Title: Feminist Approaches to Literature | Great Writers Inspire
Headings: Feminist Approaches to Literature
Feminist Approaches to Literature
The Traditions of Feminist Criticism
Depictions of Women by Men
Rise of the Woman Writer
Women Writers and Class
Also see sections on the following writers:

Content: A great example of the madwoman thesis in action is in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 short story The Yellow Wallpaper . Read Jane Eyre with the madwoman thesis in mind. Are there connections between Jane's subversive thoughts and Bertha's appearances in the text? How does it change your view of the novel to consider Bertha as an alter ego for Jane, unencumbered by societal norms? Look closely at Rochester's explanation of the early symptoms of Bertha's madness. How do they differ from his licentious behaviour? French Feminism
French Feminism, led by critics such as Julia Kristeva, Hélène Cixousx, and Luce Irigaray, relies heavily on Freudian psychology and the theory of penis envy ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_envy ). French feminists postulate the existence of a separate language belonging to women that consists of loose, digressive sentences written without use of the ego. How does Jane Austen fit into French Feminism? She uses very concise language, yet speaks from a woman's perspective with confidence.