Feminism, Theory, Theology

“In my view, it is a fine thing for many of us, individually, to have traversed the minefield; but that happy circumstance will only prove of lasting importance if, together, we expose it for what it is (the male fear of sharing power and significance with women) and deactivate its components, so that others, after us, may literally dance through the minefield.”
- Annette Kolodny

While I was reading Annette Kolodny’s, Dancing through the Minefield I couldn’t help but think that she was all around so much more down to earth (at least in this essay) than the works of other feminist critics I have read. Not to mention Kolodny gets kudos for using the a dance analogy =)- I’m a fan. But seriously, I like her propositions. First, that literary history is a fiction, that it is constructed by specific individuals within specific institutions and with specific assumptions and aims. That such narratives and the canons they create can- and should- be contested. Secondly, we, readers, engage in paradigms. We often unconsciously appropriate meaning from a text according to our own needs or desires, or according to critical assumptions or predispositions that we bring to it. Thirdly, is Kolodny’s axiom that we must reexamine our seemingly inherent biases and assumptions informing our critical methods. I think Kolodny is being completely fair in her call to get people to become aware of their literary interpretations. I think about this a lot in relation to theology. I know, I know, I am constantly relating things to religion, but what can I say, it is my other field of study. Also, I find a lot of interrelationship between literary theory and theology. Anyway, much of one’s theological understanding if not all of it, is dependent upon a hierarchy of sources. In example, theological sources might include experience, community, etc, and depending upon the value you give those sources you will arrive at a given theological understanding. This relates to the idea behind the binocular or telescope view of Scripture- you know like Scripture as a flatbook or whatever. Anyway, the same is true of literary theory. Depending upon which sources you place the most value on will determine how you interpret literature. For feminist literary critics it is certainly on gender (female), but I suppose historically a greater weight has been placed on masculinity. Anyway, that is it for now because I actually need to go work on a 35 page theology paper- ahhhhhhhh!