Carlotta Cossutta
Can a dystopia be a refuge? Thoughts based on feminist theories
Abstract
Informations and abstract
Keywords: Feminism, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Cavendish, Power.
The relationship between feminism and dystopia is a rich and complex one, spanning centuries and questioning women’s writing long before the term feminism emerged. In the text, it is analysed through Margaret Cavendish’s novel The Blazing World to highlight how dystopias can be both a refuge and a place to subvert gender and social norms that oppress women. Moreover, dystopia, through the use of scientific imagery, allows us to question relations of knowledge and power and gender boundaries themselves, offering feminism spaces of freedom and political imagination.