LITERARY PERIOD LITERARY WORKS / FEMINISM

Modernism
“The Legacy” by Virginia and Angela kill “the angel of the house”. Feminism 2nd wave,
Virginia Woolf they claim for independence, equality at work. The role of women is
(short story)
socially constructed, the author challenges that social construction; the
female characters work, they are involved in politics. She rejects the
biological concept of women, women are not to stay at home, to marry,
to have children, they are something else.
The biological model explores how a woman's body is depicted. (Sissy’s
clothes).The cultural model considers how the surrounding society
influences her writing, Angela is between Victorian and Modern Times.
The linguistic model analyzes the female mind and the way it affects
writing, a woman writing about a woman who writes and then her writing
is read by a “narrator” who is a man. The psychoanalytical model
consists of getting into the characters minds, and into Angela’s life
through her diary.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: no "natural" distinction between the sexes.
BIOLOGISM: states that gender is natural.
PATRIARCHY: female gender is subordinate and oppressed.
GYNOCRITICISM: the study of women as writers. It deals with works written
by women and for them.

Postmodernism

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“How to be Post modern elements
Another ● Simulation → she is the copy of the copy: i.e, there’s a wife and a
Woman” by
Lorrie More (short mistress, and she is the “other” mistress.
story) ● Fragmentation → is not linear, there’s ellipsis in the story. In "How to Be
an Other Woman," the narrative is fragmented, with the story being told
through a series of vignettes and fragmented scenes. This fragmented
structure mirrors the fragmented nature of the protagonist's experiences
and emotions as she navigates her role as the "other woman" in various
relationships.
● Undecidability → the title: it can be interpreted as how to be another
kind of woman, or as a self-help book. The narrative explores the
complexities of relationships and the blurred boundaries between love,
desire, and infidelity. The story presents multiple perspectives and
leaves the reader with unresolved questions and uncertainties,
reflecting the concept of undecidability.
● This short story is a mixture of a parody and a pastiche
One aspect that can be analyzed through feminist theory is the portrayal of
women in the story. "How to Be an Other Woman" presents a certain type of
woman: generally middle-class, educated, disaffected, white, and
heterosexual. It can still be examined in terms of how it portrays and
challenges societal norms and expectations placed on women. (She visits her
family on a holiday and she tells her mother about her affair. Her mother starts
crying because he’s a married man)

“Pretend Blood” "Pretend Blood" is a short story by Margaret Atwood that is part of the anthology
by Margaret "Crimespotting: An Edinburgh Crime Collection." The story follows a woman named
Atwood (short Marla who becomes involved in an online community called "Past Lives." Through this
story) community, people explore the idea that they have lived past lives as historical

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 figures.
Marla's friend, Sal, reveals that she believes she was Cleopatra in a past life and has
recently become engaged to a man who claims to have been Marc Antony. Intrigued
by Sal's experiences, Marla decides to join the online community and explore her own
past lives.
As Marla delves deeper into the world of Past Lives, she begins to question the
boundaries between reality and imagination. The story explores themes of identity,
self-discovery, and the desire to escape the limitations of one's current life.
Through "Pretend Blood," The story raises questions about the nature of identity and
the role of imagination in shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world
around us.

“Pretend Blood” is not purely hyperfiction, but it seems to be because characters are
engaged in a website which offers them different pathways to choose their own
stories.
Postmodern elements; simulation: the characters pretend to be someone else/a copy.
In the story, the characters attempt to find who they were in their past lives to
understand their present.
Themes
Blood: refers to the blood relations between the characters and the people they
pretended to be (Mary Queen of Scots; Cleopatra). It may also refer to the death of
Sal.

“Three Girls” by 1. Gender Roles and Expectations: expectations placed upon women during the time
Joyce Carol period. Societal pressure for women to conform to the idealized image of a
Oates (short heterosexual, beautiful, and perfect housewife.
story) 2. Lesbian Couple and Marginalized Identities: The story also provides insight into the
thoughts and reservations of a lesbian couple, highlighting the challenges faced by
marginalized identities during that time period. Feminist criticism can explore how the
story addresses the intersectionality of gender and sexuality, and the ways in which
societal norms and expectations impact these characters.
HETEROSEXISM: The prevailing social organization of sexuality which
privileges heterosexuality to invalidate and suppress homosexual relations.

