Women and literature.

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.

Women have traditionally formed their identity around standards created by a patriarchal society. In this way, they have often denied themselves autonomy and the process of self-discovery. With this knowledge, Marge Piercy through fiction re-imagines "the traditional female concern with personal relationships and the details of daily life and then expand (s) these concerns to include a wider and wider swath of human experience" (Snitow 719). Most of Piercy's novels intertwine politically motivated plots with female characters who reach a new conscious level of understanding about origins of identities, and thus these characters engage in an awareness that allows them to discover a self-formed identity. Piercy realizes that she must challenge the prescribed identity of women before she can concern herself with personal identity. In doing this, she understands that gender precedes identity (Lorraine 18), and politically, she relates her ideas in a feminist way. Because her writing takes place from the 1950s through the 90s, Piercy's work realizes the change in women's identity through this particular time. Moreover, Piercy is able to show the history of the confinement and limitations suffered by women in a sexist society. In doing this, she empowers both her female characters and her female readers to begin to realize personal choice in creating a self-identity.