What is Literary feminism? What is feminism? By general a definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is based on social, political and economic equality for women. Feminism can also be described as a movement, a revolution that includes women and men who wish the world to be equal without boundaries. These boundaries or blockades are better known as discrimination and biases against gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status and economic status. Literary feminism is a fuel, is a written medium to communicate the philosophy of feminism. Everyone views the world with his or her own sense of gender and equality. Feminists view the world as being unequal. They wish to see the gender gap and the idea that men are superior to women decreased or even abolished. Nawal El Saadawi's novel Memoirs of a Woman Doctor instills feminist themes. Feminists want a utopian society of equality for men and women. They want the water to fill the brim of their jars and not have the men over flowing or the ladies be half empty.
Saadawi's novel is a feminist's text. The narrator is a pioneer, a feminist in her country of suppression. She is one grain in a salt pinch of women who are rebelling against traditions. She is in an extreme situation (being a doctor) where she must reject everything to do with being female in the culture; since the book takes place in Egyptian culture not American culture. If the book was set in American culture with the narrator's view on her body and marriage, I could see how the book would be considered misogynist. But since she is one the first women in this role to be an equal, she must take on the characteristics of a man until the men in the culture soften and change their ideals for the better-towards women.
The ruling class dictates the ideals of the culture; feminists need to transcend towards the ruling class for a time in order to have some drastic change in ideology.
