FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM: An Understanding of Feminism By: Azhariah Rachman

INTRODUCTION
It is broadly acknowledged that feminism is one of the theories used in social and cultural science. For a scope of perception, feminism can be defined more than a theory; it is a way of life, a politics, a struggle, and an idea. It is not easy to define what feminism is. The definition could be changeable in certain condition and certain time. In the west, feminism is translated as the situation conditioned which surrounds it, so as in the east. This definition is based upon cultural reality and the truth of history, in a level of consciousness, perception and action in each person who has been through it (Bhasin, 1999:4). So, the term feminism in 17th century when the first time to word used, is not the same as used in 1980s. The different perception, action and consciousness are applied in one type of feminism but in different person. Furthermore, it is not awkward to say that in one type of feminism we could find different arguments and opinions, including the root of problem, the patriarchal system, and mens domination to women. Beside that, the aim of the struggle is also different from one another, especially in creating a society without oppression and classes. Moreover, the aim is free from gender bias. Bowles and Klein define feminism as a movement or even a consciousness departed from the perception that there is a discrimination of women all over the world, and an action in order to discharge the imbalance situation both by men or women (Bowles and Klein in Herminingrum, 1994:8) Feminist theory has been developed from the theory into particular of feminist study through literary works. Feminist studies and Womens studies, both challenge male intellectual hegemony (Bowles and Klein, in Herminingrum, 1994:8).

Womens issues are addressed to every women problems and cases that relate to personal freedom and womens prosperousness (Culler, in Tome, 1992:14). Many women writers have poured their expression about women and specially reflected themselves as a representative of womens voice. Women with this various problems in mens view are needed to love and to be loved (Marianne in Culler, 1983:44). Most women consider that the feminist perspectives come from different perceptions which are dominant and institutionally applied to woman characters. These are applied also in their social functions which are; the description of jobs, family structure, work and politics, health and social prosperity. Due to the perception of woman as a social group, they can produce ways to see the matter to understand womens condition, which support them to struggle for their equality. However, it is rather difficult to define feminism. However, after sorting all the various perspectives about feminism offered by feminist theorists, it can be discovered that there is a core of characteristics that make it exists, Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure
and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men (Sapiro, 1986:441).

Feminists believe that inequities should be eliminated. As an application, feminists cannot simply doing things better as an individuals in the social world, but must work together to change the structure of society. Any action means making the best of an unjust situation.

VARIOUS TYPES OF FEMINISM

There are several types of feminism that have been discussed, which offer a distinction and tradition in each of them. Although the theory comes into same destination, thought and action to differentiate their ways are not equivalent. These types form a differentiation caused by the system of gender in a particular society and the involvement of individuals who support the system. The condition was occur because the theory is changeable according to individual and condition which becomes the background of it. Problems can differentiate these types when they try to answer a question, why women are treated unfairly or discriminated? Principally, there are three types of feminism that will be explained further. They are liberal feminism, socialist feminism and radical feminism. Liberal feminism that dominantly influences the theory, means that women are not given the same opportunities as men to pursue their individual interests. This because women as a group are blocked by informal and formal discrimination and ideology which people learn through socialization that views women very differently than men (Sapiro, 1986:442). But the basic assumption of this type is freedom and equality has its root in rationality. So the basic struggle of liberal feminist is to demand same possibility and rights for every person including women. On the other hand, socialist feminism, which developed from Marxist thought, criticizes the liberal followers which stated that women have the same opportunities as men within given social institutions, but we have to look more deeply at the structure and relationship of those social institution themselves (Sapiro, 1986:443). As a matter of fact, the socialist feminism is a synthesis between Marxism class theory and a person is political from radical feminism (Jaggar, 1990:89). For the socialist feminists, female oppressions are found in every class. Radical feminism stated that sexual relations and sexuality are the center of their feminist framework. They defined that men are the problem and women are the solution. Societies in which currently arranged are patriarchal. They are run, organized, and defined by men

for their own benefit (Sapiro, 1986, 445). Patriarchal system in the society is considered as a universal problem and a cause of all the discriminations toward women. For the liberal feminists, person is political, so then each revolution happens in every women who experience an action to change their lifestyle, experiences and human relation. Beside those three types, to some extent, there are several types of feminism. The most different of all is ecofeminism. The term used for the first time by Francoise DEaubonne. In progress, Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva (1993) succeeded in doing the reconstruction of this type (Fakih, 1996:43). Supposing feminism is politics of equality of mens and womens right, feminism is also a theory as mentioned. Feminism is a scope of theory and each feminist politics implies a special way to comprehend patriarchal system. Feminist perspective concerns patriarchal system will be coping various assumptions about sex, gender, femininity, masculinity, identity, stereotype and change. If feminism is concerned with issues effecting women, for the sake of criticism the existence of it remains analogizing the politics again. Yet, the movement has got to do with the social matter. And the class of society fought the issues of women can also be classified as feminists. The reason is because the consequences of their activities; not just for women themselves or the ones who campaign for emancipation and liberation. In a fair perception it can be said that a feminist is not only addressed to women who campaign or running any movement of feminism only, but males who have the perspectives of feminism can also be called a feminist. So at present, feminists are imagined as confined to the narrow world of women. It becomes the marginal world of only womens issues, cut off from the general field of human endeavor (which to some extent is called class politics). Fear of separation and marginalization still has a strong inhibitory power by them. The issue of separatism, the creation of a female culture and community, is at the heart of an unfinished debate within feminism and between feminism (Herrmann, 1994:19).

