Reclaiming the Goddess: Contemporary American Women Writers' Negotiation of Religious Patriarchy

Ecofeminist theory exposes the androcentric monopoly of meaning-making and
its resulting oppression of women, people of color, and the earth. Because women have
been marginalized in historical and religious discourses, these theorists emphasize the
need for women to develop an alternative, inclusive worldview that rejects binary,
hierarchical thought. Like feminist theorists, Contemporary American women writers
have also tackled the patriarchal oppression of Christianity and the omission of
women's historical contributions in their fiction. In their works, authors like Toni
Morrison, Linda Hogan, and Julia Alvarez have reimagined women's history by
fictionalizing historical events. Despite racial differences, all three authors similarly
detail the oppressive nature of the patriarchal worldview, reject binary thought, and
utilize goddess figures as catalysts for awakening female consciousness. By detailing
the characters' shift in consciousness, these novels act as a form of consciousnessraising
for their readers, and can therefore be considered activist texts.