“The Edge of the Map: Feminist Geography and Literature” by Joy Kennedy: Summary and Critique

Feminist Geography as an Emerging Field

• Kennedy introduces feminist geography as a developing discipline that challenges traditional geographic thought by incorporating gendered perspectives.
• She argues that geography has historically been shaped by patriarchal norms that exclude women’s spatial experiences.
• Feminist geography seeks to “put women back into the equations of understanding and mapping our world” (Kennedy, 2004, p. 79).
• She emphasizes that geography is not neutral but instead reflects the “socially created gender structure of society” (p. 79).

Gendered Language and Landscape Perception

• Kennedy discusses how exploration and geographic discourse are embedded with gendered language.
• She cites Annette Kolodny’s The Lay of the Land (1975), which argues that land has often been metaphorically feminized, portrayed as passive and awaiting male conquest.
• The terminology used in caving and exploration, such as referring to cave passages as “virgin” and caves as “wombs,” reinforces patriarchal conceptualizations of space (p. 79).
• This gendered framing affects not only how land is perceived but also how it is treated, leading to exploitative relationships between humans and nature.

Historical Exclusion of Women in Geography

• Kennedy highlights the historical marginalization of women in geography and cartography.
• She references the Royal Geographical Society’s refusal to grant women full membership until 1913, despite their contributions to exploration and travel writing (p. 82).
• Women geographers and explorers, such as Isabella Bird Bishop and Gertrude Bell, were often dismissed, even though their work significantly advanced the field.
• Kennedy cites Morag Bell and Cheryl McEwan’s research on how women’s involvement in geographic exploration was systematically ignored (p. 82).

Feminist Geography and Literary Analysis

• Kennedy argues for applying feminist geography to literature, as both fields examine representations of space and power.
• She notes that feminist geography “has rarely been applied to literary analysis” (p. 80) but believes it can offer new insights.
• Using feminist geography to analyze literature can expose hidden gendered structures and create a more interdisciplinary academic approach.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Sur as a Case Study

• Kennedy applies feminist geography to Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story Sur, which reimagines exploration through a feminist perspective.
• The story follows a secret expedition of South American women who reach the South Pole before the famous male explorers but leave no record of their achievement.
• Unlike traditional male explorers, who claim land and seek recognition, the women in Sur embark on their journey for self-discovery.
• Kennedy highlights how their refusal to plant a flag or claim credit challenges the patriarchal narrative of exploration (p. 84).

Critique of Traditional Mapping Methods

• Kennedy argues that maps are not objective representations of reality but instead tools of power.
• She cites J.B. Harley, who asserts that maps are “instruments of state policy and an instrument of sovereignty” (p. 81).
• Feminist geography encourages critical map reading, questioning what is included, omitted, and how names reflect gendered hierarchies.
• In Sur, the women playfully name landmarks rather than imposing rigid, authoritative place names (p. 85).

Women’s Connection to Landscape and Self-Discovery

• Kennedy contrasts Sur with traditional male exploration narratives, arguing that women’s relationship with the landscape is based on connection rather than conquest.
• She references Mona Domosh and Joni Seager, who found that women travelers often focus on personal and emotional responses to landscapes rather than territorial claims (p. 86).
• In Sur, the protagonist describes Antarctica as a place of belonging, writing, “I felt that I was home at last” (Le Guin, qtd. in Kennedy, p. 86).
• This reflects a feminist reimagining of space, where landscape is not something to be conquered but something to be experienced.

Feminist Geography and Ecofeminism

• Kennedy highlights the overlap between feminist geography and ecofeminism, both of which critique how patriarchal societies exploit both women and nature.
• She cites Patrick Murphy, who describes a “two-pronged rape and domination of the earth and the women who live on it” (p. 79).
• In Sur, the contrast between the women’s respectful approach to the Antarctic landscape and the wasteful destruction left by male explorers reinforces ecofeminist critiques of environmental exploitation (p. 86).

Future Directions for Feminist Geography

• Kennedy emphasizes the growing importance of feminist geography in academia and activism.
• She highlights recent feminist geographic research on women’s mobility in cities, labor market conditions, and housing accessibility (p. 79).
• She also notes that despite progress, women remain underrepresented in geographic disciplines such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (p. 87).

Conclusion: Expanding the Boundaries of Literary and Geographic Studies

• Kennedy calls for a more interdisciplinary approach that integrates feminist geography into literary analysis.
• She argues that literature instructors should not hesitate to “go off-road” and incorporate feminist geographic perspectives into their teaching (p. 88).
• She ultimately advocates for a more inclusive approach to geography and literature, recognizing and valuing women’s perspectives on space and place.

