parler femme: Assessing Women’s Writing through the Lens of Feminist Literary Theory

In the later half of the 20th century, literary theories became more scientific and inclusive. Questions about women’s writings and women’s language are explored, contested and examined by various prominent critical thinkers. Critics like Butler, Showalter, Cixous, Irigary contested the idea of feminist language and aesthetics. The question of gender and language became more complicated. All these contestations are also reflected in literature written by women. The present paper attempts to read select women’s writings through the lens of feminist literary theories. By exploring women’s writings in the context of theoretical frameworks provided by these thinkers, the paper tries to establish an argument that women writers have developed their own aesthetics over a period of time.