40+ MCQS – Elaine Showalter: Towards a Feminist Poetics
Introduction
Elaine Showalter is a prominent American feminist literary critic, writer, and theorist, best known for her contributions to feminist literary criticism. She was born in 1941 and has played a major role in shaping the field of feminist literary theory, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Showalter is renowned for her work on women’s literature, gender studies, and the representation of women in literary history.
One of her most influential essays is “Towards a Feminist Poetics” (1979), where she explores how feminist criticism should evolve. In this essay, she outlines two key types of feminist criticism:
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Feminist critique – which examines literature from a male-dominated canon, analyzing how women are portrayed in works written by men.
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Gynocriticism – a term coined by Showalter, referring to the study of women’s writing by women, focusing on female authorship, experiences, and literary traditions.
Showalter argues that instead of merely critiquing male authors, feminist criticism must create a framework to understand and celebrate women’s writing on its own terms. Her essay helped shift the focus of feminist literary studies from reactionary to constructive, aiming to build a female literary tradition.
Q.1 Who is the author of “Towards a Feminist Poetics”?
a) Virginia Woolf
b) Simone de Beauvoir
Elaine Showalter
Kate Millett
Answer: c) Elaine Showalter
Q. 2 In which year was “Towards a Feminist Poetics” first published?
1970
1975
1979
1982
Answer: c) 1979
Q.3 Which are the two major modes of feminist literary criticism identified by Showalter?
Psychoanalytic criticism and Structuralism
Feminist Critique and Gynocriticism
Formalism and Deconstruction
Marxism and Postcolonialism
Answer: b) Feminist Critique and Gynocriticism
Q. 4 What does “Feminist Critique” focus on?
Studying women’s writing traditions
Analyzing how women are portrayed in male-authored texts
Understanding economic structures in literature
Exploring postmodern literary theories
Answer: b) Analyzing how women are portrayed in male-authored texts
Q. 5 What is “Gynocriticism”?
A critique of male-dominated language
A study of how men write about women
A study of women’s literature, history, and styles
A branch of psychoanalysis
Answer: c) A study of women’s literature, history, and styles
Q.6 How many phases of women’s literary development does Showalter propose?
Two
Three
Four
Five
Answer: b) Three
Q.7 Which phase of women’s writing involved imitating male literary forms?
Feminine Phase
Feminist Phase
Female Phase
Postmodern Phase
Answer: a) Feminine Phase
Q. 8 During which phase did women actively challenge male-dominated literary traditions?
Feminine Phase
Feminist Phase
Female Phase
Romantic Phase
Answer: b) Feminist Phase
Q. 9 What characterizes the Female Phase in Showalter’s theory?
Women writing under male pseudonyms
Women rejecting male literary standards and developing their own traditions
Women only writing about domestic issues
A lack of female writers
Answer: b) Women rejecting male literary standards and developing their own traditions
Q. 10 Which of the following is a work by Elaine Showalter?
The Second Sex
A Literature of Their Own
Sexual Politics
The Feminine Mystique
Answer: b) A Literature of Their Own
Q. 11 What does Showalter critique about traditional literary criticism?
Its overuse of psychological theories
It is a male-centered perspective
Its preference for poetry over prose
Its focus is on non-Western literature
Answer: b) Its male-centered perspective
Q.12 What is the main aim of gynocriticism?
To compare male and female writers
To create a distinct framework for studying women’s literature
To prove that men write better than women
To focus only on female characters in male-authored texts
Answer: b) To create a distinct framework for studying women’s literature
Q.13 Which literary period does Showalter’s “Feminine Phase” correspond to?
1840–1880
1880–1920
1920–Present
1600–1700
Answer: a) 1840–1880
Q. 14 In which book did Showalter elaborate on gynocriticism?
The Female Malady
A Literature of Their Own
The Madwoman in the Attic
Gender Trouble
Answer: b) A Literature of Their Own
Q. 15 What does Showalter argue women’s literature must be studied as?
A part of the male literary tradition
An independent tradition
A lesser form of literature
A subset of psychoanalysis
Answer: b) An independent tradition
Q. 16. Which feminist critic wrote The Second Sex, influencing Showalter’s work?
Virginia Woolf
Simone de Beauvoir
Judith Butler
Helene Cixous
Answer: b) Simone de Beauvoir
Q. 17 What is the primary concern of feminist critique?
Women’s biological differences
How women are represented in literature
The role of religion in literature
The economic conditions of male authors
Answer: b) How women are represented in literature
Q. 18 Why does Showalter believe a new literary framework is needed?
To further support male-centered criticism
To provide a separate space for women’s literary expression
To focus solely on Western literary traditions
To reject all male literature
Answer: b) To provide a separate space for women’s literary expression
Q. 19 How does Showalter view the traditional Western literary canon?
As inclusive of all voices
As a male-dominated and exclusionary
As primarily scientific
As irrelevant to modern readers
Answer: b) As male-dominated and exclusionary
Q. 20 Which of the following is NOT a part of gynocriticism?
Studying the female authors
Examining women’s writing styles
Analyzing only how men portray women
Exploring psychological influences on women’s writing
Answer: c) Analyzing only how men portray women
Q 21. What does Showalter believe about the language used by female writers?
