The theory and culture of feminism in modern philosophy and the development of society play a significant role in cultural and social development. Despite the fact that the theory has long and firmly established itself in society, it is still understood as something separate and structured. The ongoing struggle of women for equal rights in society and their influence on literary criticism and psychoanalysis make the concept more interesting in terms of the connection between theory and its application.
First of all, it should be said that in modern realities the theory remains relevant and effective, which causes genuine concern. Women are still fighting for their rights with a patriarchal society and feel a significant social stratification (John 71). The peak of their activity came in the 1960s, when thousands of women were forced to defend their authority. However, such a problem persists in modern society, which makes the topic more meaningful to the reader.
From the point of view of understanding human nature, the ideas of feminism differ significantly from the concept of liberal humanism. Humanism posits literature as a way and opportunity to achieve moral advantages in a person. In modern society, this may not be so relevant, since the theme of eternal literature is being questioned with changes in the vector of generations. At the same time, feminism determines the involvement of state structures in solving problems and changes in society and the individual (Phelan 1234). Moreover, the reader may be attracted by the fact that women are required to regulate their rights and obligations, and this does not flow into open hatred of men.
Additionally, the concepts of branching feminism and the emergence of various currents are of interest. Thus, in the context of theory, feminism distinguishes many movements, including radical and liberal. Thus, the liberal approach focuses on a gentle release from patriarchal ties. Behind it is not the complete destruction of the system and women want to live more comfortably in modern conditions in society. At the same time, some contradictions may remain and exist outside the concept, if they do not fully affect women’s self-determination. At the same time, radical feminism proclaims the fact that society initially chose the wrong vector of development and requires fundamental changes (West and Bowman 44). The feminists of this branch put at the forefront the constant desire of male capitalists to manage an established patriarchal society. Thus, civilization experiences stagnation from the established system and there is no significant development of generations.
Moreover, feminism is associated with psychoanalysis and its theories within the framework of sexual objectification. The studied theory of liberal humanism is not related to psychoanalysis, however, the latter approach has constantly presented a debatable issue for society. Thus, there is an opinion that in the invariable patriarchy and the resulting gender inequality, children are to blame for traumas and experiences that require people to accurately match gender roles (Chare et al. 82). As a result, the concepts of gender and roles lead to the dominance of the patriarchal system, within which psychosexual development slows down.
Many feminists of the last century advocated the use of psychoanalysis to support the theory of feminism. They considered the formation of gender as a productive product of the separate labor of women and men in society (Barry 114). First of all, this is due to the fact that, first of all, the child is raised by the mother, regardless of their gender. In addition, within the framework of the relationship between the theory of feminism and the concept of psychoanalysis, people were able to talk about the problem of gender and sexuality as a comprehension of unconscious processes located in the deep compartments of the mind.
Moreover, another field of interest is literary criticism within the framework of feminism. Within liberal humanism, the cultural aspect objects to state and government regulation of the fields of literature and art. Feminism, by contrast, aims to re-evaluate the classical canon within meaningful literary works (Green and Kahn 63). From the philosophical and theoretical side, criticism of literature within the framework of feminism can be considered from different angles, however, in general, all approaches converge to one. They define a certain specific way of being a woman in the social system, which leads to the allocation of appropriate representative female strategies. Thus, this direction illuminates the problem of revision from the point of view of feminists from the approaches of traditional practice of writing and views on literary works in general (Barry 120). As a result, literary criticism is divided into women’s literature, women’s reading, women’s writing and women’s autobiography, which determines the thesis about the need to highlight the social history of women’s literature.
In conclusion, it should be said that for the reader the theory of feminism may be of greater interest than liberal humanism. This is because feminism intersects with many fields and takes into account the multifaceted nature of gender. From the side of psychoanalysis, the problem of defining sexuality and roles in society is considered. Literary criticism determines the difficulty with the consideration of women’s texts and classical literary works. Thus, the approach includes many currents, modern and topical for contemporary society.
Works Cited
Barry, Peter. Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester university press, 2020.
Chare, Nicholas, Jeanette Hoorn, and Audrey Yue, eds. Re-reading The Monstrous-feminine: Art, Film, Feminism and Psychoanalysis. Routledge, 2019.
Green, Gayle, and Coppélia Kahn, eds. Making a difference: feminist literary criticism. Routledge, 2020.
John, Mary E. Discrepant dislocations: Feminism, theory, and postcolonial histories. University of California Press, 2021.
Phelan, Kate M. “Feminism as Epic Theory.”British Journal of Political Science vol. 52, no. 3, 2022. pp. 1226-1239. Web.
West, Robin, and Cynthia Grant Bowman, eds. Research handbook on feminist jurisprudence. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.