Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Women's and gender studies, 6. HUMANITIES, General literature studies, Literary theory

Publication Details

Originally published in 2025 ; Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice, 13(4), 19–47.

Abstract

Beginning with a retrospective approach, this essay navigates key works of literary criticism relevant to a small selection of John Updike’s most well-known fiction, his novel Rabbit, Run (1960) and two of his short stories “A&P” (1961) and “Separating” (1975), the three of which have frequently appeared on college syllabi. Through close readings, its aim is to provide a basis for classroom discussion about the misogynistic tone of Updike’s works so that professors of English and literary studies can confidently adapt their lesson plans and approaches in ways that are cognizant of today’s sensibilities on issues pertaining to girls, women, and feminism. It finds that, in some respects, Updike’s work is consistent with principles we normally attribute to feminist positions including those held by bell hooks and Judith Butler. Other critical voices referred to in this essay include Mary Allen, Deborah Appleman, Deanne Bogdan, Marshall Boswell, Biljana Dojčinović, Rita Felski, Judith Fetterly, Mary Gordon, Kate Millet, Toni Morrison, Mary O’Connell, Kaja Silverman, and Natasha Walter. It begins with a brief contextualizing of the relationship between male shame and female abuse by reference to a 2023 conversation between feminist-journalist Julie Bindel and anti-sexism activist Michael Conroy.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/Z1XY-V491

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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