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From reading the Modern Literary theory critics address the image and role of woman in the dominant society. In the Feminist reading of Andrew Marvells poem \it seems that feminist critics are interested in sexuality and how it is either portrayed or repressed in the text. There is an in depth examination of how the female body and female sexuality is described. The critics use a feminist lens to analyze writings outside of the typical patriarchal framework and offer a different interpretation of the text.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre was an expression of female sexuality that was not expressed in early Victorian literature, in the Marxist feminine collective it is described as “opening a locked room of a tabooed subject”. Female sexuality and her role in society as a house bred mother and wife seemed to be the norm for literature of the day. There is a focus between the female and her relation to man. Bronte puts Jane outside the normal social constructs of the time; she has neither a family to come from nor necessarily a family to belong to. The women collective goes on to note that the perception of a woman’s self reliance would not be seen the same as if it were man, implying that it is hard for critics to see Jane outside of the typical position of women in relation to man.
“For a woman to become a member of the master class depends on her taking a sexual master whereby her submission brings her access to the dominant culture”
For a woman to be seen in an upper class or level it is only through her marriage to a man who belongs to an upper class, the dominated must marry the dominator to gain any form of power.
The feminist critique to Andrew Marvell’s poem focused upon the devaluation of the woman’s body which is a reflection of society’s view of the female image. Again the relation between man and woman is questioned. The critics note on the dominance relation between the speaker and his mistress through the analysis of the line “he will solicit her love even if she does refuse”. The image as woman as a possession of man has been apparent society so it is not a surprise that is reflected in literature, it was understood that the female being was not autonomous and could not act on her.
A woman’s reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart points out the patriarchal critique of a text and its focus upon the male character and the acknowledgement of the female character in relation to the male. The critics would like to point out that viewing this text through a feminine lens brings out attributes of the female characters which are commonly overlooked. This is apparent through the analysis of Ekwefi who they found to be knowledgeable, lovely, and fierce independence. The fact also overlooked, according to the critics, is the integral role these women play in the survival of the tribe, through reproductive means.