Gender Perspective: Characters, Roles, and Themes in Literary Texts
While analyse a literary text from a gender perspective, readers focus on how authors provide gender roles to their characters.
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Are the roles of characters traditional or modern?
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Do characters operate mainly in the private place (home, family) or the public place (society, politics, work)?
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Does the text give binary oppositions such as:
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Strong vs. weak
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Rational vs. emotional
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Masculine vs. feminine
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Modern vs. conservative
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Decisive vs. submissive
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Or, does the author go against these binaries by giving characters equal status and showing them in a balanced way?
Another important question is whether female characters only follow traditional domestic roles or if they oppose and redefine them. Similarly, readers should study the author’s viewpoint toward both male and female characters to understand the hidden message about gender.
The gender perspective also explores how gender influences opportunities, social roles, and interactions. Readers should ask:
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Is any character deprived of rights or opportunities because of gender?
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Does a character receive special treatment solely due to biological or anatomical identity?
Feminist Criticism and Gender Studies
Feminist criticism and gender studies are closely connected. Gender studies often overlap with related fields such as Men’s Studies, Gay Studies, and Lesbian Studies.
Prominent theorists in gender studies include:
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Michel Foucault
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Judith Butler
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Simone de Beauvoir
Their works highlight how gender shapes identity, power, and representation in literature and society.