What is feminism and feminist literary theory?

Feminism is basically a movement which aims to fight for the rights of women. The rights of women are
sought in each field of life such as in politics, in family, in society, at workplaces. So feminists talk about
the rights of women. And when we talk about feminist literary theory we discuss how language in
literature portrays gender inequality. In feminist literary theory we figure out literary evidences in a text
about sexual discrimination such as objectifying women, oppression, sexual slavery, political and social
injustices towards women etc.

Def of Feminism:

It is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to
achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for women.

Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right
to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages or equal pay, to own property, to receive
education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave.
Feminists have also worked to promote bodily autonomy and integrity, and to protect women and girls
from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence

The feminist movement can be divided into three waves

The term first-wave was coined in March 1968 by Martha Lear writing in The New York Times Magazine,
who at the same time also used the term "second-wave feminism"
First Wave Feminism - late 1700s-early 1900's: writers like Mary Wollstonecraft highlight the
inequalities between the sexes. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women,
1792. in which she advocated the social and moral equality of the sexes. Woman in the
Nineteenth Century by Margaret Fuller has been considered the first major feminist work in the
United States and is often compared to Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
The majority of first-wave feminists were more moderate and conservative than radical or
revolutionary
Important: The first wave of feminism focused mainly on suffrage (suffrage ka matlab hota hy k
kon kon banda elections main vote daal skta hy, suffrage law hota hy actually. Tou first wave
feminism main aurato ko vote dalny ki ijazat k leay awaz buland ki gai thi iss leay hum likhty hain k it
focused on suffrage) & legal matters such as legal rights of women in matters of property.
An example of first wave feminist literary analysis would be a critique of William
Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for Petruchio's abuse of Katherina.

Second Wave Feminism (1960-1980): Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage (right to
vote) and overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (e.g., voting rights, property rights), second-
wave feminism broadened the debate to a wide range of issues: sexuality, family, the workplace,
reproductive rights, inequalities, and official legal inequalities. Second-wave feminism also drew
attention to domestic violence and marital rape issues, establishment of rape crisis and battered
women's shelters, and changes in custody and divorce law.
Many historians view the second-wave feminist era in America as ending in the early 1980s.

Notable writers in second wave feminism:

Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was published in 1963, became a best-seller, and laid the
groundwork for the second-wave feminist movement in the U.S

Third Wave Femisim:

it is generally marked as beginning in the early 1990s and continuing to the present. Third-wave
feminists believed there needed to be further changes in stereotypes, media portrayals, and
language to define women. The purpose was to celebrate diverse identities and abandon the "victim
feminism" ideology, which was enforced in second wave feminism. (second wave feminism main
girls ka buri movies main kam krna bura samjha jata tha but third wave main feminists ny kaha k
women should not feel ashamed of their bodies, they should show it off etc. The individual liberty of
women was propagated in third wave) Unlike the determined opposition of second-wave feminists to
women in pornography, sex work, and prostitution, third-wave feminists were rather ambiguous and
divided about these themes
Gender violence has become a central issue for third-wave feminists.
One of third wave feminism's primary goals is to demonstrate that access to contraception (pills and
tablets taken to not have pregnancy after intercourse) and abortion are women's reproductive rights.

We will now discuss Feminist Literary Criticism.

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory. Feminist theory focuses on
analyzing gender inequality. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, objectification
(especially sexual objectification), oppression, patriarchy, stereotyping, art history, and contemporary
art, and aesthetics.

In Feminist literary criticism we use feminist principles to analyze a text. For example in feminist
literary criticism we will be interested in finding out how language in literature is used to portray male
domination.
Feminist Literary Theory:
Feminist literary theorists use different methods to understand the feminist elements in literature.
Their aim is to uncover the implicit (wo chezain jo chupi hui hoti hain.bazahir nazr ni ati) misogyny
in the text at different levels. (misogyny ka matlab hota hy aurato k khilaf nafrat honaone who is
misogynist is against women and their rights.)
Feminist literary theorists use different methods to understand the feminist elements in literature.
Their aim is to uncover the implicit misogyny in the text at different levels. In feminist criticism we
understand how the relationship between men and women is portrayed, How are male and female
roles defined

According to Tyson feminist theorists apply these approaches to understand literature.

1. Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically;

patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so
2. In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is other: she is marginalized, defined only by
her difference from male norms and values
3. All of western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for
example, in the biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world
 4. While biology determines our sex (male or female), culture determines our gender (masculine
or feminine)
5. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to
change the world by prompting gender equality

Feminist theorists can study these type of questions:

What are the differences between depictions of women written by male and female novelists?

The differences and similarities in use of the English language between men and women.

Comparing the works of Charlotte and Emily Bront or Jane Austen with, for example,
Hardy's Tess of the d'Ubervilles or D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover or Women in Love.
 PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Important:
Psychoanalytic theory is the use of Psychoanalysis in literary criticism for the interpretation
of literature.
Note: Most of the things are for explanatory purposes. You can condense this information according
to the needs of your examination. The purpose here is to give you a complete understanding of the
theory. You can chose the best lines to express the entire idea instead of memorizing everything.
There are 4 steps in this theory. First thing is the backgroundwhich is what is psychoanalysis.
Then, what are different defense mechanisms. Number three, what is psychoanalytic theory. Last,
application of psychoanalytic theory on a text.

For a 20 marks question you must write about 1.5 pages on introduction and backround. 4 pages on
defense mechanism and about 2,3 pages on what is psychoanalytic theory. This is not mandatory.
You can adjust it according to the statement of the question. If you are asked to apply this theory on
a text then you can reduce the introduction and background plus definitions to 2 pages and write
about the application of the theory on the text on rest of the pages i.e 5,6 pages. The entire focus of
this theory is primarily on defining defense mechanisms and using these psychic procedures
(defense mechanisms) to understand the characters in a text. So try to focus on the defense
mechanisms and how to apply it on a text. Introduction is only necessary to take a good start during
examination.

Before we begin our discussion on psychoanalytic theory let us study its background.
Psychoanalytic theory/criticism has emerged from Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is the study of
conscious and conscious mind for the treatment of mental-health disorders. This technique of
studying the conscious and conscious mind of a patient to treat mental disorders was established in
1890 by Australian neurologist Sigmund Freud.
According to Freud human mind can be divided into three systems. The conscious mind, the
subconscious mind, and the unconscious mind

The consciousness mind is you awareness at the present moment. You are aware of something
on the outside as well as some specific mental functions happening on the inside. For example, you
are ware of your environment, your breathing, or the chair that you are sitting on.
As you read these notes, you are aware of the information on the screen/paper and are actively
trying to learn this information. You are also aware of the computer in front of you, the light in the
room, whether or not your chair is comfortable, and many other thoughts and sensations. The things
that you are actively seeing, feeling, and hearing at any one time make up your conscious mind.
The Unconscious Mind:
We have talked about the conscious mind. We said that it is about the things that we perceive at the
moment, but what about all your other experiences and memories that make you who you are?
Psychologists believe that the unconscious mind stores all the memories and experiences that
are not being consciously thought about. Some of these memories are easy to recall. For
example, you can probably remember what you had for dinner last night. Can you remember what
you did on your last birthday? Most likely those memories are easy to bring into the conscious mind.
What about your sixth birthday? Can you remember what you did that day? Can you remember the
happy feelings upon receiving gifts or seeing friends? Can you remember if you were disappointed
by your friends or family? Most likely you can't remember the day or what emotions you had. Most
people cannot remember these things. But what happens to these memories and experiences?
They don't just pass into and out of memory without affecting your personality. There is a
lifetime of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, memories, and bits of information that we
have experienced and forgotten that are stored in the unconscious mind. These experiences and
facts of our lives although difficult to recall, shape our personality. In your childhood someone may
have hurt you. You may not remember the incident but this incident may have had an effect on you.
You might have become weak and suspicious after that incident. It is difficult for you to pin point an
incident that changed your personality and character. The incident has passed in the subconscious
mind which is difficult to recall but the effects of that incident pass on into your personality.
Sigmund Freud believed that the unconscious mind stores all the thoughts, memories, and feelings
that are disturbing or traumatic. He believed that the brain protects itself by deeply burying these
memories in the unconscious mind. He thought that the vast majority of our memories are stored
there and affect our personalities more than we could even imagine Now we will first discuss what is
psychoanalysis and then we will study psychoanalytic theory.
Freud also believed that this huge storage of memories and emotions in the unconscious caused
conflict and emotional problems. He thought that the memories of trauma can be buried in the
unconscious to protect against further emotional pain. What defines a traumatic experience is also
different for every person but often includes childhood abuse or neglect, rape, injury, combat
experiences, accidents, and more.

