Q7 (majer): Ecriture feminine according to Helene Cixous (on the basis of "The Laugh of the Medusa" and Pamela's description of Cixous's work) Flashcards
What is ecriture feminine according to Helene Cixous?
- a uniquely feminine style of writing characterized by disruptions in the text (e.g. gaps, puns, etc.)
- eccentric, incomprehensible and inconsistent
- joyous free play of meanings
- “originates” from mother-child relation, before the phallocentric language
What is pallocentric language?
- male-centered verbal language
- used for writing history
What are Cixous’s thoughts on the general idea of a woman?
- no general woman –> individualism, everyone is different
What are Cixous’s thoughts on female writing?
- she does not want to generalize on the characteristics of female writing but rather stress the importance of women taking action
- women cannot avoid using male language but they have to speak and make their name their own
What is Cixous’s idea of the multiplicity of female sexuality?
- “I too overflow”
- while the masculine sexuality finds its locus in the penis, woman’s sexuality is cosmic
On what levels is women’s writing important?
1) PERSONAL: takes back the body from a solely sexual object
2) HISTORICAL: by writing, women enter history
How is woman’s imaginary inexhaustible?
A woman is capable of giving = losing a part of herself without losing her integrity
What reason Cixous gives for the women’s oppression from the hands of men?
- it is caused by male fear of women and their power
- women are considered dark, dangerous, and passive
What does the title “The Laugh of the Medusa” mean?
- Medusa = unfairly punished goddess
- defeated by Perseus (she becomes a symbol of male dominance)
- the laughter symbolises Medusa (–>women) embracing and owning her situation, refusing to be silent and dominated
According to Cixous what is the way to break with patriarchal tradition?
- it can be done through THE BODY (joy, experimentation, admiration, etc.)
- maternal body = an example/symbol of connection and wholesess
In what way is Cixous’s essay a deconstruction?
- it dismantles gender differences/oppossitions
- creates new order, not based on gender differences
What, in Pamela’s article, is Cixous theory of a “marked writing”?
- masculine writing mode
- women follow that mode but need to dismantle the sociaetal and cultural codes to enforce gender equality
With what does Cixous associate poetry?
poetry = example of feminine writing since poetry is linked with the unconscious
What does Pamela claim of Cixous’s idea of a “new woman”?
- a “new woman” is omnipresent and desires everything
What does Cixous mean in stating that a “feminine text is volcanic”?
- it is a product of a liberating gesture of flight
- full of subversions and poetic language, chaotic
- elusive in terms of categorization
- mulltiple, organic, bodily
