Feminist theory examines the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, or psychological oppression of women in response to the patriarchy. The feminist theory looks at the way women are described, the relationships between men and women and those assuming male and female roles are depicted in the text, including power relations, and the critique of the patriarchy and finding ways in which patriarchy is resisted or could have been resisted.  It could also be noted how one’s own gender influences how one reads and interprets a text, which characters and how the reader identifies depending on the reader’s gender relationships between the literary text and ideas about power and sexuality and gender.

Questions: What does the work reveal about how patriarchy operates? How do other forms of oppression interact with gender How are gender norms reinforced? How does the work attempt to subvert patriarchy? How has reception worked to show patriarchal attitudes? How can the work be part of a women’s literary tradition? or and example of feminine writing in the positive?

Elaine Showalter- one of the first English feminist critics- suggested female writing went through stages: feminine ( imitate) female ( resist) feminist (embrace and celebrate).

Kate Millett–  one of the first to argue that gender is socially constructed- Sex is biological- what parts you have-  gender is social– it is performed, taught and reinforced-  most essential generalizations about men and women (masculinity and femininity) are social, not innate.