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 (remember the public vs the private)
Lesbian Theory
It emerged as a response to heterosexism and male-dominant Gay Liberation
Movement.
It was concerned to identify a lesbian literary tradition and a lesbian literary
aesthetic.
It led to a rediscovery of writers assumed to be heterosexual.

“The Bully” by
Ian McEwan Themes:
(Children Power relations: The relationship between the bully and the victim evolves from fear
literature) and domination to understanding and, in the end, reconciliation.
Ethical dilemmas (explained in Undecidability)
Treason/Vengeance: When Peter goes to Barry’s house, he sees a toy in Barry’s
bedroom and decides to use this knowledge to publicly humiliate him in front of their
classmates.
Violence: The Bully punches people to make them fear him.
Setting: the settings, which are the school and Barry’s house, provides a relatable
backdrop for the events of the story. It highlights the idea that bullying can happen
anywhere and affects ordinary people. In this story, Barry changes from a ‘good boy’
to a ‘monster’ when he’s at school.

Postmodern elements:
Depthlessness: Peter asking questions about reality and dreams; realizing he has to
stand up for himself; Barry, the bully, being able to put in someone else's shoes and
learning a lesson. There’s a change of behavior in both characters.

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 Undecidability: the story makes the reader wonder if there’s a moral lesson at the end
of the story. Was it right for Peter to humiliate Barry in front of the entire school?

Feminism
Phallogocentrism: the characters, both males, fight against each other to be the
“superior” figure.

“Twelve Blue” by “Twelve blue” is a type of Hyperfiction and it can be analyzed from the point of view of
Michael Joyce fragmentation, since there are many stories in which you can read in any order.
(Hyperfiction) Themes: blue, seasons (winter), nature (rivers, oceans)

FEMINISM
1st wave (1792)
It emerged to criticize stereotypes of women and to argue that women should aspire to the same rationality prized by men.

Aims and achievements:

* The right to vote.
* The abolition of slavery.
* New model of female identity.
* Equality with men.

Foundational writers:
* Virginia Woolf
* Hilda Doolittle

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2nd wave (1960's)
Its focus was on civil rights and more specifically on economic equality.
Aims:
* Mark that there is no biological distinction between sexes.
* A new and more courageous type of woman started to express dissatisfaction, they wanted to find a voice to express the violence
in women who were considered unequal.

Achievements:
Deconstruction of male discourse, exploration of women's writings, the possibility of studying at universities.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: no "natural" distinction between the sexes.
BIOLOGISM: states that gender is natural.
PATRIARCHY: female gender is subordinate and oppressed.
GYNOCRITICISM: the study of women as writers. It deals with works written by women and for them.

3rd wave (1970/80's)

It emerged in order to break with the universalist notion of women ignored for a certain trait such as colour. It also saw the lesbian
desire as a precondition for a more inclusive feminism.
Aims;
* inclusion, lack of racism and equality in general.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:
FEMININE/MASCULINE: the first considered as the "passive", timid and emotional creature and as a counterpart of the "active",
dominant and rational as well as adventurous manly figure.

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PHALLOGOCENTRISM: a view in which the social and cultural power are invested in a symbol called "phallus", which women lack
of and for which they are considered as "castrated" in a masculine world of representation.

Gay Liberation Movement (1970's)

Occupants of a gay bar resisted a police raid. Gay Liberation had 2 main goals:
To resist persecution and discrimination.
To encourage gay people to develop a pride in their sexual identities.
Two main strategies:
Consciousness-raising: borrowed from Black and women's movements.
Coming-out: Publicly affirming gay identity.

Important concepts:
HETEROSEXISM: The prevailing social organization of sexuality which privileges heterosexuality to invalidate and suppress
homosexual relations.

Lesbian Theory
It emerged as a response to heterosexism and male-dominant Gay Liberation Movement.
It was concerned to identify a lesbian literary tradition and a lesbian literary aesthetic.
It led to a rediscovery of writers assumed to be heterosexual.

