Feminism

吴雨馨 陆明轩 付若宁 王思妤 兰其悦 范思远

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 CONTENTS
01 02 03
Introduction Evolution History

04 05 06
The Madwoman in Insight of The Reflections
the Attic Madwoman in the Attic
 01
Introduction
Feminism

Feminist Criticism
What is Feminism ？
 Feminism
Feminism is an ideological and political movement that
seeks equality and equity for women in all aspects,
including social, political, personal, and economic realms.
This movement recognizes that inequalities occur based on
class, gender, physical and mental ability, sex, race, and
sexuality.

—— One of the most significant social and aesthetic revolutions of

mordern times

theory & practice

 Feminist Criticism
Broadly defined feminist criticism examines how
literature and cultural productions reinforce or
undermine the oppresion （压迫） of women.

①marginalization （ 边 缘 化 ） of women in
economic,political social and other aspects
②how women are relegated to secondary position （次要
地位）
 Three Topis in Feminist Criticism
1.Angel vs Siren （妖女） → revolt against patriarchal power
Accepts the traditional gender roles and remains submissive （顺从的）→ Angel
Otherwise → Siren
The Second Sex （ 1949 ）—— De Beauvior
Patriarchal Society （父权社会）
2.Back to Women ： Body Writing
Emphasis on the beauty of the women herself （ body, language, expeirence)

3.The unity of male power and female power （超越性别）

A Room of One's Own—— Virginia Woolf

Androgyny （双性同体论）
 02
The evolution of women’s status
 The Stone Age
● In the Paleolithic Age, both men and
women lived by collecting plants and hunting.
Because women are very precious and play a
role in childbirth, they have a higher status. The
worship of "mother gods" is relatively common,
which can be seen from the large number of
female figurines unearthed in the Stone Age.
● From 5000 BC to 3000 BC, men
played an increasingly important role
in production due to frequent wars,
the use of metal and transportation
tools.

At the same time, the increasing

population, food accumulation, division
of labor and the emergence of animal
husbandry led to the development of
slavery, and women's position in society
declined gradually.
 Comments of Western Scholars
● Plato compared women as containers and men as molds.
Although women can participate in social activities, they are
inferior to men in all aspects.
● Aristotle believed that men were naturally superior to women,
and that men ruled women just as kings ruled subjects.
● Rousseau, known as "the son of nature" and "the son of truth",
believed that women should not participate in public activities and
should not maintain intimate relations with each other. They should
obey men.
 It is generally believed that the
European Renaissance was the
beginning of women's ideological
emancipation. Since then, the
attention of all social strata to
The Renaissance women's issues has continued to
grow, The call to respect individual
rights advocated by the Renaissance
had an important impact on middle-
class women.
 Modernity gradually disintegrated
patriarchy. Factory labor has
strengthened the social
separation between men and
The Industrial Revolution women, and also provided a
basis for women's economic
independence and freedom
from family bondage.
The slogans of freedom,
equality and fraternity
encouraged women's desire for
The French Revolution equality, made them see the
importance of collective
struggle, and learned strategies
to fight for rights.
 03
History
of feminist movements
 INTRODUCTION

Feminist movements are fantastic examples of

praxis- that is, they use critical reflection about
the world to change it.
The first wave
The time of abolitionists and suffragettes
from 1848 to1920
 The first wave
● The convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott signed the Declaration of Sentiments.
● Affirmed women’s equality with men.
● Passed resolutions calling for various specific rights, including
the right to vote.
The second wave
Calling for greater political, economic and cultural
freedom and equality for women.
 The Feminine
Mystique
• It argued that women were
chafing against the confines of
their roles as wives and mothers.
• 3 million copies in three years
Civil rights movement Vietnam War
The civil rights movement was a South Vietnam and the United
struggle for social justice that States fought for the territorial
took place during the 1950s and rights in Vietnam
1960s for Black Americans to
gain rights under the law in the
United states.
The third wave
It is concerning race and gender.
 sexuality & individuality

Sexual harassment in the

workplace

A shortage of women in
positions of power
The forth wave
They continue to grapple with the concept of
intersectionality.
 These waves inform each other, not only in the way that contemporary
feminist work has in many ways been made possible by earlier feminist activism,
but also in the way that contemporary feminist activism informs the way we think
of past feminist activism and feminist activism and feminism.
 04
The Madwoman in
the Attic
The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination
 Iintroduction
The Madwoman in the Attic:
The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination

● Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar

● 16 interconnected essays
● Published in 1979
● A foundational text of feminist literary criticism
● A new interpretation of the relationship between
gender and literature
 Who was the Madwoman?
● Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
● Bertha Mason
● Rochester’s mad wife
● Had always been locked up in the attic

Bertha Mason served as an ominous representation

of uncontrollable passion and madness.
Her dark sensuality and violent nature formed a
sharp contrast with Jane’s calm morality.
However, Bertha’s position as the “Madwoman in
the Attic” also spoke to larger social questions of
femininity and authorship during the Victorian period.
 The Madwoman: Angel or Monster?
Pure, dispassionate, and
Angel submissive; the ideal
female figure in a male-
dominated society.
Female
characters in
male-authored
books Sensual, passionate,
rebellious, and decidedly
Monster uncontrollable: all qualities
that caused a great deal of
anxiety among men during
the Victorian period.
The Madwoman: Angel or Monster?
Did not limit her characterizations to
this strict monster and angel classification.
She is pure, moral, and controlled in her
behavior + extremely passionate,
independent, and courageous.

We women must "kill" the "angel in the house" if

we are to become real writers; likewise, all women
writers must also kill the angel's opposite and double,
the "devil" in the house, because it is this image that
destroys women's identity.

(Virginia Woolf )
 In patriarchal
societies and
traditional
The meaning
literature, writing
of the ItMadwoman
This culture gave
authority to male
was impossible
for women to
was seen as writers, giving
write, either
fundamentally them the power to
male, an extension create, control, and biologically or
of male possess. socially.
reproductive
behavior.

The situation of women writers in the nineteenth century ==> A “madwoman in the
attic”

The image of the "madwoman" also symbolizes They constructed a pattern of opposites:
a subtle and complex literary strategy. Socially acceptable "angels" from the front
Until women were able to establish textual & Secret desires of their own "madwoman"
discourse and literary standards that were free from the back
from male-centered criteria, women writers had To realize the strategy of deconstructing the
to apply male textual models. male-centered literary standard.
06 Reflections on
feminism and its
connection to
reality
Here is where your presentation begins
 presentation ahead

1. the defination of feminism

2. the situation of women in the patriarchal era and the
change of feminist thought
3.the process of its development
4. Introduction to the Mad Woman in the attic and its
important influence
5. The patriarchal literary metaphor in the Mad Woman in
the Attic
 Contemporary
feminism

what changes today

1.The power of the mother-in-law
2.only daughter
3.Women are beginning to work in man-labeled
occupations and masculine clothing
4.marriage and breeding are not duty anymore
the awake of women’s consciousness
 the function of our
predecessor

the nature of this process :

traditional things are being questioned
 What should modern women do to
achieve the fairness
1.solve regular things on women’s own

Every time you solve a problem, your mind is a little more

independent

2.There are still women who have not enjoyed the fruits of
the progress of awareness, who are still living in labels
and chains

spread universal education

 last but not least

To care about women is to care about human groups, and to liberate

women is to liberate men. When we ignore the value of gender label
and realize the value of being a person, we shift from gender
identity to identity.Only then can we achieve a truly fair society.