The Laugh Of The Medusa Summary – The Laugh Of Medusa Helene Cixous

This article will cover The Laugh of the Medusa summary and analysis, written by Helene Cixous from a feministic point of view, which is important from the perspective of English Literature.

Helene Cixous showed how the new generation should bring a new revolution for the rights of women. This is because women are always suppressed and stopped from excelling in their lives. 

Thus, by means of this essay, Helene presented that women should stop letting the male-dominant society suppress them. 

Let us first know a little about Helena Cixous. 

About Helena Cixous – The Author Of The Laugh Of Medusa

Born 5 June 1937. She is still alive, 83 years old, living in Algeria. Her most famous play is Tambours Surla Digue. School education – European Graduate School, Graduated from Cornell University. Published the laugh of medusa in 2010. 

She followed french feminism. 

In 2010, after getting published, The Laugh Of The Medusa became one of the best essays ever. 

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The Laugh Of The Medusa Summary

The laugh of medusa is a critical essay taken up from a feministic topic of France. Firstly, there is mentioned in The Laugh Of The Medusa is a way of new thinking, a new way of writing about women and their rights. Cixous says that males have always dominated the female community and it has been happening for a long time.

The writer believes there are also some men who have left certain customs and rituals that intend to oppress women and those principles are still being followed, for instance, women are supposed to stay at their homes only, and their thoughts and views are always suppressed. We are all still following it no matter how many times we deny it. 

Helena Cixous says that it has been written in the history of reason and is being followed like the religion of the father that women are supposed to be suppressed forever.

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The writer tries to ask all the women a question, isn’t this scenario created by the patriarchal society wrong? She asks, aren’t these regulations against us women? Aren’t we being suppressed? 

The writer also says that men aren’t the only ones to be blamed, women are also responsible for this because the men are still rigid on those old customs and principles and suppress us because they believe that women are afraid of men. This is why they suppress us more. And we, the women have chosen this path on our own that we will remain behind men, will remain afraid of men, and will be suppressed by men. 

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She, then says, that we also have to prove the allegations of men wrong because they believe that one woman is jealous of the other and that is why women stay entangled among themselves and do not deserve to come to the level of men. 

This is why they have made men their guardians. And men also believe that they have bought the women and that women themselves have allowed the men to buy them and now the women are stuck in this, unable to bring change in this system and thinking of men. 

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She says that they put all these useless allegations that women have still not become writers, it is wrong and we accept this. 

The writer also says that she had always wished for women to write something to prove themselves so that no one can suppress them ever which will not be less than discovery and she says if she becomes the one to make this happen, she will think great of herself too. 

Then she says, if a woman is oppressed in front of me and she stays quiet, there can be nothing more ashaming than that for her that she, being a woman, couldn’t help her.

She should drink all that shyness and raise her voice against that. And if someone calls her a fool, then she is not ashamed of being called that but she cannot see women suffer like this.

Then she says that the women who do not save their self-respect and don’t raise their voices against oppression, are also wrong and while they hold God responsible for all that, in reality, they are themselves responsible. 

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Helena Cixous in The Laugh of the Medusa says that she is a woman of the modern era and will not let any woman be oppressed or dominated in front of her. 

Women are equally to be blamed for this. Those women who just keep beautifying themselves and never believe themselves to be equal to men, always remain suppressed. And this is wrong. The women who raise their voices against this, do not hide behind their beautification, instead face the issue and stand victorious over such men. 

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Towards the end of The Laugh of The Medusa. Helena Cixous says that women should not be suppressed by anyone, they are so strong on their own that they can save and retain their respect back. They are worth walking beside men with equal respect. 

Final Words

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