Gender Consciousness and Representation in Virginia Woolf's Writing in Light of Contemporary Feminism and Gender Theory

• Název práce v češtině: Povědomí o genderu a jeho reprezentace v dílech Virginie Woolfové z pohledu současného feminismu a genderové teorie
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Gender Consciousness and Representation in Virginia Woolf's Writing in Light of Contemporary Feminism and Gender Theory
• Klíčová slova: Virginia Woolfová|gender|ženy|feminismus|patriarchie|écriture féminine|intersekcionalita|genderová teorie|heteronormativita|performativita
• Klíčová slova anglicky: Virginia Woolf|gender|women|feminism|patriarchy|écriture féminine|intersectionality|gender theory|heteronormativity|performativity
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2015/2016
• Typ práce: diplomová práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Ústav anglofonních literatur a kultur (21-UALK)
• Vedoucí / školitel: prof. PhDr. Martin Procházka, CSc.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 30.11.2015
• Datum zadání: 30.11.2015
• Schválení administrátorem: zatím neschvalováno
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 02.12.2015
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 05.09.2017 00:00
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 17.07.2017
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 05.09.2017
• Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: odevzdaná studentem a finalizovaná
• Oponenti: PhDr. Soňa Nováková, CSc.

Zásady pro vypracování

The thesis will analyse the multifaceted representation of gender in Virginia Woolf's work from the standpoint of a variety of approaches within feminist and gender theory and criticism. The aim is to explore how Woolf manages to present seemingly stereotypical female identities in ways which defy and revise the convention of phallogocentric representations of women. Furthermore, it will be analysed in what ways her portrayal of ambiguous characters who do not align with the gender binary is subversive in regards to the status quo.
Both Woolf's fictional and non-fictional work is to be examined in light of New French Feminism's écriture féminine (texts such as "The Laugh of the Medusa" by Hélène Cixous or This Sex Which is Not One by Luce Irigaray and texts which derive from these such as Makiko Minow-Pinkney's Virginia Woolf and the Problem of the Subject) as well as other, often Anglo-American feminist approaches which examine innovation of the modes of representation of women and by women (texts by critics such as Jane Marcus, Sue Roe or Elaine Showalter). Unlike the proponents of écriture féminine, some representatives of Anglo-American theory and criticism begin to question sexual difference as a valid concept to be in the centre of a feminist viewpoint in face of the male power structure which écriture féminine as a postmodernist approach tends to disregard. The Anglo-American approaches then problematise écriture féminine and put it into a perspective which brings to light its potential limitations. The aim is to analyse what the complementation and disagreement of these approaches brings forth in understanding Woolf's stance on and representation of gender identity and relations.
In the study of Woolf's oeuvre it soon becomes apparent that it does not suffice to solely linger on the categories of "woman", "female" and "femininity" as her texts complicate these categories and the understanding of gender identities cannot be merely reduced to them. This is why such essentialist reading must be contrasted with the constructivist position of recent gender theory to truly understand the nuances in Woolf's depiction of the gender problematic. This confrontation will be the specific point of interest of the thesis. The thesis will draw on the gender theory of Judith Butler which significantly revises previous theoretical approaches to the construction of gender through which some of Woolf's work has been analysed. The thesis aims to closely link Butler's investigation (Gender Trouble, Bodies That Matter,...) of the concepts of performativity, the construction of gender as well as sex and the abject body with Woolf's texts to explore in detail Woolf's potential to be subversive in regards to the hegemonic gender discourse. This is to be questioned especially in Orlando where Woolf attempts to disrupt the gender binary in a revolutionary manner and Butler's theory aids in comprehending in what ways she succeeds and in what ways she only appears to be successful. Butler's analysis of gender will be used to redefine how Woolf's texts can be understood.
Finally, the issue of trying to apply contemporary approaches to Woolf's texts will be addressed. The problems of relating concepts such as "transgender", as Stef Craps attempts to do in "How To Do Things With Gender: Transgenderism in Virginia Woolf's Orlando", or "queer" to Wolf's characters will be analysed. These terms imply that which is hinted at subtly and ambiguously in the studied texts or what is depicted with the use of the fantastical. Their implementation then might seem to define Woolf's work in specific ways, however, the aim of their use should not be mere categorisation for the sake of mere labeling but rather the opening up of new possible understandings of identities which are relevant to contemporary contexts. When it comes to feminism, the thesis will contemplate the significance of Woolf's impact for relatively new revisionist feminist trends. In their texts, authors such as Audre Lorde or Gloria Anzaldúa refer to Woolf's A Room of One's Own in the context of it being considered an early a feminist text and revise it for the purposes of current trends in feminism defined on the basis of intersectionality – a term coined by Kimberlé William Crenshaw – of gender, class and race. It is to be questioned to what extent the previously analysed Woolf's representation of gender identities is relevant from the standpoint of these contemporary approaches.
The approximate specific structuring of the thesis will go as follows:
The first chapter will confront seemingly stereotypical and on the other hand gender-ambiguous characters and analyse their subversive functions in novels such as Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, The Waves or Orlando.
The second chapter will focus on the explored identities from the point of view of écriture féminine which will be subsequently juxtaposed with Anglo-American approaches to point out some of its possible limitations.
The third chapter will react to essentialist positions with the exploration of the theoretical and methodological problematic of constructivism and gender theory. It will specifically focus on Judith Butler's work and its meaning for new understanding of identities presented in Woolf's texts, especially in Orlando.
The fourth chapter will focus on reception and transformation of Woolf's works based on novel concepts such as "queer", "transgender" or "intersectionality" employed by other new contemporary approaches in gender theory as well as feminism which offer the potential to further revise and innovate the ways in which Woolf's work has been defined and comprehended.

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