Introduction to Feminism and Marxism in Literature

by Shawn Hassen

Before diving into this introduction of feminism and Marxism, I would like to first repeat something important that I mentioned in my post introducing naturalism in literature: every worldview requires, at some point, a leap of faith. Racism, gender discrimination, corporate greed, corporate generosity, the birth of a baby, the death of a loved one—instances of these can be observed and recorded throughout history, but no one observed or recorded the formation of the universe, our planet, or life on it. Some of the big questions we ask about life’s origins and about human nature cannot be answered with empirical evidence, so we must incorporate faith, the act of believing something that we cannot definitively prove through observation. Most of us believe that the sun will rise tomorrow. But we can’t prove it. Every belief system calls on science and history to assemble bits and pieces of life origins and human origins, but every system falls short of irrefutable evidence. We always take a leap of faith to believe what we believe, and this is true of religious worldviews, as well, particularly since they address spirituality. 

Feminism—Social Power Imbalance

Students may know enough history to somewhat humorously equate the term feminism with bra burning protests and marches. It's a term they have heard used extensively in culture, sometimes with respect, often in derision. Tell them to forget what they think they know. We will not be using the term culturally—we will be using the term academically. In academic studies, feminism is certainly about the power struggles between men and women, but it also has traditionally included the concerns for minority populations and groups who are being underserved or oppressed. (John Steinbeck, for instance, demonstrated empathy for both women and migrant workers in depression-era California). More recently, feminism has tended to focus more on women, since newer ideologies such as critical race theory advocate for underserved minority groups. Students will need to know how to use the term in their writing; like our previous term, naturalism, the term feminism is not capitalized, and the adjectival form is “feminist.”  A person can be a feminist. And thoughts and ideas can also be feminist—not feministic. It is also important for students to realize that both men and women can espouse feminist ideas. And, finally, we need to explore the basic tenets of feminism (as we will with Marxism) according to the same framework we have been using for all of our worldviews:

How did humans originate? 

Are humans animals?

What value do humans have?

What is “human nature–” what are we like in our most natural state?  

What defines us?  Nature? Nurture?  

Is anyone or anything in charge here?  

Is this world/life as good as it gets? 

Why does so much seem to be upside down?  What’s wrong? 

Can’t we just all get along?  What’s the solution? 

Since feminism is a slightly different soup derived from naturalism stock, the two philosophies hold similarities, particularly in terms of origins beliefs. Like naturalists, most feminists believe in a “natural” formation of the universe through cosmic events (Big Bang, etc.), and the development of species—and ultimately humans—through evolution. However, unlike naturalists who assign blame for life’s struggles to a somewhat vaguely named cosmos, universe, luck, or fate, feminists assign a more specific blame to an imbalance of power between groups of people (most often women and men). Life is difficult for the women, minority groups, and underserved members of society who are oppressed by men and/or dominant majority races or ethnicities. Also, unlike naturalists, who do not really offer a solution for life’s struggles (beyond survival of the fittest), feminists do offer solutions to the struggle varying from equal rights to flipping the power structure. 

What does feminism look like in literature? That depends upon what the feminist writer sees as the biggest problem and the best solution. Students should envision a scale of thought that increases in degrees. On one end of the scale, some literature will focus on the inequality, isolation, and loneliness of women who are misunderstood, mistreated, neglected, or overlooked by men. The characters in these works have trouble communicating or understanding one another, and there will often be the implication that there is an intrinsic barrier between men and the women who struggle to find fulfillment in a male-dominated environment. John Steinbeck is the perfect example of these commentaries in such pieces as Of Mice and Men and “The Chrysanthemums.” 

Other writers—Kate Chopin, for instance—might present ideas at the other end of the spectrum. In these more radical (for lack of a better term) feminist works, we see (typically) female characters who either cannot or will not survive or thrive in a patriarchal society. These works will suggest that women are instinctively meant to live free of the social constructs that men have created for their own comfort and success (and specifically to the detriment of women). These damaging, unnatural social constructs foisted upon women may include monogamy, marriage, and/or motherhood. In these literary works, women’s best hope for happiness is apart from men or in a system where the power has been flipped and men are no longer dominant. On one end of the feminist spectrum we find writers who demonstrate how women have been marginalized, and on the other end of the spectrum, we find authors who contend that patriarchal society is destroying women.  

In all degrees of feminist works, students should easily recognize naturalist lingo and the focus on instinct, environment, and power struggle.

Marxism—Economic Power Imbalance

Students may recognize this worldview as being named for Karl Marx, co-author of the Communist Manifesto, and it is from that very publication that the ideas typically attributed to Marx originated. Students should note that the term Marxism and the corresponding adjective, Marxist, are capitalized proper nouns because they are a person’s name.  They should also note the immediate similarities to naturalism aside from the assigning of blame not to cosmic forces or the power of nature, but to economic class struggle.  And finally, they should know that Marxist thinking is extremely prevalent in modern culture and has influenced other ideologies such as critical race theory.

Historically, Marx described society in terms of two main divisions, classes, or stratifications. One extremely small group is made up of the extraordinarily wealthy elite. This tiny percentage of people, the bourgeoisie, hold all of the wealth. They are the uber-owners. In simplistic terms, they own the land, they own the factories, and they own the raw materials that support those factories.  And, metaphorically, they own the people who work in those factories. This second, overwhelming majority of the population, according to Marx, makes up the proletariat class. These are the people who must work for a living under the iron hand of the bourgeoise. Marx describes the working class as suffering through menial lives of drudgery with very little sense of accomplishment or progress. They do not have the privilege of crafting and creating for themselves; instead, they grind away at monotonous jobs for the owners (employers) who are only interested in exploiting their employees for labor, production, and oppressive salaries. Marx’s and others'—like Lenin’s--proposed solution for this economic class war? Revolution. Followers of a less revolutionary nature favor political systems built on the theories of socialism with shared expenses and shared wealth (in strict opposition to capitalism).

The historical recap of Marx’s actual terminology is important to teach students, but they will not likely find the words bourgeoisie or proletariat in more recent literature. (They may have a lightbulb moment, however, when they realize the popular cultural slang term “bougie” originated from bourgeois.)  The terminology has changed in modern times, but not the ideas. Like naturalists, Marxists support the science community’s theories on the earth’s origins and evolution, and they typically eschew religion. (It was Karl Marx who labeled religion as the “opiate of the masses,” convinced that it was a way for the powerful wealthy to manipulate and lull the working class into a false sense of contentment.) Key terms or phrases that students may find when they are listening or reading Marxist thought include class, social stratification, rich, elite, working class, cog in the wheel, production, wages, privilege, and derogatory connotations of the term capitalism. The term “privilege” is particularly relevant to today’s critical theory which expands traditional Marxist thinking into conflicts of race, ethnicity, and social class. John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath often appears on history AP exams as having made significant contributions to American thinking after the Great Depression, and several of his works have similar ideology.

It is important to point out to students that Marxist literary criticism can include actual Marxist literature, but it more often includes literature that poses questions or challenges regarding class conflict or capitalism. Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice), was not Marxist, nor was F. Scott Fitzgerald despite their compelling themes on social stratification and capitalism. Students should avoid naming writers “Marxist” unless they have actually researched their biography and found the writers to use that title for themselves. Instead, we should be focusing our studies on this worldview’s contention that class power struggle (i.e., capitalism) is pivotal to society’s dysfunction. And while they will certainly study literature in high school and college that mirror Marxist thinking, they are even more likely to find these ideologies circulating in today's culture and politics.