📚 Elaine Showalter – Important Literary Critic

 📚 Elaine Showalter – Important Literary Critic

Elaine Showalter is a leading figure in Feminist Literary Criticism. Her most important contribution is the concept of Gynocriticism — the study of women as writers and the female literary tradition.

🔹 Three Phases of Women’s Writing:

1. Feminine Phase (1840–1880): Imitation of the dominant male tradition.
2. Feminist Phase (1880–1920): Protest against male-dominated society.
3. Female Phase (1920 onwards): Search for an independent female identity and literary tradition.

📖 Important Works:
• A Literature of Their Own (1977)
• Towards a Feminist Poetics (1979)
• The Female Malady (1985)
• A Jury of Her Peers (2009)

⭐ Key Term: Gynocriticism = Woman as Writer

🎯 Exam Tip: Remember the sequence — Feminine → Feminist → Female.

📚 ELAINE SHOWALTER – FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM

Elaine Showalter is one of the most influential figures in American feminist literary criticism. Her work focuses on women’s representation in literature, women writers, and the development of a distinct female literary tradition.

🌸 1. Who is Elaine Showalter?

• American literary critic, scholar and writer
• Major figure in Feminist Literary Criticism
• Associated with the development of gynocriticism
• Particularly interested in the history and development of women’s writing

Her influential book A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing (1977) traces the development of British women novelists.

📖 2. Feminist Critique vs. Gynocriticism

Showalter makes an important distinction between two approaches:

🔹 Feminist Critique – “Woman as Reader”

This approach examines literature written within a predominantly male literary tradition.

It asks questions such as:

• How are women represented in literature?
• Are female characters stereotyped?
• How does literature reflect patriarchal assumptions?
• How might a female reader respond differently to a text?

👉 Key idea: Woman as Reader

🔹 Gynocriticism – “Woman as Writer”

Showalter uses the term gynocriticism for the study of women as writers.

It focuses on:

• Women’s literary history
• Women writers and their experiences
• Female literary traditions
• Themes and genres developed by women writers
• Relationships among women writers
• The construction of female identity through literature

👉 Key idea: Woman as Writer

⭐ Remember:

Feminist Critique = Woman as Reader
Gynocriticism = Woman as Writer

🌺 3. Three Phases of Women’s Writing

One of Showalter’s most frequently discussed ideas is her division of women’s writing into three phases.

① FEMININE PHASE

📅 1840–1880

Women writers largely accepted and imitated the dominant literary conventions established by male writers.

Characteristics:

• Imitation of the dominant tradition
• Use of established literary forms
• Acceptance of prevailing social expectations
• Writers often used male pseudonyms

📌 Examples often associated with this period include the Brontë sisters and George Eliot.

② FEMINIST PHASE

📅 1880–1920

Women writers increasingly challenged the social and political restrictions placed on women.

Characteristics:

• Protest against patriarchy
• Demand for greater rights
• Criticism of women’s social position
• Advocacy of women’s independence
• Stronger political and social consciousness

📌 The suffrage movement forms an important historical context for this phase.

③ FEMALE PHASE

📅 1920 onwards

Women writers increasingly turn toward exploring female experience and identity on their own terms.

Characteristics:

• Search for an independent female identity
• Greater emphasis on women’s experiences
• Development of female literary traditions
• Exploration of sexuality, identity and relationships
• Less dependence on male literary models

⭐ The important movement is from imitation → protest → self-discovery/independence.

🧠 4. Important Concept: Female Literary Tradition

Showalter argues that women writers should not be studied only in relation to male writers.

Instead, critics should investigate:

Women writers → Women’s experiences → Women’s literary traditions

This creates a history of women’s writing that recognizes connections among women authors across generations.

📚 5. Major Works of Elaine Showalter

⭐ A Literature of Their Own (1977)
Important study of British women novelists.

⭐ “Towards a Feminist Poetics” (1979)
A major essay explaining feminist literary criticism and the distinction between feminist critique and gynocriticism.

⭐ “Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness” (1981)
Discusses the development and problems of feminist literary criticism.

⭐ The Female Malady (1985)
Examines representations of women, madness and mental illness in English cultural history.

⭐ Sexual Anarchy (1990)
Explores gender and cultural change in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

⭐ Inventing Herself (2001)
A history of feminist icons and women’s cultural identity.

⭐ A Jury of Her Peers (2009)
A major history of American women writers.

🎯 6. Important Exam Points

📌 Elaine Showalter → Feminist Literary Criticism

📌 Gynocriticism → Woman as Writer

📌 Feminist Critique → Woman as Reader

📌 A Literature of Their Own → 1977

📌 “Towards a Feminist Poetics” → 1979

📌 Three phases → Feminine, Feminist, Female

📌 Feminine → Imitation

📌 Feminist → Protest

📌 Female → Independent female identity/tradition

🔑 EASY MEMORY TRICK

F → F → F

Feminine → Feminist → Female

Think of the movement as:

IMITATION → PROTEST → SELF-DISCOVERY

📝 Quick MCQs

1. Who is associated with the concept of “gynocriticism”?
A. Julia Kristeva
B. Elaine Showalter
C. Simone de Beauvoir
D. Judith Butler