When the womens liberation movement came into existence in the late 1960s, it emerged into a social order already marked by an assimilation of other feminism. Feminism was already a part of the political and social fabric. It does not present as a dominant force; feminists are, after all, the representatives of a subordinate group. But the logic of mainstream feminismthat there could be a politics directed towards womenhad been assimilated. Even if women had not normally acted as a unified political constituency, and if womens politics had, by the 1960s become stereotyped (Herrmann, 1994:18). Then the definition arrives in opinion, that feminism is a theory applied into all aspects of life in which women issues appear as the major issues. This is the women consciousness of equality among men-women relationship as human being that have rights to be treated equally. Moreover, a woman is a woman herself. And for certain reasons, it is impossible to change into a man. She cannot transfigure herself in other process unless the process of herself, phase by phase. In contrast, the opinion about feminism above does not represent one another. This because each has its own characteristics, which is independent, not supported each other regarding the understanding of feminism. Opinions, arguments and perceptions about feminism are translated only as a justification and a legitimation to legalize women towards their position in society. The perception attempts to equalize men and women in all aspects of life, including in literature. Hence, feminism specifically leads to a literary study that focuses on the analysis towards women. In the history of literature, men have brought literature into their own world. They created the image that in literature, the creator is men, and the reader, automatically, has to be men also. In relation to that, women as the minority did not have a chance to create achievable works as many as men. In progress, the presence of feminist literary criticism brought a new nuance that women could also embrace hope and perception into literature.

FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM: AN ANALYSIS ABOUT WOMEN

Feminist literary criticism is an appropriate approach used to reveal many subordination and oppression of women. In this context, feminist theory is expected to reveal the veil that covers the certain message inside the literary works and reclaim the opinions in literature externally (Ruthven, 1984:24-58). On the other hand, literature, as one of the discipline covers the new theories including feminist literary criticism that features: 1. The study covers mens perception about women, and how they describe women, 2. Study about women, the creativity of women in relation with their potentiality, 3. Study of application of the theory in womens studies. Moreover, feminist literary criticism is an effort of women scholars to change the tyranny of androcentrist criticism which very male oriented. It tends to influence the women readers to identify themselves with mens character. In order to stand for the position of womens literature into an appropriate place, feminist literary criticism summarizes various approaches whether textual structuralism reception, semiotic or literature sociology (Winata in Tome, 1992:10). Therefore, we are led to identify womens role inside the works of literature in order to uncover the patriarchal system dominated by men. Feminism does not mean a criticism as an alibi for replacing men and literature dominated by women, and does not see sexual distinction in literature as a threat. On the contrary, to see the criticism as a great dynamic changes the world of literature according to opinions, perceptions, thoughts and ideas which expressed from womens comprehension of their condition in literature. Feminist literary criticism is an analysis of women in literature, in terms of women as a center study of literature. Critics are facing the assumptions about women based upon the concept of women is always related to her destiny. This concept turns to be the issues of women everywhere. Furthermore, the critics try to identify an experience or perspective of

women and mens perception that is performed as an experience of humans figure in literature. This happened in order to change assumption about literary works and at the same time to change the significance of various gender codes, according to the conducted hypothesis (Showalter in Culler, 1983:50). The objective of feminist literary criticism is to give a critical respond towards the opinion manifestated in literary works which is given by its culture. Thus, it is questioning the relationship between text, power and sexuality reveals in text (Miller in Culler, 1983:47). Feminist literary criticism includes feminist, literary and criticism. The word of feminist connects closely with feminism, a theory of equality suggests equality between men and women in politics, economic and social, and womens needs (Molieono in Tome, 1992:11). In America, a change had taken place in the fields of social politics, economic and culture around 1960s. The change in social-cultural also a change in literature, is the development of feminist literary criticism. Literature and its analysis focused to the critics. Therefore, since readers and critics of womens literary works were men, then feminist literary criticism aimed to criticize the works of literature which produced by women exclusively. But, once again it is not excluding mens works to be added as another nuance in the world of womens literature. This world, certainly, is not attempting to dismiss the mens authority in literature, but, rather, to challenge its chauvinism tendency which somehow subjecting the position of women in the society where women are existing.

CONCLUSION
In short, the definition arrives in an opinion, that feminism is a theory applied into all aspects of life in which women issues appear as the major issues. This is the woman consciousness of equality among men-women relationship as human being that have rights to be treated equally. Moreover, a woman is a woman herself. And for certain reasons, it is impossible to change into a man. She cannot transfigure herself in other process unless the process of herself, phase by phase.

On the contrary, the opinion about feminism above does not represent one another. This is because each has its own characteristics which is independent, not being supported by each other regarding the understanding of feminism. Opinions, arguments and perception about feminism are translated only as a justification and a legitimation to legalize women towards their position in society. The perception attempts to equalize man and woman.

References Culler, Jonathan. 1975. Structuralism Poetics, Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Hermann, Anne. C and Abigail Stewart . 1994. Theorizing Feminism. Parallel Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Colorado: Westview Press. Herminingrum, Sri. 1994. Silvia Plat's Death Poems and The 1960 - 1970 Radical Feminists' Issues of Female Oppression in America. Thesis. Yogyakarta : Post Graduate Programme. Gajah Mada University. Ruthven, K.K. 1987. Feminist Practice and Post Structuralist Theory. New York; Basil Blackwell. Ruthven, K.K. 1991. Feminist Literary Studies: An Introduction. New York. Cambridge University Press. Sapiro, Virginia. 1986. Women in American Society : An Introduction to Women's Studies. California : Mayfield Publishing Company. Tome, Saryati Nadjamuddin. 1992. Isu Wanita dalam Novel La Barka Sebuah Analisis Kritik Sastra Feminis, Thesis. Yogyakarta : Post Graduate Programme, Gajah Mada University Press.