Pluralism and The Feminist Critique: Feminist Criticism, Is in Wilderness

Feminist criticism, is in wilderness.
The essay by Elaine Showalter is an attempt to study the field of literary criticism from the
feminist point of view. Showalter has tried to study the various aspects of feminist criticism while
also pointing out the aims it should be trying to attain, the problems it faces and the reasons for
these problems.
The essay considers the fact that like feminist creative writers, feminist critics also face certain
obstacles which have got highlighted after the rise of feminism. Showalter has tried to analyze in
detail the belief that feminist criticism is in wilderness, which means, feminist critics are not
capable enough to produce coherent speculations.
1. Pluralism and the Feminist Critique

Showalter begins this essay by pointing out a dialogue by Carolyn Heilbrun and Catherine
Stimpson. They had pointed out that two poles were identifiable in feminist literary criticism-
one concentrating on the errors of the past and the other focus on the beauty of imagination.
Both these aspects contribute in removing the effects of ‘female servitude’ that has existed in the
society since ages. She also quotes Matthew Arnold to state that criticism, as a process, has to
pass through a stage of wilderness to reach at the desired standards. Then, taking support from
Geoffrey Hartman’s quote, she forwards the belief that all criticism, and not only feminist
criticism, is in wilderness. Analyzing one of the reasons for this, so called, wilderness in feminist
criticism, she clarifies that the reason is lack of an exclusive theoretical framework for feminist
criticism. It is always seen in association with some other strategy and, therefore, fails to work
consistently. For instance, feminist critics supporting Marxism treat feminist criticism differently
than those opposing racism.
An early obstacle in establishment of the above mentioned theoretical framework was the
inability of many women to respond to the demand of openness required for the success of
feminist criticism. In some aspects of society, women had been locked out and in some others
they had been locked in. they were not allowed to participate in some aspects of social interaction
and forced to participate in some others. Thus, some believed feminism to be equivalent to
opposition to the establish canons.
Showalter says that what seemed to be ‘a theoretical impasse’ was actually an

evolutionary phase. During this stage, feminist criticism moved on from the stage of
awakening to the stage marked by ‘anxiety about the isolation of feminist criticism
from a critical community’. The definition of feminist criticism with reference to
other feminist theories has been a serious debate and feminist critics have been
unable to address this issue. They fail to understand the need to think beyond their
own beliefs as well and to communicate with the systems they wish to change.
Although feminist critics have communicated with these systems but the
communication has been unclear being based entirely on the media of feminist
critics.
There are two modes of feminist criticism. Showalter calls the first one ‘feminist
reading’ or ‘feminist critique’. It is concerned to the reading of texts to understand
the image of woman in literature and to work out the beliefs and stereotypes
concerned to woman highlighted and publicized by literary texts. This is a mode of
interpretation and has been quite influential in decoding the relationship of women
to literature.
Showalter points out that feminist criticism is revisionist being dependent on male
creative theory, i.e. the creative works and interpretations produced on the basis of
male experience. Feminist critics try to analyze and respond to male creative theory.
This need to be changed to achieve feminist criticism that is ‘women centred,
independent and intellectually coherent’.
2. Defining the Feminine: Gynocritics and the

Woman’s Text
It is well accepted that a woman’s writing would always be feminine but defining
‘feminine’ has always been a problem. The second mode of feminist criticism
concentrates on this definition. It analyzes women as writers. It undertakes the study
of ‘history, styles, themes, genres, and structures of writing by women’. It also studies
in details the various aspects of female creativity and female literary tradition.
Showalter has coined the term ‘gynocritics’ for the ‘specialized critical discourse’ that
uses women’s writings as its exclusive subject. However, identifying the unique
elements of women’s writings is again a problem. French Feminist Criticism has
identified the influence of female body on female language and texts. However, the
issue has been approached towards differently in different countries. Four basic
models of difference are being used most commonly-biological, linguistic,
psychoanalytic and cultural. Each of these models is like a school of gynocentric
feminist criticism and has its own preferences for texts, methods and beliefs.
3. Women’s Writing and Woman’s Body

