The Resisting Reader, By Judith Fetterley - 1391 Words

In her book, â€Å"The Resisting Reader,† Judith Fetterley says of feminist criticism, â€Å"At its best, feminist criticism is a political act whose aim is not simply to interpret the world but to change it by changing the consciousness of those who read and their relation to what they read† (Fetterley viii). The most prevalent place that feminist criticism is used in this way is in response to the literary idea of the typical damsel in distress. The fragile young maiden who cannot fend for herself and must be told what to do by a strong, capable hero permeates both popular and classical literature. The argument of the feminist critic is that this idea is inaccurate and outdated, and should be updated to match the real picture of a woman as her own person, her own specific character. One of the most iconic pictures of the femme fatale is Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ophelia is often viewed as a flat, one-dimensional character who is so undone by her circumst ances that she cannot handle her grief due to her fragility and consequently ends her own life. At first glance, it seems as though Shakespeare is simply following the popular literary archetype of his time, but from a deeper perspective, the message through Ophelia is quite different. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Ophelia as the archetypal damsel in distress, and his depiction of her consequent demise, actually challenges the theory of the femme fatale and proves it to be misleading. Most who read or view a performance ofShow MoreRelatedGender Norms in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 985 Words   |  4 Pagesbelieve that it is their husbands or fathers responsibility to care for them and make any crucial decisions for them. However, despite the influence of other female characters that are â€Å"immasculated†, according to Judith Fetterley, Esperanza’s experiences lead her to become a â€Å"resisting reader† in Fettereley’s terminology because she does not want to become like the women that she observes, stuck under a man’s authority. She desires to leave Mango Street and have a â€Å"home of her own† so that she willRead More Feminist Criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby810 Words   |  4 PagesFeminist Criticism of The Great Gatsby The pervasive male bias in American literature leads the reader to equate the experience of being American with the experience of being male. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, the background for the experience of disillusionment and betrayal revealed in the novel is the discovery of America. Daisys failure of Gatsby is symbolic of the failure of America to live up to the expectations in the imagination of the men who discovered it. AmericaRead MoreEssay The Dangers of a Feminist Perspective of A Farewell to Arms1018 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dangers of a Feminist Perspective of A Farewell to Arms      Ã‚  Ã‚   Hemingways portrayal of Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms is a subject of many debates. I do not agree with Judith Fetterly that Catherine is too idealistic, too selflessly loving and giving. Catherines death was the most fitting end to the story. Hemingways Catherine Barkley may be stereotypical on the surface, but is a much more knowledgeable and strong character underneath.    In the early encounter withRead More Catherine as Code Hero in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms3316 Words   |  14 Pagesparticularly harsh on Hemingways characterization of Catherine, viewing it as patronizing and shallow. In her response to the phallocentric canon of American literature and the corresponding way that women have been conditioned to read it, Judith Fetterley, in The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction (1977), accuses Catherine of suffering from compulsive apologizing (70) and faults her for submissively tak[ing] upon herself the burdens of Frederics sins and [for dying] for him (47)Read MoreThe Portrayal of Women in the American Literary Canon1512 Words   |  6 Pagespredominance of male writers leads to the dominance of male protagonists as well. Most classic American texts contain male central figures, while the presence of female protagonists is less frequent. Feminist Mary Eagleton in Feminist Literary Theory: A Reader infers that w omen are then impelled to identify with a male character that makes women look like enemies (280). The lack of female protagonists forces women to read about and connect with only male characters and their experiences. In doing so, womenRead MoreEssay about Paradoxical Role of Women in the Great Gatsby1333 Words   |  6 Pagesprincipal female characters, the reader must keep in mind that all appraisals are filtered through the eyes of Nick Carraway. Thus, the question of whether he is a reliable narrator assumes paramount importance. Nick of course, boldly asserts, â€Å"I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.† (59; ch.3) But Nick seems to embody a double standard in his judgments of the behavior of men and women as feminist critic, Judith Fetterley, demonstrates in The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to AmericanRead More Powerful Symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston1407 Words   |  6 PagesConsulted: Donlon, Jocelyn Hazelwood. Power: Spatial and Racial Intersections in Faulkner and Hurston.Journal of American Culture (1996): 95-110. Online. Internet. 8 December 2001. Available: http:vweb.hwwilsonweb.com/ Fetterley, Judith. Introduction to the Resisting Reader: a Feminist Approach to American Fiction. The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford books, 1998. 991-998. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. NewRead More Farewell to Arms Essay2405 Words   |  10 Pagessymbols have an effect on each character in the novel, in a special way. When a reader opens up the novel from the first page to the last page some of the symbols are made obvious, while some symbols are insightful. The rain is the constant water forms such as lakes, snow, ice and rivers, in this novel and it involves each character differently. Rain symbolizes death mainly, due to every time it is mentioned, the reader knows death is coming. At the start of the winter came the permanent rain andRead More Comparing the American Dream of The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night2117 Words   |  9 PagesBabbitt, Studies in Bibliography 22 (1958), 263-68. Saul Bellow, Facts that Put Fang to Flight, The New York Times Book Review (11 February 1962), p. 1. Eagleton, Terry. The Function of Criticism. London: Verso, 1984. Fetterley, Judith. The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1978. Fielder, Leslie. Some Notes on F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mizener 70-76. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Absolution. 1924. Babylon Revisited and Other Stories.