Freud believed that the unconscious mind often prompts people to make certain decisions even
if they dont recognize it on a conscious level.

Any attempt to bring those memories into consciousness will trigger (start) resistance in the form of
DEFENSE MECHANISM.
We will discuss defense mechanisms later.

The subconscious mind or the preconscious mind consists of accessible information. You can
become aware of this information once your direct your attention to it. Think of this as memory recall.
You walk to your house without consciously needing to be alert to your surroundings. You can talk
on the cell phone and still arrive your home safely. You can easily bring to consciousness the
subconscious information about the path to your home. You can also easily remember phone
numbers that you frequently use.
It is possible that some of what might be perceived to be unconscious becomes subconscious, and
then conscious (e.g. a long-forgotten childhood memory suddenly emerges after decades). We can
assume that some unconscious memories need a strong, specific trigger to bring them to
consciousness; whereas, a subconscious memory can be brought to consciousness more easily.

IMPORTANT point by Mam Bushra (mam ny zor dy kr kaha tha k ye b yad rakhna): Freud believed
that the unconscious mind has a limited influence over the personality of a human being. Another
psychologist Lacan believed that human personality is entirely constructed on the basis of
unconscious mind. Lacan believed that the unconscious mind is entirely responsible for all our
actions and our personalities even though we are not aware of this unconscious mind of ours.
Its time to discuss the concept of Id, Ego and Super Ego.

The Id, ego, and super-ego are ideas created by Sigmund Freud. They are three concepts used to
explain the way the human mind works. Freud says that human mind works as a result of interaction
between Id, Ego, and SuperEgo.
Below is a short article on what is Id, Ego, and Super Ego.

According to Freud, we are born with our Id. The id is an important part of our personality
because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is
based on our pleasure principle. In other words, the id wants whatever feels good at the time,
with no consideration for the reality of the situation. When a child is hungry, the id wants food,
and therefore the child cries. When the child needs to be changed, the id cries. When the child
is uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or
her needs are met.
The id doesnt care about reality, about the needs of anyone else, only its own satisfaction. If
you think about it, babies are not real considerate of their parents wishes. They have no care
for time, whether their parents are sleeping, relaxing, eating dinner, or bathing. When the id
wants something, nothing else is important.

Within the next three years, as the child interacts more and more with the world, the second
part of the personality begins to develop. Freud called this part the Ego. The ego is based
on the reality principle. The ego understands that other people have needs and desires and
that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. Its the egos job to
meet the needs of the id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation.

By the age of five, or the end of the phallic stage of development, the Superego
develops. The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical
restraints placed on us by our caregivers. Many equate the superego with the conscience
as it dictates our belief of right and wrong.

In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the
needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every
situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self
gratification take over the persons life. If the superego becomes to strong, the person
would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her
interactions with the world. Youll learn how the ego maintains control as you continue to
read.

So,

In short: (this much is necessary for exam, if you are writing it in a long questionthe above
explanation is just for understanding)

Id is the part of the mind that deals with the instincts and physical needs. Ego
maintains a balance between Id and Super Ego and Super Ego is the moral part of
our brain which is responsible for propriety. Propriety means Correct or appropriate
behavior.

There are some basic assumptions in psychoanalysis which Freud has given us.
The development of the character of a person is determined by the experiences a person had had in
his/her childhood. These experiences are forgotten with time but they remain in the unconscious
mind and they dictate our personality throughout our lives. As discussed earlier, any attempt to bring
those bad experiences (which have become a part of our personality and unconscious mind but we
dont recall them) into conscious mind will trigger the defense mechanism.
Now we will discuss in detail about the defense mechanism.
In psychoanalytic theory DEFENSE MECHANISMS are employed by people, when they face reality,
to hide from it in order to not feel bad.

In some areas of psychology (especially in psychodynamic theory), psychologists talk about

defense mechanisms, or manners in which we behave or think in certain ways to protect
or defend ourselves. Defense mechanisms are strategies that we employ to hide
ourselves from a full awareness of unpleasant thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
(This can be a complete short definition of Defense Mechanism, above and below in
these notes more material is for understanding and less is to be remembered for
exam, you are a good judge in sorting out what needs to be remembered for exam).
Most defense mechanisms are fairly unconscious that means most of us dont realize
were using them in the moment.
Defense Mechanisms can be divided into three broader categories. You can divide them if
you like or write them all in a single chunk. It is up to you.
So, there are PRIMITIVE DEFENSE MECHANISMS, LESS PRIMITIVE/MORE MATURE
DEFENSE MECHANISM, & MATURE DEFENSE MECHANISMS.