Queer theory (1980's)

It is a deconstructive postmodern theory that emerged in order to describe the marginality to both mainstream and minority cultures.
It moved beyond lesbian and gay sexualities to include a range of other sexualities that didn't fit in those categories.

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MODERNISM
Modernism originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a response to the social, cultural, and technological changes
brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Modernism emerged during the phase of monopoly capitalism, which occurred from the
late 19th century until the mid-20th century. This phase was characterized by electric and internal combustion motors and was
associated with modernist art and literature.
The application of the term "modern" is frequently applied specifically to the literature written since the beginning of World War I in
1914. This period has been marked by persistent and multi dimensioned experiments in subject matter, form, and style, and has
produced major achievements in all the literary genres. The world war had an influence on writing. The main themes were about
totalitarian regimes, government, social and economic problems. Literature was supposed to open minds and make the reader
think, however, writers like Virginia Woolf wrote about growing up, hope through tragedy, imperfect marriage, traumatic past, etc.

Characteristics;
● fragmented narratives, although fragmentation was seen as something tragic.
● it reflects ambiguity, chaos in the mind.
● supporting grand narratives, claiming universality, truth, reason or stability, because there were universal truths that
governed the world.
● high vocabulary (essay-like)
● stream of consciousness technique and interior monologue, you get the perspective of all the characters because there are
as many narrators as minds.
● writers wanted to examine human experience, their function was to inspirate (Woolf) or inform (Orwell)
● symbolism and imagery.
● logo “make it new” to make old things new, not necessarily to make new things

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The modern novel;
● Experimented with fragmented narratives and stream-of-consciousness techniques and interior monologue, challenging
traditional linear storytelling.
● Questioned traditional notions of knowledge and truth, often depicting a fragmented and subjective reality.
● Sought to break away from traditional forms of prose. It experimented with unconventional narrative structures and
language.
● Questioned the rationality and stability of the modern world. It explored the irrational and subconscious aspects of human
experience.
● Supported grand narratives.

THE LEGACY
Genre; Short story
Setting; London, modern times, in Angela’s drawing room, in Angela's life. A setting inside a setting; her diary. (2 stories w/
different narrators, settings, and point of views)
Characters; Gilbert, Sissy Miller, Angela (angel of the house, she changes throughout the story, she does something
revolutionary; writing and not being a mother), B.M. (revolutionary man)
Themes; Marriage, relationships, and the role of women. Writing. Suicide (glory and defeat, positive connotation).
Narrator; 3rd person. We get to know what was in the characters of mind. But in the diaries there's a first person narrator,
Angela’s voice.
Tone; ironic (situational and dramatic irony= dramatic irony: we readers know they were lovers but Gilbert doesn’t, complicity
of the reader with one of the characters)
Conflict; Angela’s conflict through her writing. Being trapped in a relationship, the only way to escape is to die.
Climax; when Gilbert realizes BM was Angela’s lover and that she has another life.
Symbol; the diaries, the pearl brooch (pearls were difficult to find at that time, the title of the story,
Language; simple, easy to read, instances of dialogues and stream of consciousness. Sentences are quite balanced. We
are explicitly told when we are reading the diary.
Imagery; visual images (the description of the things on the table)

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Postmodernism
Postmodernism emerged in the mid-20th century as a reaction against the perceived limitations and rigidity of modernism. It was
influenced by both World Wars, but particularly World War II, which brought about a loss of faith in grand narratives and a
heightened skepticism towards authority.
Postmodernism is associated with the phase of multinational or consumer capitalism. This phase emphasizes marketing, selling,
and consuming commodities and is correlated with nuclear and electronic technologies. Postmodernism reflects the cultural
practices and attitudes of this stage of capitalism.

Characteristics:
● Postmodernism celebrates fragmentation and incoherence. It’s like playing with nonsense.
● It focuses on small narratives, stories that explain small practices, local events, rather than global concepts.
● In postmodern societies, anything which is not able to be translated into a form of storable by a computer will cease to be
knowledge.
● There isn't universal truths, there's multiplicity: There are as many truths as sexes, nationalities, etc.
● Time and order aren't important.
● Vocabulary is common, used in different kinds of genres.
● It favors reflexivity, self-consciousness, ambiguity, and an emphasis on the decentered, dehumanized subject.
● Postmodernism rejects the idea that art can provide ultimate meaning and instead embraces the idea of playing with
nonsense.

