SOURCE: "Women and the World According to Garp," in Gender Studies: New Directions in Feminist Criticism, edited by Judith Spector, Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1986, pp. 60-9.

In the following essay, Doane and Hodges examine the portrayal of strong female characters and feminist issues in The World According to Garp. Providing a feminist analysis of the novel, Doane and Hodges assert that "Garp protects narrative conventions and with them reinforces patriarchal power."

Until recently, many feminist critics have defined the feminist novel on the basis of theme and character. One such critic, for example, writes that a novel "can serve the cause of liberation" and "earn feminist approval" if it performs "one or more of the following functions: 1) serves as a forum for women, 2) helps achieve cultural androgyny, 3) provides role models, 4) promotes sisterhood, 5) augments consciousness raising." The importance of focusing on the relation between gender and narrative structure...