Critical Theories and Intellectual Traditions · Theoretical Paradigms: Structuralism, Marxism, feminism, existentialism, poststructuralism, modernism, postmodernism, new historicism, postcolonialism, posthumanism · 2 marks · Multiple select
Which of the following statement(s) is/are true regarding Elaine Showalter’s essay “A Literature of Their Own”?
Showalter argued that a canon of women authors does exist.
Showalter observed that in the Feminine phase (1840-1880), women authors mostly imitated the male authors’ models.
Showalter observed the Feminist phase which began in the 1880s and 1890s is the period when women authors rebelled against prevalent patriarchal attitudes.
Showalter observed that the Female phase which began from the latter half of the twentieth century is marked by the women authors’ disavowal of sexuality as the possible source of creativity.
Correct answer: (A) Showalter argued that a canon of women authors does exist.; (B) Showalter observed that in the Feminine phase (1840-1880), women authors mostly imitated the male authors’ models.; (C) Showalter observed the Feminist phase which began in the 1880s and 1890s is the period when women authors rebelled against prevalent patriarchal attitudes.
Explanation
Showalter's phases are Feminine (imitation), Feminist (protest) and Female (self-discovery). In the Female phase women turn to their own experience, including sexuality, as a source of creativity, so D is false.