Does literature have gender?

Ban, Zsofia

What is the significance of the author's gender in creating, evaluating and interpreting literary texts? This is the central question of the lecture, which produces answers using examples from both Hungarian and world literature. The author's name works both as a trademark and a symbol: no wonder that women, as authors, appeared on the literary scene very late and that works by men form the bulk of the literary canon. Men have begun to sense this anomaly, which may be one reason they often use female pseudonyms.
Until the end of the 19^th century it was generally accepted that gender roles were established based on biological differences. However, the antagonism between the genders is just one of the oppositions characteristic of human thinking through which a culture expresses its own values. A gender-focused analysis of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, in which the theme of gender switching is highlighted, discusses the ideologies of "naturalness". Women writers themselves do not necessarily appreciate being referred to as 'women' writers. Literary critics explain the hostility towards the gender aspect as a reaction to over-politicised art, and in the case of women writers it is explained by the fear of discrimination. Gender roles in society greatly influence the limits and effects of both representation and reception.

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