THE EFFECT OF GYNOCRITICS ON FEMINIST WRITING: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SELECT NOVELS OF ANITA DESAI (Pages 155-164) by Ms. Runoo Ravi in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Elaine Showalter is the pioneer of feminist movement and feminist theory in the United States. She is the youngest of the four pillars of the feminist movement which began in the late 17th century Mary Wollstonecraft’s stress on the role of valid education and knowledge for identity succeeded by Virginia Woolf’S need for personal space and economic empowerment for a female’s holistic growth. This was followed by Simone de Beauvoir’s direct challenge to the improper link between biology and culture. On the basis of these, Showalter developed a two pronged approach for the further development of the female literary movement. The first part was ‘Feminist Critique’ or ‘the female as the reader’. The second, and the more important according to her, was ‘Gynocritics’ or ‘the female as the writer’. Showalter relies heavily on the fact that only a female could understand, analyse, speak, explain and write about the feminist problems and subjects and so the female writer should keep herself free from any kind of confinement. Among the Indian female writers, Anita Desai seems to have almost perfected the theory of Gynocritics. As a female she has not only been able to ‘feel’ for the female but is also able to ‘express’ on behalf of the female. Anita Desai’s female protagonists often labelled as disturbed and distracted, selfish and self-oriented and also greatly inclined towards the theory of Existentialism, fit in very accurately in the theory of Gynocritics given by Showalter.laine Showalter is the pioneer of feminist movement and feminist theory in the United States. She is the youngest of the four pillars of the feminist movement which began in the late 17th century Mary Wollstonecraft’s stress on the role of valid education and knowledge for identity succeeded by Virginia Woolf’S need for personal space and economic empowerment for a female’s holistic growth. This was followed by Simone de Beauvoir’s direct challenge to the improper link between biology and culture. On the basis of these, Showalter developed a two pronged approach for the further development of the female literary movement. The first part was ‘Feminist Critique’ or ‘the female as the reader’. The second, and the more important according to her, was ‘Gynocritics’ or ‘the female as the writer’. Showalter relies heavily on the fact that only a female could understand, analyse, speak, explain and write about the feminist problems and subjects and so the female writer should keep herself free from any kind of confinement. Among the Indian female writers, Anita Desai seems to have almost perfected the theory of Gynocritics. As a female she has not only been able to ‘feel’ for the female but is also able to ‘express’ on behalf of the female. Anita Desai’s female protagonists often labelled as disturbed and distracted, selfish and self-oriented and also greatly inclined towards the theory of Existentialism, fit in very accurately in the theory of Gynocritics given by Showalter.Keywords: Gynocritics, Feminist Critique, Holistic growth, Existentialism.