Between Being and Becoming: A Gynocritical Reading of Selected Narratives

Abstract

     Feminism since its emergence is based, in essence, on the principle of equality not only between men and woman, but even between women themselves.  As such, feminism is concerned with how women are engaged in the process of being and becoming—a process that diminishes labeling womenfolk as the "Inferior Other Sex". The study argues that narratives written by feminist writers like Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Virginia Woolf, and Kate Chopin are Gynocritical feminists writing back to an androcentric culture and the patriarical system whose sole aim is to silence women , treat them as an inferior sex, and confine them to the roles of nursering and nurturing. The following study reflects on a literary mosaic composed of denouncing voices that provide more insights into the nature of women's existence. Elucidated under the umbrella of feminism, the examined narratives, namely The Yellow Wallpaper, The New Dress, and A Story of an Hour, shed the light on different aspects related to women's being and becoming including hysteria, the objectified angel, the invisible being, women's authentication, and so on. The study draws heavily on feminist critics who present different discussions about masculine subjugation of women and feminist's avenue towards self-actualization. The study falls into four sections and a conclusion. Section one is an introduction illustrating the core of feminism with reference to its main concepts. Section two tackles the concept of hysteria as it is represented in Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper". Section three examines Kate Chopin's "A Story of an Hour" through the lenses of Simon de Beauvoir's existentialist perspectives. Section four reflects on Virginia Woolf's treatment of women's attempts to transcend passivity as it is represented in "The New Dress". The Conclusion highlights the findings of the study.