Feminism
As the word might indicate, feminism is a movement that focuses on women's experiences and their struggle for rights and equality. The movement encompasses various ideologies and foci which are tied together by the common goal of supporting women. In literary theory, there have been three waves of feminism, spearheaded by the works of Mary Wollstonecraft (first wave), Simone de Beauvoir (second wave), and Alice Walker (third wave). Feminist readings of literature focus on how women are portrayed and how these portrayals represent or contradict the social norms that govern the world of the work. For example, feminist critiques of The Great Gatsby note that there are very few female characters, and they are all portrayed as vain, vacuous, ambitious, and cold/calculating within their stereotypical roles--which is in direct contrast with the liberation of women in dress and behavior that was happening during that time period.
As the word might indicate, feminism is a movement that focuses on women's experiences and their struggle for rights and equality. The movement encompasses various ideologies and foci which are tied together by the common goal of supporting women. In literary theory, there have been three waves of feminism, spearheaded by the works of Mary Wollstonecraft (first wave), Simone de Beauvoir (second wave), and Alice Walker (third wave). Feminist readings of literature focus on how women are portrayed and how these portrayals represent or contradict the social norms that govern the world of the work. For example, feminist critiques of The Great Gatsby note that there are very few female characters, and they are all portrayed as vain, vacuous, ambitious, and cold/calculating within their stereotypical roles--which is in direct contrast with the liberation of women in dress and behavior that was happening during that time period.