Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change (The John Harvard Library) - Softcover

Felski, Rita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674068955 ISBN 13: 9780674068957

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1989

Synopsis

Beyond Feminist Aesthetics has a dual focus. First, Rita Felski gives a critical account of current American and European feminist literary theory, and second, she offers an analysis of contemporary fiction by women, drawing in particular on the genres of the autobiographical confession and the novel of self-discovery, in order to show that this literature raises questions for feminism that cannot be answered in terms of a purely gender based analysis. Felski argues that the idea of a feminist aesthetic is a nonissue that feminists have needlessly pursued; she suggests, in contrast, that it is impossible to speak of "masculine" and "feminine," "subversive" and "reactionary" literary forms in isolation from the social conditions of their production and reception. The political value of such works of literature from the standpoint of feminism can be determined only by an investigation of their social functions and effects in relation to the interests of women in a particular historical context. This leads her to argue for an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of literature which can integrate literary and social theory, and to develop such an approach by drawing upon the model of a feminist counter-public sphere. Rita Felski has produced a closely reasoned, stimulating book that creates a new framework for discussing the relationship between literature and feminist politics. It will interest students and teachers of women's studies, comparative literature, cultural studies, and fiction.

About this title

Review:

Exciting, fresh, and persuasive in its thought from the very first page... The combination of sources from the American, British, French, and German feminist literary and critical canons offers a uniquely comprehensive overview of theoretical and political issues in feminist criticism... Rita Felski places her powerful and original view of feminist literature in the rich contexts of contemporary Marxist and narrative theory, but her learning is unostentatious, always a model of clarity rather than obfuscation or intimidation.--Elaine Showalter

This is a remarkably assured, deeply intelligent piece of work... The [book] combines an attractive rigor of argument with a lucidity that is rare.--Terry Eagleton

Synopsis:

This is a defence of literary realism in women's writing and an attack on fashionable feminist theories of literature. Felski asserts that writing based on experience is more valuable than avant-garde or post-modernist literature, and hence contradicts the most influential recent feminist theories. She defends "confessional" and "quest" writing, such as the novels of Doris Lessing, Alice Walker, Marge Piercey, Margaret Atwood and Christa Wolf. Rita Felski is an Australian literary critic.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0674068955
• ISBN 13: 9780674068957
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 236