PRIMITIVE DEFENSE MECH LESS PRIMITIVE DEFENSE MATURE DEFENSE MECH

1. DENIAL 1. REPRESSION 1. SUBLIMATION
2. REGRESSION 2. DISPLACEMENT 2. COMPENSATION
3. ACTING OUT 3. INTELLECTUALIZATION
4. DISSOCIATION 4. RATIONALIZATION
5. PROJECTION 5. UNDOING
6. REACTION FORMATION
1.Denial
Denial is the refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or feeling
did not exist. It is considered one of the most primitive of the defense mechanisms because
it is characteristic of early childhood development. Many people use denial in their everyday
lives to avoid dealing with painful feelings or areas of their life they dont wish to admit. For
instance, a person who is a functioning alcoholic will often simply deny they have a drinking
problem, pointing to how well they function in their job and relationships.
2. Regression
Regression is the reversion to an earlier stage of development in the face of unacceptable
thoughts or impulses. For an example an adolescent who is overwhelmed with fear, anger
and growing sexual impulses might become clingy and start exhibiting earlier childhood
behaviors he has long since overcome, such as bedwetting. An adult may regress when
under a great deal of stress, refusing to leave their bed and engage in normal, everyday
activities.

3. Acting Out
Acting Out is performing an extreme behavior in order to express thoughts or feelings the
person feels incapable of otherwise expressing. Instead of saying, Im angry with you, a
person who acts out may instead throw a book at the person, or punch a hole through a
wall. When a person acts out, it can act as a pressure release, and often helps the
individual feel calmer and peaceful once again. For instance, a childs temper tantrum is a
form of acting out when he or she doesnt get his or her way with a parent. Self-injury may
also be a form of acting-out, expressing in physical pain what one cannot stand to feel
emotionally.

4. Dissociation
People who use dissociation as a defense mechanism tend to momentarily lose their
connection to the world around them. They may feel separated from the outside world,
as though they exist in another realm. Dissociation often helps people to cope with
uncomfortable situations by removing themselves from them. The may enter a state of
daydreaming, staring into space and letting their mind wander until someone nudges
them, prompting them to acknowledge reality once more.

6. Projection
Projection is the misattribution of a persons undesired thoughts, feelings or impulses onto
another person who does not have those thoughts, feelings or impulses. Projection is used
especially when the thoughts are considered unacceptable for the person to express, or
they feel completely ill at ease with having them. For example, a spouse may be angry at
their significant other for not listening, when in fact it is the angry spouse who does not
listen. Projection is often the result of a lack of insight and acknowledgement of ones own
motivations and feelings.

When we experience feelings or desires that cause anxiety, or that we are unable to act
on owing to the negative impact that they would have on us or those around us, we may
defend the ego from resulting anxieties by projecting those ideas onto another person.
A person who is afraid of crossing a bridge with a friend might accuse them of having a
fear of heights, for example, and in doing so, avoids accepting their own weaknesses.

Projection main ye hota hy k weakness ap main khud hoti hy but ap uss weakness ko
logo k samny pata chalny sy bachny k leay woo e weakness logo py attribute kr dety
hain takeh ye krny sy wo admi at least apky andr woo weakness hony ki bat ni kry ga.
Ap ko heights sy dar lagta hyap apny friends k sath mountain py charh rhy hain ap
usko kahen gy tme opar jany sy dar lag rha hy, so hum opar ni jaty.

7. Reaction Formation
Reaction Formation is the converting of unwanted or dangerous thoughts, feelings or
impulses into their opposites. For instance, a woman who is very angry with her boss and
would like to quit her job may instead be overly kind and generous toward her boss and
express a desire to keep working there forever. She is incapable of expressing the negative
emotions of anger and unhappiness with her job, and instead becomes overly kind to
publicly demonstrate her lack of anger and unhappiness.

OR, a man may experience feelings of love towards a married woman. The super ego
(the part of the brain which is responsible for moral behavior) recognises that the
fulfillment of his desires would contradict social norms regarding acceptable behavior,
and so a reaction formation would occur - the man may experience feelings of dislike
towards her - the opposite of the original feelings

Less Primitive, More Mature Defense Mechanisms

Less primitive defense mechanisms are a step up from the primitive defense mechanisms in
the previous section. Many people employ these defenses as adults.

