Male readers, don't be scared away by the title of this post! As a female myself, I can only comment on my personal reading experience, hence the headline here.
Literature has traditionally been dominated by white men, as is especially apparent in literary canon. Writers from Hemmingway to Kerouac to Joyce are all celebrated, talented writers, and their work continues to have an influence on the writing world today. But they all have particular ways in which they see women, as well, and those are not always complementary. In fact, sometimes they can be downright mean, and that strongly influences the way in which different genders read the same famous texts.
This excellent article by Amanda Hess examines the way some female readers and writers have approached works by the "midcentury misogynists," how they as women interpreted the texts, and their reactions. There is input from male reader/writers too, to keep the topic open to all genders. It's truly a great article, and I highly recommend checking it out! It may give you a new perspective on some classic texts.
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