--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 1980s: feminism, postmodernism…" description: "\"“The 1980s: feminism, postmodernism, sexual/textual politics While it might be tempting to generalise that Woolf ’s writing was being discussed almost ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/jane-goldman-8109_feminism_the-1980s-feminism-postmodernism-sexual_3066775.jpg" --- # 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…” quote by Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/jane-goldman-8109_feminism_the-1980s-feminism-postmodernism-sexual_3066775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/jane-goldman-8109_feminism_the-1980s-feminism-postmodernism-sexual_3066775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/jane-goldman-8109_feminism_the-1980s-feminism-postmodernism-sexual_3066775.jpg) > ““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.”” [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) ## 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Radical feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical-feminist/) ## Related quotes > [“The 1970s and 1980s: feminism, androgyny, modernism, aesthetics In the 1970s and 1980s, Woolf studies expanded in a number of directions, most notably in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/the-1970s-and-1980s-feminism-androgyny-modernism-aesthetics-in-the/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“The 1950s and 1960s: philosophy, psychology, myth There was considerable critical interest in Woolf ’s life and work in this period, fuelled by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/the-1950s-and-1960s-philosophy-psychology-myth-there-was-considerable/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“The 1990s to the present: feminism, historicism, postcolonialism, ethics There has never been a better time to study Virginia Woolf. 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