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Postmodern vocabulary;
Undecidability: the impossibility of deciding between two or more interpretations in order to understand a piece of fiction, poetry,
etc.

A new enlightenment: the postmodern celebrates what doesn't make sense, the incoherent, or the Irrational. Reason itself has
been used to justify all sorts of oppression.

Dissemination: it involves a sense of disintegrating identity, centre and presence.

Simulation: writers attempt to recreate a simulation of the actual object in the real world. No distinction between the real and the
copy.

Depthlessness: the idea that the words which we write or speak express something inside our heads. Words are the surface,
whereas our thoughts or consciousness represent depth.

Pastiche: it is a way in which you have different genres mixing up together, intertextuality, "blank" parody that imitates/copies artistic
works and doesn't follow models.

The unpresentable: there is no pure present where a representation may take place.

Decentring: it challenges the logo-centric, the Christian concept of the word having full authority. It also challenges the
ethno-centric, the ethnic Identity of culture. There is deconstruction, otherness, multiplicity.

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HOW TO BE ANOTHER WOMAN
In the mid 80s it was popular to buy a self-help book. Published in 1985, Self-Help is a collection of short stories by the American
Writer Lorrie Moore.
This short story is a mixture of a parody and a pastiche (magazine’s quizzes, list, detective story and self help book).
Foreshadowing → Madame Bovary (Flaubert’s); story about a woman cheating.

Characters
● Charlene → office worker, childish, daughter, she changes all over the story. She is intelligent, she uses jokes as a self
defense process.
● Her lover → we don’t know his name, that is because he stands for any man.
Tone; ironic
Themes
● Identity → she compares herself with other women.
● Genre roles → women were mistresses or wives and we know women’s identity but not his.
● Professions of the time → banker, analyst.
● Existentialism → looking for a true self vs distorted image of herself.
Symbols
● The shoes → she puts herself in sb else's shoes, they are bigger than hers.
● The professions → symbol of social status
● The brands, medicine, matches, cigarettes → symbols of consumerism
● Medal → represents that she belongs to a university
● Attila → popular music band, a bird or a powerful ancient king.
● Narrator → 2nd person narrator makes the narrator and reader feel very close. The narrator is Charlene.
Post modern elements
● Simulation → she is the copy of the copy: i.e, there’s a wife and a mistress, and she is the “other” mistress.
● Fragmentation → is not linear, there’s ellipsis in the story. In "How to Be an Other Woman," the narrative is fragmented, with
the story being told through a series of vignettes and fragmented scenes. This fragmented structure mirrors the fragmented

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 nature of the protagonist's experiences and emotions as she navigates her role as the "other woman" in various
relationships.
● Undecidability → the title: it can be interpreted as how to be another kind of woman, or as a self-help book. In "How to Be
an Other Woman," the narrative explores the complexities of relationships and the blurred boundaries between love, desire,
and infidelity. The story presents multiple perspectives and leaves the reader with unresolved questions and uncertainties,
reflecting the concept of undecidability.
Intextuality
● Lists
● Media is present all the time

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THREE GIRLS
Plot; "Three Girls" by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story that takes place on a snowy evening in 1956 in New York. The story is
about two NYU girl-poets who visit a used book store called Strand Used Books. While at the bookstore, they encounter Marilyn
Monroe who was disguised as a man, as an ordinary person rather than a celebrity. The story explores the gender roles and
societal expectations faced by women in 1950s New York, as well as the thoughts and reservations of a lesbian couple during that
time period.
Setting;The story is primarily set in New York City on one March snowy early evening in 1956. The setting is Broadway and Twelfth
Street, where the two girl-poets encounter Marilyn Monroe in a bookstore called Strand Used Books.
Characters;
The two main characters are a young lesbian couple (19 and 20 years old) who observe Marilyn Monroe's behaviour and are
surprised to find that she wants to be seen as an ordinary person. Their names are not given.
Marilyn Monroe.
The cashier.
Narrator;
The story is narrated in the second person, with one girl recalling the events to the other. The narrator tells the story as if she is
writing a letter to her friend.
Themes;
● Gender roles and societal expectations faced by women in 1956 New York.
● Sexual identity and freedom.
● Young love and the exploration of one's sexuality.
● Taboo.
● Sorority.
● Stereotypes; Famous people vs Ordinary people.
Symbols;
● Marilyn Monroe
● The Bookstore divided into different sections.
● The two girls clothes vs Marilyn costume.
● Money.

