Katherine_Viner

Katherine Viner says, of Atwood’s work, that it is ‘feminist in a much less literal and more mature sense, in that it features women who are good bad, neat and messy; normal damaged, whole, human.’ Compare and contrast ways in which this interpretation is relevant to your three chosen texts. There are many different types and strengths of feminism. It can be defined through three waves: First wave is a period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth centre in the United Kingdom. This wave of feminism mainly focused on gaining women’s right to suffrage. Mary Wollstonecraft published the fist feminist treatise, which was the catalyst for the second wave of feminism. This wave of feminism was more focused on the economic issue largely looking at the division of labor and the ideology’s of equality. The final wave of feminism began in the early 1990s this wave challenged and expanded the definitions of sexuality and gender. In relation to question to understand whether or not the chosen texts are feminism there needs to be an understanding of what feminist literature enraptures. Lisa Tuttle has defined feminist theory as asking ‘new questions of old texts’. She defines the goals of feminist criticism as: “one to develop and uncover a female tradition of writing, two to interpret symbolism of women’s writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by the male point of view, three to rediscover old texts, four to analyze women writers and their writings from a female perspective, five to resist sexism in literature and finally, six to increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style.” Feminist writing has a purpose like any literature, this essay will focus’s on whether or not the three texts in discussion have the same purpose as feminist literature or show women as ‘neat’ and ‘messy’. http://mural.uv.es/veorca/Feminist.htm The motive of the written texts are contrasting, The Color Purple and Carol Ann Duffy poetry are written for feminist purposes trying to change the cliché stereotypes of women that has formed through history. On the other hand Antigone is an Ancient Greek play written by a man. These create both differing auras for the texts. The Color Purple was written in the early 1900’s with the purpose of widening people’s horizons and thought process, upon not only women, but also black women in what could only be described as a white patriarchal society.