Julia Kristeva critiques the phallocentric nature of traditional Freudian psychoanalysis. She seeks to integrate the feminine experience into the understanding of psychological development, particularly through her concepts of the semiotic and the abject. By focusing on the pre-Oedipal phase and the maternal body, she provides a more nuanced framework that centers women's experiences, which were often marginalized or pathologized in classical Freudian theory.

Gender theory provides a multifaceted framework for literary analysis. It examines how gender is culturally constructed, explores diverse historical and societal conceptions of gender roles, and critiques how traditional Western narratives often prioritize heterosexual identity. By integrating these perspectives, scholars can uncover how power dynamics and social norms are embedded within literary works, ultimately revealing the complex relationship between identity, culture, and textual representation.

In the context of feminist literary criticism, John represents the 'monstrous Other' because he embodies the patriarchal authority that restricts the protagonist's autonomy. As a physician and husband, his insistence on the 'rest cure' and his dismissal of his wife's intellectual needs turn him into an antagonistic force. He represents the societal structures that silence and infantilize women, thereby becoming the primary obstacle to the narrator's self-expression and mental liberation.

Feminist literary theory seeks to dismantle patriarchal structures within literature. Its objectives include recovering neglected female authors, analyzing the representation of women as literary subjects, critiquing phallocentric (male-centered) biases in critical traditions, and challenging the pervasive stereotypes that have historically limited female characters. By doing so, it aims to foster a more equitable and inclusive understanding of gender dynamics in both literary production and critical reception.

Theorists argue that the Gothic novel shares a kinship with queer and camp sensibilities through its preoccupation with the 'abnormal' body. By presenting bodies that are fragmented, monstrous, or gender-nonconforming, the Gothic challenges normative standards of identity and beauty, mirroring the way camp aesthetics subvert traditional cultural expectations through exaggeration and artifice.

Elaine Showalter introduced the term 'gynocriticism' in her seminal work 'Toward a Feminist Poetics' (1979). She defined it as the study of women as writers, focusing on the history, styles, themes, and structures of literature written by women. Unlike earlier feminist criticism that focused on the portrayal of women in male-authored texts, gynocriticism seeks to construct a female-centered literary tradition and explore the 'female experience' in writing.

Woolf argues that intellectual freedom and creative expression for women are fundamentally dependent upon material conditions, specifically financial independence and private space. She posits that the historical lack of women's literature is a direct result of their systemic exclusion from economic power and educational opportunities, rather than an inherent lack of talent.

Hélène Cixous, a key figure in French feminism, introduces the concept of 'écriture féminine' in 'The Laugh of the Medusa.' She argues that women must write themselves into existence, breaking away from the constraints of phallocentric language and patriarchal structures. By writing from their own bodies and experiences, women can challenge the traditional male-dominated literary canon and create a new, liberating form of expression.

Elaine Showalter coined the term 'gynocriticism' in her seminal 1979 essay 'Towards a Feminist Poetics.' This approach shifts the focus of feminist literary criticism from the critique of male-authored texts to the study of women as writers, exploring the history, styles, themes, and structures of literature produced by women. It seeks to establish a distinct female literary tradition and analyze the unique ways in which female experience is articulated within the literary canon.

Feminist criticism is a multifaceted approach that examines how literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women. It analyzes the representation of female characters, the historical marginalization of female writers, and the patriarchal structures inherent in language and literary canons, making it a comprehensive field of study.