1.Repression:

Repression is a psychological defense mechanism that occurs when a person consistently

pushes away a particularly painful or disturbing thought, memory or desire in an attempt to
keep his or her mind in a more pleasurable, less anxious state. Although these painful
thoughts are out of the conscious mind, they inevitably remain in the unconscious mind and
often lead to psychological problems. For example, a child who is abused by a parent later has
no recollection of the events, but has trouble forming relationships

2. Displacement
Displacement is the redirecting of thoughts feelings and impulses directed at one person or
object, but taken out upon another person or object. People often use displacement when
they cannot express their feelings in a safe manner to the person they are directed at. The
classic example is the man who gets angry at his boss, but cant express his anger to his
boss for fear of being fired. He instead comes home and kicks the dog or starts an
argument with his wife. The man is redirecting his anger from his boss to his dog or wife.
Naturally, this is a pretty ineffective defense mechanism, because while the anger finds a
route for expression, its misapplication to other harmless people or objects will cause
additional problems for most people. (Quite Interesting)

3.Intellectualization
Intellectualization is a defense mechanism where reasoning is used to block
confrontation with an unconscious conflict and its associated emotional stress where
thinking is used to avoid feeling. It involves removing one's self, emotionally, from a
stressful event. For Example a person who is diagnosed with cancer might think about
all the lengthy medical procedures through which he might have to go, instead of
expressing grief and sadness. Intellectualization is a common reaction to an anxiety-
inducing situation. Intellectualization, as the name suggests, involves viewing a stressful
situation in a very intellectual manner without letting one's emotions come in the way.
This is a commonly used defense mechanism that allows a person to deal with anxiety.

When faced with a stressful situation, one expects that a person will exhibit signs of
stress and pressure, however, there are some individuals who do not show any of these
telltale signs like tensed expressions, sweating, sadness, etc. On the other hand, they
have a complete hold of the situation and appear to be very calm and composed. This,
most likely, is the defense mechanism of intellectualization at play.
Intellectualization involves blocking out and/or ignoring the emotional side of any
problem and, instead, viewing the problem in a completely rational and intellectual
manner by comprehending only the facts associated with it. This is done so that an
individual is spared of the anxiety and stress that dealing with the emotions would lead
to. Instead, by focusing on the dry, cold facts, one finds it easier to cope. Which is why,
one removes oneself emotionally from a stressful situation as if it is not happening to
them at all.
Another example:

After hearing that his mother has died, John quickly gets busy with arranging for the
funeral and contacting family members. He only thinks of all the tasks that he has to
complete and does not give a thought to how close he was to his mother or how her
death will affect him.

4.Rationalization:

Rationalisation occurs when a person attempts to explain or create excuses for an

event or action in rational terms. In doing so, they are able to avoid accepting the true
cause or reason resulting in the present situation.
Examples of rationalisation include a shoplifter (a man who steals things from a shop is
called shoplifter) blaming the high price of sweets to justify their theft of a chocolate bar,
when in reality they simply enjoyed the act of shoplifting. If a person fails an exam, they
may excuse themselves from blame by rationalising that they were too busy to revise
during the revision period.

Note: there is sometimes little difference between two defense mechanisms. You need
to have a clear understanding of each defense mechanism so that you are not confused
about them when asked to apply them on a text. For Example, Rationalization and
Intellectualization appear to be quite same but there is a large difference between both.
So, revise all these procedures till you have a clear understanding about the subtle
difference between them.

5.Undoing

Undoing is a defense mechanism in which a person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy,

destructive or otherwise threatening thought or action by engaging in contrary behavior.

Undoing is performing an act to 'undo' a previous unacceptable act or thought.

For Examlpe:

A teenager who has been rather noisy tidies the room without having to be asked.

A man who has been unkind to his wife buys her flowers (but does not apologize).

Undoing is done in order to protect the ego from feelings of guilt or shame.

Mature Defense Mechanisms

Mature defense mechanisms are often the most constructive and helpful to most adults, but
may require practice and effort to put into daily use
 1. Sublimation

In one sentence, sublimation is the channelling of unacceptable feelings into more

acceptable ones.

For example:

I am angry. I go out and chop wood. I end up with a useful pile of firewood. I am also
fitter and nobody is harmed.

A person who has an obsessive need for control and order becomes a successful
business entrepreneur.

A person with strong sexual urges becomes an artist.