It is the same as male writers’ language
It may have unique characteristics shaped by women’s experiences
It is not worth studying
It is completely different from male language
Answer: b) It may have unique characteristics shaped by women’s experiences
Q. 22 Showalter’s work is most closely associated with which feminist wave?
First-wave feminism
Second-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism
Postmodern feminism
Answer: b) Second-wave feminism
Q. 23 What is the ultimate goal of feminist literary criticism according to Showalter?
To overthrow all male writers
To create an independent tradition of women’s literature
To erase gender distinctions in literature
To focus only on contemporary women’s writing
Answer: b) To create an independent tradition of women’s literature
Q. 24 Who among the following theorists worked on feminist literary criticism alongside Showalter?
Roland Barthes
Helene Cixous
Jacques Derrida
S. Eliot
Answer: b) Helene Cixous
Q. 25 Which of the following writers belongs to the Feminine Phase (1840–1880)?
Virginia Woolf
George Eliot
Sylvia Plath
Mary Shelley
Answer: b) George Eliot
Q. 26 Why did many female writers in the Feminine Phase adopt male pseudonyms?
To gain better financial opportunities
To avoid censorship from the church
Because they disliked their real names
To be accepted in the male-dominated literary world
Answer: d) To be accepted in the male-dominated literary world
Q 27. Which of the following writers is associated with the Feminine Phase?
Charlotte Brontë
Virginia Woolf
Margaret Atwood
Adrienne Rich
Answer: a) Charlotte Brontë
Q 28 Which novel by George Eliot reflects the struggles of women within patriarchal structures?
Middlemarch
The Bell Jar
Dalloway
The Second Sex
Answer: a) Middlemarch
Q. 29 The Feminist Phase (1880–1920) is characterized by what major literary and social change?
Women writing in complete isolation
Women actively protesting gender inequalities in literature and society
Women completely rejecting male audiences
The dominance of poetry over prose
Answer: b) Women actively protesting gender inequalities in literature and society
Q. 30 Which of the following writers is associated with the Feminist Phase?
Emily Dickinson
Virginia Woolf
Sylvia Plath
Mary Wollstonecraft
Answer: b) Virginia Woolf
Q. 31 Which of these works reflects themes of the Feminist Phase?
A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Answer: a) A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf
Q. 32 The Female Phase (1920–present) is characterized by what literary shift?
Women imitating male writing styles
Women rejecting male literary traditions and creating their own forms of writing
Women ceasing to write literature
Women exclusively writing historical fiction
Answer: b) Women rejecting male literary traditions and creating their own forms of writing
Q. 33 Which of the following is a key figure of the Female Phase?
Sylvia Plath
George Eliot
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Mary Wollstonecraft
Answer: a) Sylvia Plath
Q. 34 Which book by Sylvia Plath explores the struggles of female identity and mental health?
The Feminine Mystique
The Bell Jar
Jane Eyre
The Yellow Wallpaper
Answer: b) The Bell Jar
Q. 35 What major theme defines the Female Phase of women’s literature?
Women’s dependence on male validation
Women’s self-discovery and assertion of identity
Complete rejection of fiction
Historical romance writing
Answer: b) Women’s self-discovery and assertion of identity
Q. 36 Which of the following writers is associated with the Female Phase?
Alice Walker
Emily Brontë
Louisa May Alcott
George Eliot
Answer: a) Alice Walker
Q. 37 Which novel by Alice Walker is considered a major work of the Female Phase?
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Color Purple
The Bell Jar
A Room of One’s Own
Answer: b) The Color Purple
Q. 38 What distinguishes the Female Phase from the previous phases?
Women stopped writing about social issues
Women developed their writing styles without reference to male literary norms
Women strictly wrote political essays
Women only wrote about love and marriage
Answer: b) Women developed their writing styles without reference to male literary norms
Q. 39 Which of these authors is an example of a writer who broke traditional male-oriented literary structures in the Female Phase?
Virginia Woolf
Margaret Atwood
Emily Dickinson
Mary Shelley
Answer: b) Margaret Atwood
Q. 40 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is an example of Female Phase literature because:
It critiques patriarchal control and explores female autonomy
It follows the same themes as 19th-century romantic literature
It completely ignores gender issues
It only focuses on love and relationships
Answer: a) It critiques patriarchal control and explores female autonomy
Q. 41 What theme is common among the writers of the Female Phase?
Female self-discovery and agency
Acceptance of male-dominated literary traditions
Strict realism with no social critique
A focus only on domestic life
Answer: a) Female self-discovery and agency
Q. 42 Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Female Phase?
Exploration of women’s psychology
Rejection of male literary standards
Emphasis on women’s unique storytelling
Writing only in traditional male genres
Answer: d) Writing only in traditional male genres
Q. 44 Which of these writers is associated with postcolonial feminist literature in the Female Phase?
Virginia Woolf
Toni Morrison
Charlotte Brontë
Kate Millett
Answer: b) Toni Morrison
Q. 45 What makes Toni Morrison’s work significant in the Female Phase?
She writes about the intersection of race and gender in women’s lives
She only focuses on male characters
She avoids political themes
She follows strictly traditional European writing styles
Answer: a) She writes about the intersection of race and gender in women’s lives
Q. 46 How did Elaine Showalter’s classification of women’s writing challenge traditional literary studies?
By presenting a structured historical evolution of women’s literature
By arguing that women’s writing has no historical basis
By rejecting all classical literature
By stating that only modern women’s literature matters
Answer: a) By presenting a structured historical evolution of women’s literature
Q. 47 Which of these is a key goal of Showalter’s Towards a Feminist Poetics?
To provide a theoretical framework for studying women’s writing
To prove that men write better literature
To argue that literature should be gender-neutral
To limit literary criticism to Western writers
Answer: a) To provide a theoretical framework for studying women’s writing