Theoretical concepts of feministic literary criticism of the second wave

Abstract

The article explores the theoretical concepts of gender studies, which are reflected in the
literary criticism of the 1970s, which fell on the second wave of the feminist movement.The texts created
by the pioneers of gender researches in philological science were a significant scientific fact, but until
now this direction is in the process of institutionalization and development.
The author analyzes the works of scientists from France, Great Britain and the USA, which have
become classics of gender studies in literary criticism. It is traced how this trend developed, which influenced the formation of modern philological science, how researchers fought against patriarchal ideology, discriminatory practices rooted in social culture, and stereotypes prevailing in public consciousness.
The article introduces how the conceptual apparatus, methodological tools, and the theory of gender
studies were formed, which brought serious changes to hermeneutics and interpretation of literary texts.
The works of S. de Beauvoir, H. Cixous, L. Irigaray, N. Shore, A. Rich, E. Showalter, S. Gilbert, and S.
Gubar, who examined the dominance of the patriarchal symbolic order by the example of representative experiments of classical literature. The author introduces the details of the methodology, critical
interpretations and conclusions of feminist literary criticism, represented by diverse, often contradictory
scientific texts, challenging both patriarchal gender norms and the order on which gender imbalance
was based.
Key words: feminist literary criticism, gender theory, method, S. de Beauvoir, Hélène Cixous, L.
Irigaray, N. Shore, A. Rich, E. Showalter, S. Gilbert, S. Gubar.