1. Feminist Literary Theory

• Definition: Feminist literary theory examines how gender roles, power structures, and patriarchal ideologies influence literature. It critiques male-dominated narratives and explores how literature represents women’s experiences.
• Kennedy’s Contribution:
  • Kennedy applies feminist theory to geographic discourse, arguing that landscapes are often feminized and objectified, reinforcing male dominance.
  • She critiques the absence of women in traditional exploration narratives, stating that “landscape is often viewed as passive, fertile, and ripe” for male conquest (p. 79).
  • She uses Sur as an example of how feminist literature can challenge traditional narratives by placing women in roles historically reserved for men. The women in Sur reject hierarchical leadership and conquest-driven exploration (p. 84).
• Theoretical Implication:
  • Her approach broadens feminist literary theory by incorporating spatial and environmental analysis, reinforcing the idea that literature does not exist in isolation from physical geography.
  • It aligns with Elaine Showalter’s theory of the female tradition, which argues that women have historically produced their own literary narratives but have been excluded from mainstream literary history (Showalter, 1977).
  • Kennedy supports this idea, emphasizing that feminist geography allows for “reading against the grain” to uncover women’s overlooked contributions to space and literature (p. 86).

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2. Ecocriticism (Ecofeminism as a Subfield)

• Definition: Ecocriticism examines the relationship between literature and the environment, while ecofeminism specifically explores how the exploitation of nature parallels the oppression of women.
• Kennedy’s Contribution:
  • She discusses how patriarchal societies have historically justified the domination of both nature and women through similar language and metaphors (p. 79).
  • She references Patrick Murphy’s observation that the environment and women are subjected to a “two-pronged rape and domination” under patriarchal ideology (p. 79).
  • In Sur, the contrast between the women’s respectful engagement with Antarctica and the destruction left by male explorers highlights ecofeminist themes (p. 86).
• Theoretical Implication:
  • Kennedy extends Cheryll Glotfelty’s foundational ecocritical argument that literature shapes and reflects human relationships with nature.
  • Her work aligns with Val Plumwood’s ecofeminist theory, which critiques the Western tradition of separating culture (male) from nature (female) and argues for a more integrated, non-hierarchical approach to the environment.
  • By linking feminist geography with ecofeminism, Kennedy provides a cross-disciplinary lens to analyze literature’s treatment of both gender and environment.

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3. Postcolonial Literary Theory

• Definition: Postcolonial literary theory examines how colonialism has shaped literature, particularly in the representation of power, space, and cultural identity. It often critiques the Eurocentric perspective in exploration narratives.
• Kennedy’s Contribution:
  • She discusses how third-world feminists and postcolonial scholars critique traditional mapping and spatial hierarchies (p. 80).
  • She highlights how colonial exploration narratives often erase indigenous and female perspectives, reinforcing European male dominance over land and people.
  • In Sur, the women’s decision to leave no mark on the landscape contrasts with colonial practices of naming and claiming territories (p. 85).
• Theoretical Implication:
  • Kennedy’s argument aligns with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of the subaltern, which examines how marginalized voices—especially women in postcolonial contexts—are silenced in dominant narratives (Spivak, 1988).
  • Her critique of male-centric exploration literature parallels Edward Said’s analysis of how Western texts construct non-Western spaces as passive, reinforcing imperialist ideologies (Orientalism, 1978).
  • By applying postcolonial perspectives to feminist geography, Kennedy expands postcolonial theory to include spatial and environmental critiques.

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4. Deconstruction and Poststructuralist Literary Theory

• Definition: Deconstruction, introduced by Jacques Derrida, argues that meaning in texts is unstable and shaped by power relations. Poststructuralist theory questions traditional binaries and dominant narratives.
• Kennedy’s Contribution:
  • She applies Derridean deconstruction to maps, arguing that they are not neutral representations of reality but rhetorical constructs that reflect political and social hierarchies (p. 81).
  • She states that maps “construct a mythic geography,” reinforcing dominant ideologies through the selection, omission, and classification of space (p. 81).
  • She analyzes how Sur disrupts traditional binary oppositions (male/female, explorer/nature, conqueror/conquered) by presenting a non-hierarchical approach to exploration (p. 85).
• Theoretical Implication:
  • Her critique of maps aligns with J.B. Harley’s argument that cartography is a form of discourse that perpetuates state and colonial power (Harley, 1992).
  • She extends poststructuralist literary theory by demonstrating how spatial discourse—like literary texts—is shaped by ideology and can be deconstructed.