A man who has extra-marital desires takes up household repairs when his wife is out
of town.

A surgeon turns aggressive energies and deep desires to cut people into life-saving acts.

Sublimation is probably the most useful and constructive of the defense mechanisms as it takes
the energy of something that is potentially harmful and turns it to doing something good and
useful.

2. Compensation

Compensation is a process of psychologically counterbalancing perceived weaknesses by

emphasizing strength in other arenas. By emphasizing and focusing on ones strengths, a
person is recognizing they cannot be strong at all things and in all areas in their lives. For
instance, when a person says, I may not know how to cook, but I can sure do the dishes!,
theyre trying to compensate for their lack of cooking skills by emphasizing their cleaning
skills instead. When done appropriately and not in an attempt to over-compensate,
compensation is defense mechanism that helps reinforce a persons self-esteem and self-
image.

Now we will cover the last Heading in our topic, the dream analysis.

Dream analysis is a technique best known for its use in psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud viewed dreams
as the royal road to the unconscious and developed dream analysis, or dream interpretation, as a way
of tapping into this unconscious material.
So, dream analysis is a technique introduced by Freud. He said that dreams have a certain function and
meaning and they act as a road to understanding the things which are in the unconscious mind of a
person. The unconscious mind, as we already know, cannot be uncovered directly. The unconscious
mind gives shape to our personality but we are not aware of it. It defines who we are but the incidents in
our lives that shape our lives are forgotten from the conscious part of our minds. Dreams are a road into
that unconscious mind. We can decipher (Decipher means kisi chez ko un code krna.jesy agar kisi
chez ko tala laga hua hy tou uska taala kholnaya code laga hy tou code unlock krna) dreams to reach
at the unconscious regions of the mind.

Below is a small article on dream analysis. The important thing in here is to remember what is
Condensation and what is Displacement. Rest of it is for understanding.

Freud distinguished between the manifest content of a dream (what the dreamer
remembers) and the latent content, the symbolic meaning of the dream (i.e. the
underlying wish). The manifest content is often based on the events of the day.

The process whereby the underlying wish is translated into the manifest content is
called dream-work. The purpose of dream work is to transform the forbidden wish
into a non-threatening form, thus reducing anxiety and allowing us to continuing
sleeping. Dream work involves the process of condensation, displacement, and
secondary elaboration.
The process of condensation is the joining of two or more ideas/images into one. For
example, a dream about a man may be a dream about both one's father and one's
lover. A dream about a house might be the condensation of worries about security as
well as worries about one's appearance to the rest of the world.
Displacement takes place when we transform the person or object we are really
concerned about to someone else. For example, one of Freuds patients was extremely
resentful of his sister-in-law and used to refer to her as a dog, dreamed of strangling a
small white dog. Freud interpreted this as representing his wish to kill his sister-in-
law. If the patient would have really dreamed of killing his sister-in-law, he would
have felt guilty. The unconscious mind transformed her into a dog to protect him.
In Freuds later work on dreams he explored the possibility of universal symbols in
dreams. Some of these were sexual in nature, including poles, guns and swords
representing the penis and horse riding and dancing representing sexual intercourse.
However, Freud was cautious about symbols and stated that general symbols are more
personal rather than universal. A person cannot interpret what the manifest content of
a dream symbolized without knowing about the persons circumstances.
 Modernism
Literary Modernism is a smaller movement within the larger movement called Modernism. Modernism
includes music and painting. In literature, Modernism is an altogether different concept from Music and
Painting. The period from early 20th(especially after World War I) century till roughly 1945 is called
Modernism. Modernisms basic feature is a break from the traditional ways of writing and interpreting
literature.

For our discussion we will start by writing down some of the key features of Modernist literature.
One of the predominant features in modernism was that the writings produced during this time were
very weird. There are four factors which are responsible for the weird literature produced during this
time. We will discuss each of them one by one.
(it is non-linear. Which means not straight)

1. Nonlinearity of plot or sequence of things: Modernist works don't always necessarily have plots, first
of all. When they do have plots, they don't always seem to go in the way that you'd expect, like from
beginning to middle to end, in traditional way. Unlike traditional concepts about plot, the modernist
writers broke free from the norms. They didnt follow the concept of a beginning, middle, and end.
Thus, the plot in modern literary texts were non-linear. In such texts you never know what's totally
going on, like where things are or what's happened before. The best example of this is Virginia Woolfs
TO THE LIGHTHOUSE, which begins in the middle of the storyline. The first dialogue is not even a
complete dialogue, it is an incomplete dialogue from the middle of a conversation. The reader has no
idea about what happened before. There is no introduction about the characters or a proper beginning.
In this way the text becomes a kind of puzzle and its interesting to find out why it is presented in this
way. It creates an interest in the reader to keep reading further to find out more and solve the puzzle.
Another Example of this is James Joyces Ulysses, in which he completely abandons generally accepted
notions of plot, setting, and characters.

