The Classical Feminist Tradition in Literature - Lecture 20

Explore the foundations of feminist literary criticism in this 52-minute lecture from Yale University's "Introduction to Theory of Literature" course. Delve into Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" as a framework for understanding 20th-century feminist criticism. Analyze the structure and rhetoric of Woolf's work, examining her commentary on female novelists like Austen, Eliot, and the Brontës. Discover the contributions of major feminist critics such as Ann Douglas, Mary Ellman, Kate Millett, Elaine Showalter, and Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. Investigate the logocentric approach to gender theory, focusing on the concept of female language as distinct from male language, while considering Woolf's advocacy for literary and intellectual androgyny. Journey through six chapters, from the transition into feminist theory to the complications and implications of classical feminism, gaining a comprehensive understanding of this influential critical perspective.