Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist

Question

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly by the politics of feminism. Its history has been widespread and varied, from classic works of nineteenth-century women authors such as George Eliot and Margaret Fuller, to cutting-edge theoretical work in women's studies and gender studies by "third-wave" authors. In the most general and simple terms, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s—in the first and second waves of feminism—was concerned with the politics of women's authorship and the representation of women's condition within literature, including the depiction of fictional female characters. In addition, feminist criticism was further concerned with the exclusion of women from the western literary canon – an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal.

Since the development of more complex conceptions of gender and subjectivity and third-wave feminism, modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, namely in the tradition of the Frankfurt School's critical theory. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, as part of the deconstruction of existing relations of power, and as a concrete political investment. It has also been closely associated with the birth and growth of gay studies. The more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role in criticism. More specifically, modern feminist criticism deals with those issues related to the patriarchal programming within key aspects of society including education, politics, and the work force.

Recently, Lisa Tuttle has defined feminist theory as asking "new questions of old texts." Consequently she cites the following as the primary goals of feminist criticism: to uncover a female tradition of writing; to interpret symbolism of women's writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by the male point of view; to analyze women writers and their writings from a female perspective; to examine sexism in literature; and to increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style. Only through such analysis, she argues, can a proper view of feminist criticism be framed moving forward.   1 
 1. According to the passage, which of the following would be a likely reason that a George Eliot novel was not considered among the western literary canon?

(A) George Eliot’s political and social views were considered unorthodox.
(B) The two primary characters of the novel were women.
(C) The women characters in the novel held positions of power in society.
(D) George Eliot believed in voting equality for women.
(E) Male critics did not properly understand her work.

2 
 2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about modern feminist criticism?

(A) It was primarily formed by scholars in the Frankfurt School of thought.
(B) It shares many components with the modern gay movement.
(C) It contradicts much of the previous era’s feminist criticism.
(D) It considers gender differently than does earlier feminist criticism.
(E) Women played a dominant role in education.

3 
 3. According to the passage, all of the following are considered new routes of modern feminist literary criticism EXCEPT:

(A) viewing gender in terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis.
(B) deconstructing existing relations of power in relation to gender.
(C) regarding gender as a tangible political contribution.
(D) focusing on the representation and politics of women’s lives.
(E) scrutinizing gender in the tradition of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory.

4 
 4. According to the passage, all of the following would likely be a concern for feminist critics during the first and second waves of feminism EXCEPT:

A. the lack of important female characters in several popular novels
B. the politics relating to female authorship
C. the behavior of fictional female characters
D. the male domination of the literary world
E. the working conditions of several female characters

sushil41 · Accepted Answer

In quest 3 it is asking which of the following is related to modern criticism except, and if you could see in second paragraph it is written that - The more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role in criticism. it is not the modern feminists were concerned with the representation and politics of women's live rather than it was traditionally central feminists were concerned. 
Hence D

jawele · Answer

1. According to the passage, which of the following would be a likely reason that a George Eliot novel was not considered among the western literary canon?
(A) George Eliot’s political and social views were considered unorthodox. "<...> western literary canon – an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal." unorthodox means that the his views were different from most people at that time
(B) The two primary characters of the novel were women. western literary canon has nothing to do with it: it is concerned about views/ideas, not actual books
(C) The women characters in the novel held positions of power in society. the same as B: simply a trap
(D) George Eliot believed in voting equality for women. while this does seem not universal thinking, it is a stretch to describe something that is not given in passage, namely his views
(E) Male critics did not properly understand her work. if anything, in order to differentiate views universal vs unorthodox, it was crucial to understand them. Moreover, 'males' are stressed for some reason

2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about modern feminist criticism?
(A) It was primarily formed by scholars in the Frankfurt School of thought. "<...> modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, namely in the tradition of the Frankfurt School's critical theory <...>" - nothing's said about the formation
(B) It shares many components with the modern gay movement. what components could they be? not given. "Movement" = "studies" - this seems unlikely
(C) It contradicts much of the previous era’s feminist criticism. "<...> modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes <...>" - there doesn't seem any mention of contradiction
(D) It considers gender differently than does earlier feminist criticism. "<...> modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, <...>. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, <...>
(E) Women played a dominant role in education. the paragraphs says that women dealt with issues related to education, not that they dominated it - superficial word matches

3. According to the passage, all of the following are considered new routes of modern feminist literary criticism EXCEPT:
(A) viewing gender in terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. "<...> modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, <...> in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis <...>"
(B) deconstructing existing relations of power in relation to gender. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, as part of the deconstruction of existing relations of power <...>
(C) regarding gender as a tangible political contribution. "It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, <...>, and as a concrete political investment
(D) focusing on the representation and politics of women’s lives. 'focused' is wrong: "The more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role <...>" and so is the correct answer
(E) scrutinizing gender in the tradition of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory. <...> modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, namely in the tradition of the Frankfurt School's critical theory <...>

warrior1991 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONS

Question ID: 08106 
 1. According to the passage, which of the following would be a likely reason that a George Eliot novel was not considered among the western literary canon?

(A) George Eliot’s political and social views were considered unorthodox.
(B) The two primary characters of the novel were women.
(C) The women characters in the novel held positions of power in society.
(D) George Eliot believed in voting equality for women.
(E) Male critics did not properly understand her work.

