Gynocriticism is the historical study of women writers as a
distinct literary tradition. Elaine Showalter coined the term in her
essay Toward a Feminist Poetics. It refers to a criticism that
constructs,
A
female framework for the analysis of women’s literature to develop new models
based on the study of female experience, rather than to adopt male models and
theories.
Gynocriticism is the study of feminist literature written by
female writers inclusive of the interrogation of female authorship, images, the
feminine experience and ideology and the history and development of the female
literary tradition.
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 20th cen. 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.
The work of gynocriticism has been criticised by recent
feminist for being essentialist. Its main problem is that it sees only one
relationship between women’s writing and men’s writing; that which is adverbial
or hostile. It is restricted to offering a narrative of suffering in which
women are seen always only as victims. Gynocritic writers could have
beautifully and boldly depicted the term as a weapon against the agenda of
patriarchy. But, they lost that. 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.
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