Multiplicities in viewpoint – a new dimension to the feminist struggle.

Abstract

There is the suggestion that male dominance is seen as the biggest hindrance to the feminist movement, and in order to achieve equality with men, women would have to demonstrate an awareness of the power imbalance and resist it as well. To do the opposite – to submit and condone the act of male dominance would be “bad faith” (Beauvoir 24) – a concept describing the situation in which one accepts one’s position as an object. However, although a vast majority of the feminist critics state otherwise, this paper argues that submissiveness could be used as a subversive tool or a form of empowerment that supports the feminist movement, instead of being something oppressive. The novels The Lover and Memoirs of a Geisha will also be analyzed in this paper, as both novels depict women who willingly submit to men. Both novels demonstrate that there is no monolithic way of looking at any issue – be it submission in itself, or the feminist movement as a whole. It is then absolutely necessary to take into consideration the multiple viewpoints and contexts that all novels are situated in, before passing a conclusion on whether they work towards or against feminist efforts.