It is one of the clearest statements of gender difference. Theories like that of better
developed frontal lobes in case of males and of the use of 20 percent of creative
energy for physiological functions in case of women have been used in the past to
advocate the superiority of men over women. Many critics have associated the act of
creation of text to the generative process which only male used to be considered
capable of undertaking. The metaphor of literary paternity used to be associated to
penis and, thus, to male. Showalter, however, associates it to womb comparing
literary creativity to childbirth. The level and implication of the mention of anatomy
in text by male and female writers, respectively, has also been different. However,
study of biological imagery in women’s writings could be helpful only when other
factors affecting them are also kept in mind.
4. Women’s Writing and Women’s Language

This concept analyzes if men and women use language differently while creating
texts. It studies if factors like biology, social preferences and cultural beliefs could
affect the language of a gender. It also considers the concept of ‘the oppressor’s
language’, the use of language by men to dominate women. For woman, the popular
language could be like a foreign language which she is unable to be comfortable with.
So, there is a call for development of separate feminine language. However, the irony
is that even in communities where women are believed to have developed a separate
language, their language is marked by secrecy.
The differences in male and female speech in terms of ‘speech, intonation and
language use’ are the most obvious examples of difference in man’s and woman’s
language. Feminist criticism should, most importantly, work for providing women an
access to language so that a wide range of words is available to them. Language is
sufficient enough to give expression to women’s consciousness only if she is not
denied access to all the resources of language.
5. Women’s Writing and Woman’s Psyche

This aspect deals with the connection between author’s psyche and creative process
in general. The difference in creative process in case of a male and a female is then
studied on the basis of this connection. Various psychological theories have
suggested that female is inferior in terms of creative capabilities. Critics have been
trying to establish new principles of feminist psychoanalysis which would try to
differentiate gender identities rather than following Freudian theories. Certain
common emotional dimensions could be identified in texts of women writers
belonging to different countries.
6. Women’s Writing and Women’s Culture

The theory of culture as a factor affecting women’s writing is inclusive of the theories
of biology, language and psyche. The influence of all these factors is guided by the
cultural situation of a woman. History has not included female experience. Thus,
history is inadequate to understand women’s experience. Woman’s culture is not a
sub-culture of main culture. They are part of general culture itself. If patriarchal
society applies restraints on them, they transform it into complementarity. Thus,
women experience duality of culture including general culture and women’s culture.
Women form ‘muted group’ in society and men form ‘dominant group’. Ardener
suggested a diagram with two circles representing these two groups respectively. All
language of the dominant group is all acceptable language. So, the muted group has
to follow the same language. The part of the circle representing the muted group
which does not coincide with the other circle represents that part of women’s life
which has not found any expression in history. It represents the activities,
experiences and feelings of women which are unknown to men. Since they do not
form part of men’s life, they do not get representation in history. This ‘female zone’ is
also known as ‘wild zone’ since it is out of the range of dominant boundary. Women
could not write on experiences belonging exclusively on the wild zone. They have to
give representation to the dominant culture in their texts. There are other muted
groups as well than women. For instance, literary identity of a black American poet is
forced upon her by the trends of the dominant group.
Feminist critics try to identify the aspects of women writers which do not follow the
trends established by the male writers. For instance, Woolf’s works show tendencies
other than those of modernism. However, these tendencies are visible in the sections
which have so far been considered obscure or imperfect. Feminist critics should
attempt ‘thick description’ of women’s writings. It is possible only when effect of
gender and female literary tradition are considered among the various factors that
affect the meaning of the text.
Showalter concludes that the ‘promised land’ or situation when there would be no
difference in the texts written by man and woman could not be attained. Attainment
of that situation should not be the aim of feminist critics.

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Feminist criticism, is in wilderness.

1. Pluralism and the Feminist Critique

Showalter says that what seemed to be ‘a theoretical impasse’ was actually an

2. Defining the Feminine: Gynocritics and the

3. Women’s Writing and Woman’s Body

4. Women’s Writing and Women’s Language

5. Women’s Writing and Woman’s Psyche

6. Women’s Writing and Women’s Culture

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