2. irony and satire

Verbal Irony is when words express something contrary to truth or someone says the opposite of what
they really feel or mean. Verbal irony is often sarcastic. Saying Oh, fantastic! when the situation is
actually very poor is an example of Verbal Irony. Sometimes, in the case of literature or plays,
it's called dramatic irony. That's when the reader and the audience know more than the
characters do. So you see a character and they're like, 'Oh yeah, I'm gonna be fine.' But you
actually know that they fall off a cliff. That's dramatic irony.

3. Stream of Consciousness:
The next thing we want to talk about is streams of consciousness. Streams of consciousness is a term
that is synonymous with people like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. They employ this technique a lot.
This is a literary style in which the writer/narrator jumps into the minds of the characters and describes
all the details about the consciousness of a characters without paying any attention to the outside
objective world. This type of texts are very weird and extremely difficult to grasp.

4. Allusions:
This is another technique used by modernist writers. Allusion is making reference to other literary
Works. One of the best examples of Allusion is The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot. In The Wasteland, TS Eliot
makes use of a number of allusions to the writings of Shakespeare, Dante, and Charles Baudelaire.

Authors use allusions intentionally, though it is the readers responsibility to

understand the reference

Now we're going to talk about why these novels and poems are the way they are. It's seen by many
people as a response to a lot of the destruction and disruption caused by World War I. Remember, like I
said, this movement began right after World War I has concluded.
To give a little overview of what happened in World War I that was so upsetting, it was actually a way
more destructive war than was predicted. This is because there was much more advanced technology
than ever before in the past. So, as a result tons and tons of people died.
At the same time the world was changing rapidly with industrialization taking over all around the world.
Cities were transforming. This rapid change provoked lots of writers to think and make sense of this new
world. They experimented with new forms of expressions to depict this chaos and muddle.
So, modern literature doesn't always make sense. In fact, it's a good way to test: if you're reading
something and it seems to be written in contemporary, modern English, but it doesn't make any sense,
chances are that you might be looking at a work of Modernist Literature. So that's a good little trick to
use if you're trying to identify it.
Popular British Modernists include the following:

James Joyce (from Dublin, Ireland) - His most experimental and famous work, Ulysses,
completely abandons generally accepted notions of plot, setting, and characters.
Ford Madox Ford - The Good Soldier examines the negative effects of war.
Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse, as well, strays from conventional forms, focusing on Stream
of Consciousness.
Stevie Smith - Novel on Yellow Paper parodies conventionality.
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World protests against the dangers and nature of modern society.
D.H. Lawrence - His novels reflected on the dehumanizing effect of modern society.
T.S. Eliot - Although American, Eliot's The Wasteland is associated with London and emphasizes
the emptiness of Industrialism.

American Modernists include:

Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises chronicles the meaningless lives of the Lost
Generation. Farewell to Arms narrates the tale of an ambulance driver searching for meaning in
WWI.

Some Key Features of Modernism are:

Marked by a strong and intentional break with tradition. This break includes a strong
reaction against established religious, political, and social views.
 Belief that the world is created in the act of perceiving it; that is, the world is what we
say it is. In other words, a break from Essentialism towards Existentialism.
There is no such thing as absolute truth. All things are relative.
No connection with history or institutions. Their experience is that of alienation, loss,
and despair.
Championship of the individual and celebration of inner strength.
Life is unordered.
Concerned with the sub-conscious
Obscurity of meanings
Experimentation with genre and form was yet another defining characteristic of
Modernist literature.

In the end we will discuss one of the most influential concepts introduced by Modernist writers:

Theatre of Absurd:
The term Theatre of the Absurd is applied to plays written by primarily European playwrights, that
express the belief that human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication
breaks down. Theatre of Absurd is a literary offshoot of Existentialism. the Theatre of the Absurd is
generally seen as beginning in the 1950s with the plays of Samuel Beckett. The most famous play in this
genre is Waiting For Godot.
POST MODERNISM