheistowritefiction.Seenasafeministtext,theessayisnotedinitsargumentforbothaliteralandfigurativespaceforwomenwriterswithinaliterarytraditiondominatedbymen.Inthe1970s,thesecondwaveoffeminism,alsoknownas‘Gynocriticism’,inliteratureaswellasotherwise,beganasanexpressionofdissatisfactionregardingtheattitudeofthesocietytowardstheidentityandrightsofwomen.However,slowly,itevolvedtoempowerwomentomakeherfinancially,sociallyandpsychologicallyindependent.Inthefieldofliterature,themostimportantaspectofthisphaseistobreakandreformthefemaleliterarytradition.Thefeminismevolvedtofinallyenablethefemalewriterstobefreefromtheinfluenceofmalewritersaswellasthesocialnormsthatsuggesteddifferentstandardsformaleandfemale.‘TheMadwomanThesis’givenprominencebySandraGilbertandSusanGubar’s‘TheMadwomanintheAttic’(1979)alsoformsanimportantideaconcernedtofeminism.Itsuggeststhatsincewomenarenotgivenachancebythesocietytoexpresstheircreativity,theirfrustrationleadsthemtobehaveinpsychologicallyimbalancedanddissidentmanner.2.3ThesignificanceofadvocatingfeminisminmodernsocietyThefeminisminEnglishliteraturestillevolvesastimepassby,bothfemaleandmalewritersaredevotedtopublishfictionsorpoetrytospeakforwomen,moreinfluentialworksofferspeoplethechancetogetabetterunderstandingoffeminismaroundtheworldandurgethemtorealizetheimportanceofgivingathoroughreflectionoverthecurrentsituationsofwomenandgirl.Thegenderdiscriminationisnoteliminatedyet.Theliteraryworkstillmaintaingreatpowertochangethepresentsituation.In2016,EmmaWatsonlaunchedanactivitytohidebooksonthetube,tryingtoappealmorepeopletoputattentionontheequalrightsforwomen.Itisstillalongwayforhumantoreachthecompleteequalitytomaketheworldaplacewithoutgenderdiscrimination,familyabuseandexploitationoflabor,sothemovementwillnevergooutoffashion.3.ConclusionInconclusion,I’dliketoquotethespeechEmmamadeattheUNcongress,‘TheFeminismisnotheretodictatetoyou.It’snotprescriptive,it’snotdogmatic.Allweareheretodoistogiveyouacho