representation that dominate the contemporary life. She believes that theater in the past treats women as objects consistently.
17
Thus, the focus needs to be put on the fact that the overwhelming majority of Arab women are illiterate. It means that these women are cut off from all the
developments that are taking place in the world because they cannot read or write. So, Arab women actually should play an important role in educational institutions,
which is extremely important to the women who have left the basic struggle for survival and have reached a higher standard of living.
B. Feminist Literary Criticism Theory
1. Definition
Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory or by the politics of feminism more broadly. According to Djajanegara,
feminist literary criticism began from desire of feminists to analyze the women writers’ works in the past and to show the women image in men
writers’ works who presented the women as a creator that in some ways are oppressed, misinterpreted, and underestimated by dominant patriarchal
tradition.
18
Then, feminist literary criticism centers the analyzing and the attention to women as reflected in men culture. Texts are read as culture of patriarchal
system. The pioneers look that actually the roles and status of women are
17
Ibid, p.196.
18
Soenarti Djayanegara, Kritik Sastra Feminis: Sebuah Pengantar Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2000, p. 27.
determined by the sex, that’s why in sexual politic context need to consider the relation between the text works and the sex of the writers.
19
Meanwhile, Feminist literary criticism according to Annette Kolodny in Djayanegara is:
“It involves exposing the sexual stereotyping of women, in both our literature and our literary criticism and, as well, demonstrating the
inadequacy of established critical schools and methods to deal fairly or sensitively with work written by women”.
20
According to Kolodny, whoever that concerns literary field must be realize that men, works and men’s writings usually presents women
stereotype as a loyal and devotion wife and mother, spoiled women, prostitute, and dominant women. Those images are determined by literary fields and
traditional approaches which are not related to the real women condition because the evaluations about women are not fair and detail. In fact, women
have private feelings, such as painful, disappointed or uncomfortable that only described well by women themselves.
Finally, Yoder in Sugihastuti defines feminist literary criticism differently, is not about the woman as a critic, a criticism about woman, or
female author. Still feminist criticism is a criticism that views literature with the special awareness. This awareness is about confession that there is a sex
which has many relations to culture, literature, and our life. This sex makes the difference between all of them and also makes the difference for the author
19
Sugihastuti and Suharto, Kritik Sastra Feminis: Teori Dan Aplikasinya Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2002, p. 12.
20
Soenarti Djayanegara, 2000, Op.Cit. p. 19.
her or himself, the reader, characterization and the extrinsic aspect that influence the situation in writing.
21
2. Purpose
