Return
to Study Questions PageStudy Questions for Cixous, "Laugh of the Medusa"
What is Cixous' imperative in the opening of her essay?
To whom will this new writing be addressed and what will be its subject?
What is the great crime that men have committed?
How much truly feminine writing has there been to date? Who?
What is the difference between masculine and feminine writing?
- How does Cixous characterize the phallocentric tradition?
What does Cixous mean by writing the body? In what ways will feminine writing be grounded in sexuality? Why can feminine writing never be theorized?
What does Cixous say about different notions of bisexuality?
What and whose ideas is Cixous critiquing on pages 1649-1650? Whom does she refer to positively on page 1650?
What is Cixous critiquing on page 1654-1655?
What type of history does she want to reject? To whom is this referring?
With what other thinkers and critical movements does her work have affiliations?
What characterizes Cixous' writing style? Is this feminine writing? How does Cixous differ from other feminists with which you are familiar?