The 1980s: feminism, postmodernism, sexual/textual…
““The 1980s: feminism, postmodernism, sexual/textual politics While it might be tempting to generalise that Woolf ’s writing was being discussed almost in two separate camps during the 1980s, formalists on the one hand, and feminists on the other, this would be to simplify things too far. Many critics were attempting to make sense of and connect her feminist politics with her modernist practices. Such investigations coincided with the explosion of theory in literary studies, and once again the work of Virginia Woolf was central to the framing of many of the major theoretical developments in literary critical engagements with feminism, postmodernism, deconstruction and psychoanalysis. In the context of the rise of ‘high theory’ and the questioning of old-school Marxist, materialist, humanist and historicist literary theories, Woolf studies wrestled with the locating of her radical feminist politics in the avant-garde qualities of the text itself, and its endlessly transgressive play of signifiers, with the Woolfian inscription of radically deconstructed models of the self and of sexuality and jouissance.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Woolf’s work was examined for its feminist and modernist intersections during a theoretical boom.
In simple terms: Scholars explored Woolf’s feminist ideas within modernist style.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how literary form can embody political ideas.
Themes
feminism
modernism
theory
postmodernism
deconstruction
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
academic
theoretical
When to use this quote
- university courses
- literary criticism
- academic conferences
- research papers
Key Concepts
signifiers
self
sexuality
jouissance
avantgarde
Questions to Reflect On
- How does theory enhance or limit understanding of Woolf?
- What aspects of her writing resist categorization?
A Different Perspective
Some argue the focus on theory can obscure Woolf’s narrative artistry.