In the end of the first paragraph, you learn that feminist criticism was concerned with the exclusion of women from the western literary canon, and a reason is given: “ an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal. ”

Given that sentence, (A) must be correct because “ unorthodox ” is the opposite of universal. If her views were unorthodox, then they were “ not being considered universal ”. None of the other four answer choices are linked to the discussion of why her work might not be considered in the western literary canon.

Answer is (A).

Question ID: 08190 
 2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about modern feminist criticism?

(A) It was primarily formed by scholars in the Frankfurt School of thought.
(B) It shares many components with the modern gay movement.
(C) It contradicts much of the previous era’s feminist criticism.
(D) It considers gender differently than does earlier feminist criticism.
(E) Women played a dominant role in education.

In the second paragraph, you learn that modern feminist theory “ has taken a variety of new routes ” and one of those is that “ it has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis ” From this you can infer that the new modernist theory considers gender differently than previous feminist criticism. Answer is (D).

For (A) you learn that modern feminist theory has “taken a variety of new routes” in the tradition of the Frankfurt School. That tells you nothing about their subject matters or who founded them – just that they both took new routes!

Similarly for (B) you know that the birth and growth of gay studies was associated with modern feminist criticism, but you have no idea if they share many components.

For (C) there is evidence to the opposite – the paragraph states that modern feminist criticism shares many of the traditional views of earlier criticism.

There is no basis for (E) anywhere in the passage.

Answer: D

Question ID: 13398 
 3. According to the passage, all of the following are considered new routes of modern feminist literary criticism EXCEPT:

(A) viewing gender in terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis.
(B) deconstructing existing relations of power in relation to gender.
(C) regarding gender as a tangible political contribution.
(D) focusing on the representation and politics of women’s lives.
(E) scrutinizing gender in the tradition of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory.

As with most harder specific style questions, the primary difficulty comes from wordplay and/or precision in wording. First, you should locate where these issues are discussed. The second paragraph starts with “modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, namely in the tradition of the Frankfurt School's critical theory” so you would expect to find each of these after that.

(A), (B), and (C) are each found quite easily in the second sentence of the paragraph so you know none of those is correct.

For (D), it will first seem that this is also in the paragraph as two sentences later you find: “ The more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role in criticism .” But if you read carefully you see that this is  NOT new  (a requirement in the question stem) because of the words “ has continued .” As a result (D) is correct.

For (E), in the opening sentence of the paragraph it states that the new routes are in the tradition of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory so this is found in the passage.

Correct answer is (D).

iamchinu97 · Answer

4. According to the passage, all of the following would likely be a concern for feminist critics during the first and second waves of feminism EXCEPT:

if u will see in passage 1 author states the concerns for first and second wave=
was concerned with the  politics of women's authorship  (Option B)  and the  representation of women's condition  (Option E)  within literature, 
including the  depiction of fictional female characters   (Option C as author says it was concerened about depiction as in behavior not the lack of depictions) . In addition, feminist criticism was further concerned with the  exclusion of women from the western literary canon ( Option D as it means male were dominating as women were excluded)  – an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal.

A. the lack of important female characters in several popular novels =>  Hence A  is answer

SBLight · Answer

Thank you iamchinu97,

I completely agree with you with all the option except for E option.
From my point of view, the representation of women's condition and their working condition are two completely different things.
A option is more in line with the representation of women then E.

May I ask you what I am missing please?

Thanks again.

iamchinu97 · Answer

Hey SBLight if you will focus on this line " representation of women's condition within literature, including the depiction of fictional female characters. " and then focus on the options "  the working conditions of several female characters " u will see the parallel. the working condition in fact any kind of condition or its representation of feamale charachters are included int that one line.

gullyboy09 · Answer

Hi  MartyMurray , can you please help me with the below Q.

"In addition, feminist criticism was further concerned with the exclusion of women from the western literary canon – an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal." They were excluded because their views were not considered universal, now from here to infer male domination option C IMO is far fetched.

4. According to the passage, all of the following would likely be a concern for feminist critics during the first and second waves of feminism EXCEPT:

A. the lack of important female characters in several popular novels
B. the politics relating to female authorship
C. the behavior of fictional female characters
D. the male domination of the literary world
E. the working conditions of several female characters

guddo · Answer

4. According to the passage, all of the following would likely be a concern for feminist critics during the first and second waves of feminism EXCEPT: 
  
The passage says early feminist literary criticism, before the 1970s, focused mainly on women’s authorship, how women were represented in literature, fictional female characters, and the exclusion of women from the literary canon. Later feminist criticism expanded into broader social structures such as education, politics, and the work force.

(A) the lack of important female characters in several popular novels

This would likely be a concern. It deals with how women are represented in literature, which the passage says was a concern of early feminist criticism.

(B) the politics relating to female authorship

This is explicitly mentioned. The passage says first- and second-wave feminist criticism was concerned with  the politics of women’s authorship .

(C) the behavior of fictional female characters

This would likely be a concern. The passage specifically mentions the depiction of fictional female characters.

(D) the male domination of the literary world

This would likely be a concern. The passage says feminist critics were concerned with women’s exclusion from the western literary canon, which points to  male dominance in literary recognition .

(E) the working conditions of several female characters

This is the best exception. The passage connects “the work force” more directly with modern feminist criticism, not specifically with first- and second-wave criticism. Also, “working conditions” is narrower than the early concern with representation of women generally.

Answer: (E)

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards