Literary Feminism: Theory, Evolution, Major Approaches and Its Significance in Literary Studies

Resumen

Literary feminism, or feminist literary criticism, examines literature through the lens of gender, women’s experiences, power, identity, sexuality, class, and social inequality. It began as part of the wider feminist movement and challenges male-centred traditions in writing and interpretation across genres. This approach explores how literature depicts women, why women writers have often been overlooked, and how patriarchal ideas appear in texts. It also highlights women’s opinions and experiences. Over time, the field has grown and changed, formed by thinkers like Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millett, Elaine Showalter, Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, bell hooks, Judith Butler, and those who support intersectional feminism. This paper looks at how literary feminism has grown, its main ideas and theories, and why it matters today. It discusses key contributions, including Simone de Beauvoir’s idea of woman as the "Other," ....