Feminist literary interpretation

A feminist literary interpretation is largely focused on the roles that women and gender play in a work of literature. If women are portrayed as weak, inferior, or dependent, the work will likely be criticized for these traits. Similarly, a feminist interpretation will be likely to praise a work which shows women as independent, intelligent, strong, and perhaps even superior to men.

Questions that a feminist literary interpretation might attempt to answer:

• Does the work challenge or comply with the gender status quo?
• Do women play a major role in the work, or are they secondary to male characters?
• How do characters overcome (or fail to overcome) their traditional gender roles?
• How might the work differ, if it were written from an author of the opposite gender?
• Is there a difference between male and female writing?

Examples of feminist literary interpretation:

Good works for feminist literary interpretation:

• Anything by Margaret Atwood.
• Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse[?]

See also: Feminist film theory