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5. Spatial Literary Criticism

• Definition: Spatial literary criticism examines how space and geography influence narrative structures, themes, and characters. It intersects with feminist geography in analyzing gendered spatial experiences.
• Kennedy’s Contribution:
  • She emphasizes how literature constructs and reinforces spatial hierarchies, arguing that literary texts can be read as geographic texts (p. 80).
  • She applies Henri Lefebvre’s theory of spatial production, which argues that space is socially and politically constructed, not merely a passive backdrop to human activity.
  • She critiques how women’s mobility has historically been restricted in both literature and real life, citing how urban planning has reinforced gender hierarchies (p. 79).
• Theoretical Implication:
  • Kennedy contributes to the growing field of literary geography, aligning with theorists like Yi-Fu Tuan and Michel de Certeau, who analyze how literature shapes spatial perceptions.
  • She extends Doreen Massey’s feminist spatial theory, which argues that space is not neutral but actively shaped by gendered power relations.

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Conclusion: Expanding Literary Theory Through Feminist Geography

Kennedy’s work makes a significant contribution to multiple literary theories by integrating feminist geography into literary analysis. Her interdisciplinary approach:

1. Challenges traditional feminist literary criticism by incorporating spatial analysis.
2. Strengthens ecocritical and ecofeminist discussions by linking gender and environmental exploitation.
3. Broadens postcolonial literary theory to include geographic critiques of colonial exploration.
4. Applies deconstruction and poststructuralist theory to mapping and spatial narratives.
5. Advances spatial literary criticism by demonstrating how literature constructs gendered spaces.

1. Limited Engagement with Non-Western Feminist Geography

• Kennedy primarily references Western feminist geographic discourse, with limited exploration of non-Western and Indigenous spatial theories.
• Although she acknowledges third-world feminists (p. 80), she does not fully integrate their perspectives or methodologies.
• Critics might argue that her approach centers Euro-American feminist perspectives, potentially marginalizing global feminist geography movements that emphasize localized, decolonized spatial understandings.

2. Oversimplification of Feminist Geography’s Relationship with Literature

• While Kennedy argues that feminist geography can be fruitfully applied to literary studies (p. 80), she does not fully engage with how literary representations of space differ from real-world geography.
• Some scholars might critique her for treating literature as a direct reflection of spatial realities, rather than acknowledging the fictional, symbolic, and constructed nature of literary spaces.
• A more nuanced discussion of how narrative spaces function differently from physical geographies would strengthen her argument.

3. Overreliance on Ecofeminism

• Kennedy integrates ecofeminist perspectives (p. 79), particularly in her discussion of gendered landscapes and nature as feminine, but she does not sufficiently address critiques of ecofeminism.
• Scholars such as Stacy Alaimo and Karen Warren have critiqued ecofeminism for essentializing women’s connection to nature, reinforcing traditional gender roles rather than challenging them.
• Kennedy’s argument could benefit from a discussion of alternative feminist environmental perspectives, such as new materialism or posthumanist ecocriticism.

4. Lack of Engagement with Class and Economic Geography

• Kennedy emphasizes gendered space but does not sufficiently explore how class and economic structures intersect with geography.
• Feminist economic geographers have examined how poverty, labor conditions, and urban planning disproportionately affect women—areas that Kennedy only briefly mentions (p. 79).
• A more intersectional approach, integrating Marxist feminism or feminist labor geography, could have deepened her analysis.

5. Idealization of Sur as a Feminist Exploration Narrative

• Kennedy presents Ursula K. Le Guin’s Sur as a subversive alternative to patriarchal exploration narratives (p. 84), but some critics might argue that it romanticizes female exploration rather than truly challenging power structures.
• The story’s refusal to claim space or leave a mark can be seen as reinforcing the idea that women must remain invisible in historical narratives rather than reclaiming agency.
• A more critical reading of Sur might question whether it offers a radical feminist alternative or simply reinforces women’s exclusion from geographic discourse.

6. Lack of Concrete Methodology for Applying Feminist Geography to Literature

• While Kennedy argues for using feminist geography as a literary analytical tool (p. 80), she does not provide a clear methodology for doing so.
• She offers examples and theoretical connections, but a more structured framework for applying spatial analysis to literary texts would make her argument more practical for literary scholars.
• A stronger theoretical bridge between feminist geography and literary studies would improve the interdisciplinary approach she advocates.

7. Insufficient Critique of Traditional Geographic Thought

• Kennedy critiques cartographic silence and patriarchal mapping (p. 81), but she does not fully deconstruct mainstream geographic epistemology.
• She assumes that feminist geography is merely an addition to traditional geography, rather than exploring how geography itself might need a more radical restructuring.
• Critics might argue that her analysis remains too embedded within the existing disciplinary framework, rather than pushing for a more transformative, decolonized approach to spatial theory.