✅ Answer: B. Elaine Showalter

2. A Literature of Their Own was published in:
A. 1969
B. 1975
C. 1977
D. 1981

✅ Answer: C. 1977

3. Gynocriticism primarily studies:
A. Women as readers
B. Women as writers
C. Male authors
D. Reader-response theory

✅ Answer: B. Women as writers

4. Showalter’s three phases are:
A. Classical, Medieval, Modern
B. Feminine, Feminist, Female
C. Romantic, Victorian, Modern
D. Structural, Post-structural, Feminist

✅ Answer: B. Feminine, Feminist, Female

5. “Towards a Feminist Poetics” is associated with:
A. Elaine Showalter
B. Hélène Cixous
C. Toril Moi
D. Kate Millett

✅ Answer: A. Elaine Showalter

🌸

Feminist Critique = analysing women’s representation in existing literature
Gynocriticism = studying women’s writing and developing a female literary tradition

📌
SHOWALTER → GYNOCRITICISM → WOMAN AS WRITER → FEMININE / FEMINIST / FEMALE

Elaine Showalter: Major Works

Elaine Showalter is best known for her contribution to feminist literary criticism, particularly the concept of gynocriticism and the study of women’s literary history.

1.

A Literature of Their Own

(1977)

Full title: A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing

This is one of Showalter’s most important works.

Main focus:

• History and development of British women novelists
• Women’s literary traditions
• Female authors and their relationship to the dominant male literary tradition
• Development of women’s writing through different historical periods

Important for exams:

A Literature of Their Own → 1977 → British women novelists

It is also closely associated with Showalter’s discussion of the three phases of women’s writing:

Feminine → Feminist → Female

2. “Towards a Feminist Poetics” (1979)

This is one of Showalter’s most frequently studied essays.

Main ideas:

Showalter distinguishes between:

Feminist Critique
→ Woman as Reader

and

Gynocriticism
→ Woman as Writer

Feminist Critique

Examines how women are represented in literature and how literary texts may reflect patriarchal assumptions.

Gynocriticism

Studies women as authors and attempts to identify a distinct tradition of women’s writing.

📌 Exam point:
“Towards a Feminist Poetics” is especially important for understanding gynocriticism.

3. “Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness” (1981)

This essay examines the development and problems of feminist literary criticism.

Showalter discusses different approaches to feminist criticism and the question of whether feminist criticism should simply use existing literary theories or develop approaches that respond specifically to women’s experiences and writing.

📌 Exam point:
“Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness” → 1981

4.

The Female Malady

(1985)

Full title: The Female Malady: Women, Madness, and English Culture, 1830–1980

Main focus:

• Women and mental illness
• Representations of “madness” in English culture
• The relationship between women, medicine, psychiatry and society
• Cultural attitudes toward women

Showalter examines how ideas about female madness have developed historically.

📌 Exam point:
The Female Malady → Women + Madness + English Culture

5.

Sexual Anarchy

(1990)

Full title: Sexual Anarchy: Gender and Culture at the Fin de Siècle

Main focus:

• Gender relations
• Sexuality
• Cultural changes
• Gender anxiety during the late nineteenth century
• The period around the end of the Victorian era

The book explores the relationship between changing ideas about gender and broader cultural changes.

📌 Exam point:
Sexual Anarchy → Gender and culture → Fin de Siècle

6.

Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Culture

(1997)

This work examines the cultural phenomenon of hysteria and its relationship to modern society.

Showalter considers how certain symptoms and cultural anxieties can be interpreted and represented as forms of illness.

📌 Exam point:
Hystories → Hysteria + culture

7.

Inventing Herself: Claiming a Feminist Intellectual Heritage

(2001)

This book explores the history of feminist thought and influential feminist women.

Main focus:

• Feminist intellectual history
• Important feminist figures
• Development of feminist ideas
• Women’s intellectual and cultural heritage

📌 Exam point:
Inventing Herself → Feminist intellectual heritage

8.

Teaching Literature

(2003)

This work focuses on the teaching of literature and literary studies.

It reflects Showalter’s interest in literary pedagogy—how literature can be taught effectively to students.

📌 Exam point:
Teaching Literature → Literary pedagogy

9.

Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents

(2005)

This work examines the academic novel and representations of university life.

Showalter considers the relationship between literature, universities and academic culture.

📌 Exam point:
Faculty Towers → Academic novel + university culture

10.

A

Jury of Her Peers

(2009)

Full title: A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx

This is a major history of American women writers.

Showalter discusses women writers across different historical periods and examines the development of American women’s literary traditions.

📌 Exam point:
A Jury of Her Peers → American women writers

⭐ Quick Revision Table

Work	Year	Key Focus
A Literature of Their Own	1977	British women novelists
“Towards a Feminist Poetics”	1979	Feminist criticism & gynocriticism
“Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness”	1981	Feminist literary criticism
The Female Malady	1985	Women, madness & English culture
Sexual Anarchy	1990	Gender & culture
Hystories	1997	Hysteria & modern culture
Inventing Herself	2001	Feminist intellectual heritage
Teaching Literature	2003	Literary teaching/pedagogy
Faculty Towers	2005	Academic novel & university culture
A Jury of Her Peers	2009	American women writers

🧠 Most Important for UGC-NET / MA English

1977 — A Literature of Their Own
1979 — “Towards a Feminist Poetics”
1981 — “Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness”
1985 — The Female Malady
1990 — Sexual Anarchy
1997 — Hystories
2001 — Inventing Herself
2009 — A Jury of Her Peers

🔑 One-line Memory Aid

Literature → Poetics → Wilderness → Malady → Anarchy → Hystories → Herself → Jury

This sequence helps students remember the major works in chronological order.