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 ● Places; Tiffany vs Strand.
Tone & Language;
The story is written in a reflective and nostalgic tone, as one of the girls recounts the events of that snowy evening in 1956 to the
other girl years later. The language used is descriptive full of vivid imagery and metaphors to convey the characters' emotions and
experiences.
Conflict;
Internal Conflict: The two main characters, who are in a lesbian relationship, struggle with their own feelings and reservations about
their identity and relationship.
External Conflict; the two girls helped Marilyn Monroe to be unnoticed.
Climax;
It occurs when the two main characters approach Marilyn Monroe in the Strand Used Books store to pay for her, so the cashier
would not recognize her.

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Children’s literature
It consists of written works accompanied by illustrations produced first to educate children and later on to entertain them. The genre
encompases a wide range of works, including classics of world literature, picture books and easy-to-read stories.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a chapbook.
Children’s literature through history; There were morals and fables to teach children values at first and then they were intended
for children or enjoyed by children.
The first children’s literature were spoken stories, songs and poems. In the 17th c (Locke’s tabula rasa), chapbooks and hornbooks,
recording fairy tales by Perrault. In the 18th c the concept of children changed, people started thinking of children not as little adults.
In the 19th c, the Ugly Duckling. Golden Age; books are more affordable, books are to entertain and make children laugh and
reflect.
The main characteristics; are children characters, action, repetition, fantasy, innocence, optimism, illustration, rhyme, didacticism
and alliteration.
They are classified by genre and age; Genre; picture books, traditional literature, fiction, others (poetry, non fiction, biography).
Age: pre-readers, ages 5-7 developing reading skills, 7-12 stories with chapters.
Criticism;
Effect on Early Childhood.
Traditional gender roles.
Stereotypes Racism.
Pro Imperialist and Colonial themes (Marxism). Children learnt from books written by travelers, Eg. England colonizing other
“inferior” countries.
Young Adults’ Literature
Books written for readers from 12 to 18 years old. It captures the common concepts and emotions that teens usually struggle with;
identity, friendship, family relationships, suicide, love, money, divorce, authority figures, diversity, sexuality, peer preassure,
depression, substance abuse. It is written in realistic, dialectic language, profanity and poor grammar.
Genres; some of the most common genres are adventure, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction and romance.
There’s always a problem to be solved (social or personal). It deals with adolescents’ first confrontation with social problems. Lower
and upper social classes with the same problems. Eg; Maze runner, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight.

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Hyperfiction
Twelve Blue by Michael Joyce is the first example of Hyperfiction. It was published in 1996. Hypertext is a non-sequential,
non-linear writing which gives the reader different pathways. It is electronic literature, and it appears with the outcoming of the
internet . It is an open ended story, the reader can choose where to go next and when to put an end to the story. What matters is
what the reader does with the text, the reader is a producer, he is not a consumer. It is decentered writing and there's multiplicity,
there are as many voices as possible.

Flash Fiction
Flash fiction is a form of extremely short storytelling that aims to convey a complete narrative in a concise and condensed manner. It typically
consists of a few hundred words or less, making it a brief and impactful literary form. Flash fiction often focuses on a single scene, moment, or
idea, and requires the writer to convey a complete story with limited space. It has a plot, characters and setting. It can be a challenging but
rewarding form of creative expression that allows for experimentation and brevity in storytelling. Up to 1500 words.

Twitter fiction
Published on Twitter, up to 140 characters.

Haiku
17 syllables. Japanese. They are about nature.

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