Mother Goose and the Voices of Women

Flashcards about women's voices in literature and storytelling.

Multivocal Myths

Myths containing competing voices, including those of women, who can be viewed as a social group with shared interests across cultures.

Feminist Scholarship

The study of men's writings to understand women's lives, attitudes, and behavior, recognizing potential misogynistic viewpoints.

Silenced Voices

The suppression or distortion of women's voices in ancient texts, which feminists aim to retrieve from patriarchal texts.

Gendered Concerns in Texts

The idea that texts can express women's concerns and interests, regardless of the author's gender.

Deconstruction of Subjectivity

Dismantling the concept of a solely 'male' subject in philosophical texts, imagining instead a universal human subject.

Paradox of Women and Myths

Women are seen as traditional tellers of myths and folktales, yet most of these tales are 'patriarchal,' controlled by men and depicting women unfavorably.

Women's Stories

Tales defined by concerns such as events after marriage, search for a lost husband, and reflections of women's predicaments and points of view.

Female-Centered Text

A text that shows a strong concern for the female point of view, though not necessarily written by a female author.

Pain of Childbirth in Texts

Exploration of why classical religious texts do not frequently address the question of pain in childbirth, despite its significance.

Subversion in Women's Tales

The strategy used by women in retelling stories formerly recorded by men, often subverting authority while outwardly respecting it.

Clytaemnestra Syndrome

The concept that the more powerful women are perceived to be, the greater the perceived need to keep them away from political power.

Women's Voices and Propriety

The idea that women in Ramayana songs never openly defy propriety, even giving themselves advice that male masters would accept and appreciate.

Men's Voices in Women's Minds

The unconscious influence of men's ideas on women, leading them to internalize and express these images in their own storytelling.

Male Ventriloquism

The conscious writing of texts by men in which fictional women appear to speak, often not designed to deceive but rather as a convention.

Cross-Speaking

A term to describe male poets speaking with the voices of women addressing young children in Tamil poems, drawing a parallel with cross-dressing.

Women's Voices in Patriarchal Texts

The presence of women's voices within patriarchal texts, often due to the influence of the dominated on the dominators.

Androgynous Language

The coexistence of two genders within a text, where women and men may literally speak different languages or use language in distinct ways.

Language and Gender in Ancient India

The idea that language was a unifying bond between men and women in ancient India, though discourses may have been consciously excluded from texts.

Women's Voices in Tantras

Miranda Shaw's argument that Tantric texts, though seemingly misogynistic, may contain women's voices due to communal exploration and shared practices.

Misogynist Works and Women's Voices

The reproduction of women's voices in misogynist texts, even if only to disagree with them, providing insights into women's complaints about marriage.

Kamasutra and Women's Perspectives

The sympathetic portrayal of women's perspectives in the Kamasutra, particularly regarding their reasons for committing adultery due to inadequate husbands.

Androgynous Texts

Texts where the gender of the actual author may not align with the dominant voice in the story, reflecting a blend of male and female perspectives.