Reading Comprehension (RC) | Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly by the politics of feminism. Its history has been widespread and varied, from classic works of nineteenth-century women authors such as George Eliot and Margaret Fuller, to cutting-edge theoretical work in women's studies and gender studies by "third-wave" authors. In the most general and simple terms, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s—in the first and second waves of feminism—was concerned with the politics of women's authorship and the representation of women's condition within literature, including the depiction of fictional female characters. In addition, feminist criticism was further concerned with the exclusion of women from the western literary canon – an exclusion that most feminist critics suggest is due to the views of women authors not being considered universal.

Since the development of more complex conceptions of gender and subjectivity and third-wave feminism, modern feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes, namely in the tradition of the Frankfurt School's critical theory. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, as part of the deconstruction of existing relations of power, and as a concrete political investment. It has also been closely associated with the birth and growth of gay studies. The more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role in criticism. More specifically, modern feminist criticism deals with those issues related to the patriarchal programming within key aspects of society including education, politics, and the work force.

Recently, Lisa Tuttle has defined feminist theory as asking "new questions of old texts." Consequently she cites the following as the primary goals of feminist criticism: to uncover a female tradition of writing; to interpret symbolism of women's writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by the male point of view; to analyze women writers and their writings from a female perspective; to examine sexism in literature; and to increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style. Only through such analysis, she argues, can a proper view of feminist criticism be framed moving forward.