Nessa pesquisa analisamos a construção da identidade feminina no conto “Eveline”, escrito por James Joyce em 1914, e “The story of an hour”, escrita por Kate Chopin em 1894. Além disso, identificamos se, e,se for o caso, de que modo os personagens homens presentes em ambas as narrativas influenciam as atitudes de suas protagonistas, Eveline e Louise, bem como em que medida eles tem relação com a construção de ambas as histórias. Nosso arcabouço teórico principal é o dos estudos de gênero, já que o papel da mulher na literatura tem sido comumente definido por homens marcados por uma tendência de reproduzir padrões patriarcais e machistas, objetificando a identidade feminina. A crítica literária feminista, então, abre espaço para que as mulheres sejam vistas na literatura, assim como também lhes fornece com um espaço para falar e lutar contra esses padrões consolidados do falocentrismo. Nossos resultados demonstram como “Eveline” (JOYCE, 1914) e “The story of an hour” (CHOPIN, 1894), ainda que tenham sido escritos há mais de um século, ainda tem muito a dizer no que concerne aos padrões de representação feminina na sociedade patriarcal. Nossa esperança, com esse artigo, é chamar atenção para a relevância dos estudos de gênero como lente analítica em um momento no qual a urgência de transformar o papel feminino na sociedade parece ter se tornado inquestionável.
Historically, it would be fair to say that the feminist movement is present in many social strata and manifestations, literature being one of them. Albeit long-established, the concern about women’s representation and role in literature is still a current issue, because, even though many years have passed since the beginning of this preoccupation, a lot of male chauvinist patterns are up until now topics we still have to deal with. As a result, the creation of a literary criticism regarding feminism proved to be necessary. According to Bressler (2011, p. 144), “feminist literary criticism advocates equal rights for all women (indeed, all peoples) in all areas of life: socially, politically, professionally, personally, economically, aesthetically, and psychologically”. Therefore, there is even a political struggle embedded within this theory, which fights against the patterns imposed by the system, but also tries to change the system itself. Historically, it would be fair to say that the feminist movement is present in many social strata and manifestations, literature being one of them. Albeit long-established, the concern about women’s representation and role in literature is still a current issue, because, even though many years have passed since the beginning of this preoccupation, a lot of male chauvinist patterns are up until now topics we still have to deal with. As a result, the creation of a literary criticism regarding feminism proved to be necessary. According to Bressler (2011, p. 144), “feminist literary criticism advocates equal rights for all women (indeed, all peoples) in all areas of life: socially, politically, professionally, personally, economically, aesthetically, and psychologically”. Therefore, there is even a political struggle embedded within this theory, which fights against the patterns imposed by the system, but also tries to change the system itself.
