Feminist Literature

Feminist literature: characteristics

So, what exactly is feminist literature?

The word 'feminist' is deeply connected to the feminist movement. However, feminist literature existed long before the political movement gave us the vocabulary to describe it. As a result, no matter when a piece of literature was written, it can be described as feminist literature if it supports the idea that women experience oppression in society and that this is wrong.

Feminist literature is a significant channel through which authors can express their frustrations with established ideas about women, womanhood, and femininity in patriarchal societies (where men are the key holders of power). Furthermore, since the feminist movement was established, many women have also used feminist literature to express their thoughts about the movement itself.

Intersectional feminist literature

During each wave, there were women who felt like they weren't represented by the goals of Western feminism, which some people argued was dominated by the concerns of middle- and upper-class white women. It was out of these frustrations that American civil rights scholar and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw (1959–present) coined the term 'intersectionality' in a groundbreaking essay published in 1989.¹

Intersectional feminist literature, then, acknowledges and explores the experiences of women who face oppression on multiple levels.

Fig. 1 - An intersectional perspective acknowledges that someone can experience multiple overlapping layers of oppression.

Most important feminist literature

Novels written in the feminist tradition continue to grow in popularity. This popularity was confirmed in 2019, when two works of feminist literary fiction, Bernadine Evaristo's (1959–present) Girl, Woman, Other (2019) and Margaret Atwood's (1939–present) The Testaments (2019), were announced as joint winners of the prestigious literary award the Booker Prize.

It is difficult to compile a list of the most important feminist literature; there are so many literary works out there that challenged the treatment and expectations of women in society, and there are many more that never had the chance to become widely read.

The collection of feminist literature books and other examples from poetry and drama in this article is just a starting point to begin a deeper exploration of feminist literature.

Feminist literature: books

Here are some well-known works of feminist literary fiction from before the first wave of the feminist movement began to the modern day.

Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë

Although Charlotte Brontë's (1816–55) Jane Eyre doesn't hold up against modern feminist standards, its strong female protagonist served as a radical role model for women in Victorian society (1837–1901). To avoid a negative social backlash due to the novel's themes and being a female author, Charlotte Brontë published the book under the pen name 'Currer Bell'.

In the 19th century, middle- and upper-class women were expected to carry out domestic duties dutifully and live in submission to their husbands and male family members.² In the novel, Jane Eyre refuses to be an unequal partner to her love interest and future husband, Mr Rochester, emphasised in this famous quote from the novel's climax:

Fig. 2 - Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre uses bird imagery to explore the protagonist's dedication to choosing her own path despite the constraints of a patriarchal society.

Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre has been criticised for the racist language used to describe the novel's antagonist, Mr Rochester's secret wife, Bertha Mason. Author Jean Rhys (1890–1979) wrote Wide Sargasso Sea to address Betha Mason's backstory as a Creole woman from Jamaica, originally called Antoinette Cosway.

Wide Sargasso Sea is a piece of feminist literature and postcolonial literature. In addition to revealing Antoinette's true name, the novel also explores how she became the 'madwoman' (Jane Eyre, Chapter 26) trapped in Mr Rochester's attic through patriarchy, colonialism, and racism.

Like in Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea uses bird imagery to explore themes of oppression. However, Wide Sargasso Sea makes it clear that Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason faced very different obstacles:

The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood

Atwood's novel The Testaments won the Booker Prize, as mentioned above. However, it was a sequel to the seminal piece of dystopian fiction, The Handmaid's Tale (1985).

In The Handmaid's Tale, the USA is now the Republic of Gilead, led by a patriarchal and totalitarian (forcefully exerting complete control) government. Women are split into groups: the wives and daughters of the ruling classes on one side, and the handmaids on the other. A handmaid's sole purpose is to act as a surrogate child bearer. The novel explores themes of power, gender roles, and reproduction through its handmaid protagonist, Offred:

Girl, Woman, Other (2019) by Bernadine Evaristo

Bernadine Evaristo's Booker Prize-winning novel consists of the narratives of twelve characters, all Black British women or non-binary people with diverse backgrounds. The book portrays how the characters' lives and opinions intersect, whether they are relatives, friends, or acquaintances. Through this lens, the novel explores topics including Blackness, Britishness, womanhood, gender identity, sexuality, and generational differences.

Many characters disagree or don't understand each other's views on feminism. However, the novel ends on a positive note celebrating how the feminist movement has become a mainstream topic:

Feminist literature: examples

Other examples of feminist literature include:

¹ Kimberlé Crenshaw. 'Demarginalising the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics'. University of Chicago Legal Forum. 1989.

² Kathryn Hughes. 'Gender roles in the 19th century'. British Library. 2014.

³ Margaret Atwood in an interview by Mary McNamara, 'Q&A: Margaret Atwood answers the question: Is 'The Handmaid's Tale' a feminist book?' Los Angeles Times. 24. April 2017.