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... When we approach a text with a view to critical analysis then, we might consider not only the writer’s ideological perspective but also the notion that our responses to the text reflect our own culturally specific values and beliefs. Similarly, when reading literary criticism, we must be aware that the authors of critical analyses are responding to texts (in themselves positioned and positioning) according to their individual needs and concerns, and of course our personal worldviews will inform our own responses to both texts. We find therefore, as Selden, Widdowson and Brooker (1997) state when discussing Marxist feminism in A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory, that “texts have no fixed meanings: interpretations depend on the situation and ideology of the reader” (Selden et al 1997 p133). This paper will explore these ideas in relation to my own decidedly feminist responses to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
From the mid 1970s on…it has become increasingly self-evident to Shakespeareans that interpretation implies an at least twofold ideological operation: an encounter with the text’s ideologies, which is in turn mediated by the reader’s own ideological makeup (Kamps in Edwards 1999 p10). ... Shakespeare’s work has served as a staple for many a critic – writing from surprisingly varied perspectives. Consider, for example, Harold Bloom’s worshipful tone in reference to Shakespeare in Freud: A Shakespearean Reading in The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages (1996 pp371-94). Bloom, while lauding Freud as a great writer, refutes much of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory when used in connection with Shakespeare’s writing. Contrast Bloom’s work with that of feminist gynocritic Elaine Showalter in Literary Brutes (1999), who claims that of Shakespeare’s array of male characters who wrong their long-suffering women, none ever show more than a perfunctory amount of remorse for their misdeeds (Showalter 1999 p2). ... However, my interpretation of Shakespeare’s writing, although acknowledging the possible intent of the author, and the views of other critics, will inevitably be based upon my own ideological needs and concerns, which are heavily influenced by feminist theory.
There is no single or simple definition of feminist critical theory, in fact, it would be more correct to describe feminism as consisting of a great number and variety of theories – all of course, with the common aim of contesting patriarchal discourse.
Approximate Word count = 1780
Approximate Pages = 7.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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