<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE root>
<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.2" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Литературоведение. Журналистика</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn publication-format="print">2312-9220</issn><issn publication-format="electronic">2312-9247</issn><publisher><publisher-name xml:lang="en">Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University)</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">40028</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22363/2312-9220-2024-29-1-82-88</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="edn">EKYSIR</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>LITERARY CRITICISM</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>Литературоведение</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="article-type"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title xml:lang="en">From silence to speech: women’s breathing space in “The Laugh of the Medusa”</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>От молчания к речи: женское дыхание в «Смехе Медузы»</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Ojha</surname><given-names>Sushila</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Оджа</surname><given-names>Сушила</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en">Retd. Head, Department of English</bio><bio xml:lang="ru">экс-директор, департамент английского языка</bio><email>sushila.ojha@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5124-3326</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Ojha</surname><given-names>Jaya Kritika</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Оджа</surname><given-names>Джая Критика</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Assistant Professor, Department of Society Technology Interface</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>доцент, департамент взаимодействия с общественными технологиями</p></bio><email>jaya.kritika@curaj.ac.in</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Government Maharani Sudarshana Girls College</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Государственный женский колледж Махарани Сударшана</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff2"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Central University of Rajasthan</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Центральный университет Раджастхана</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2024-06-30" publication-format="electronic"><day>30</day><month>06</month><year>2024</year></pub-date><volume>29</volume><issue>1</issue><issue-title xml:lang="en">VOL 29, NO1 (2024)</issue-title><issue-title xml:lang="ru">ТОМ 29, №1 (2024)</issue-title><fpage>82</fpage><lpage>88</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2024-07-15"><day>15</day><month>07</month><year>2024</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright ©; 2024, Ojha S., Ojha J.K.</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright ©; 2024, Оджа С., Оджа Д.К.</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2024</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Ojha S., Ojha J.K.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Оджа С., Оджа Д.К.</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/><license><ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</ali:license_ref></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/view/40028">https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/view/40028</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>The study focuses on the empowering aspects of women’s writing referring Helen Cixous influential work “The Laugh of the Medusa”. Cixous passionately advocates for women to embrace writing, as a tool for self-expression and liberation believing that it has the potential to not transform individual lives but also shape culture, history, and society. The authors suggest that by expressing themselves, contemporary women can establish their place in the world just as the Medusas gaze turned enemies into stone. The paper also explores the connection between language, subjectivity and diversity which are related in feminist discourse. It emphasises the importance of reclaiming language that has historically marginalised women and highlights the need to develop a vocabulary that truly reflects their experiences and aspirations. Important is to create an environment where women are given the space and support to communicate their thoughts and feelings. It is crucial for women to cultivate their own voices, honour their bodies and utilise language to challenge patriarchal norms. The continuous fight for gender equality and empowerment is fueled by Cixous's appeal for women to reclaim their voices and experiences. The research stresses about providing women the room and encouragement they need to express themselves. Women's writing may act as a catalyst for the destruction of repressive power systems, to pave the way for a just, equal, humane, and free world for women.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Основное внимание уделяется аспектам женского писательства, расширяющим возможности женщин, во влиятельной работе Элен Сиксу «Смех Медузы». Сиксу страстно выступает за то, чтобы женщины восприняли письмо как инструмент самовыражения и освобождения, полагая, что оно может не только изменить частную жизнь, но и сформировать культуру, историю и общество. В исследовании доказывается, что через самовыражение современные женщины могут утвердить свое место в мире подобно тому, как взгляд Медузы превращал врагов в камень. Изучается связь между языком, субъективностью и разнообразием, которые взаимосвязаны в феминистском дискурсе. Указывается на важность восстановления языка, который исторически маргинализировал женщин; подчеркивается необходимость развития их словарного запаса, который действительно отражает их опыт и стремления. Требуется создать среду, в которой женщинам будет предоставлено пространство и поддержка для выражения своих мыслей и чувств. Женщинам крайне важно развивать свой собственный голос, уважать свое тело и использовать язык, чтобы бросить вызов патриархальным нормам. Непрерывная борьба за гендерное равенство и расширение прав и возможностей подогревается призывом Элен Сиксу к женщинам вернуть себе свои голоса и опыт. Подчеркивается важность предоставления женщинам возможности поощрения, необходимой для самовыражения. Делается вывод, что женские произведения могут послужить катализатором разрушения репрессивных систем власти с целью создания справедливого, равного, гуманного и свободного мира для женщин.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>women's writing</kwd><kwd>language</kwd><kwd>feminism</kwd><kwd>gender equality</kwd><kwd>Hélène Cixous</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>женское письмо</kwd><kwd>язык</kwd><kwd>феминизм</kwd><kwd>гендерное равенство</kwd><kwd>Элен Сиксу</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group/></article-meta></front><body></body><back><ref-list><ref id="B1"><label>1.</label><mixed-citation>Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera: The new mestiza. Aunt Lute Books.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B2"><label>2.</label><mixed-citation>Bell, L. (1989). The power of women's writing. Women's Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B3"><label>3.</label><mixed-citation>Cixous, H. (1976). The laugh of the Medusa (K. Cohen, P. Cohen, Trans.). Signs, 1(4), 875-893.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B4"><label>4.</label><mixed-citation>Creed, B. (1993). The monstrous-feminine: Film, feminism, psychoanalysis. Routledge.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B5"><label>5.</label><mixed-citation>Gilbert, S.M., &amp; Gubar, S. (1979). The madwoman in the Attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination. Yale University Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B6"><label>6.</label><mixed-citation>Irigaray, L. (1977). This sex which is not one. Cornell University Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B7"><label>7.</label><mixed-citation>Irigaray, L. (1985). Speculum of the other woman. Cornell University Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B8"><label>8.</label><mixed-citation>Kofman, S. (1985). Feminism and psychoanalysis: The daughter's seduction. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/3735356</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B9"><label>9.</label><mixed-citation>Kristeva, J. (1980). Desire in language: A semiotic approach to literature and art. Columbia University Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B10"><label>10.</label><mixed-citation>Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider: Essays and speeches. Crossing Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B11"><label>11.</label><mixed-citation>Mohanty, C.T. (1988). Under Western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses. Feminist Review, 30(1), 61-88. https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.1988.42</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B12"><label>12.</label><mixed-citation>Showalter, E. (1985). Feminist criticism in the wilderness. Critical Inquiry, 12(2), 243-270. Retrieved March 22, 2024, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343159</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B13"><label>13.</label><mixed-citation>Spivak, G.C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson &amp; L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture (pp. 271-313). University of Illinois Press.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B14"><label>14.</label><mixed-citation>Woolf, V. (1929). A room of one's own. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.</mixed-citation></ref></ref-list></back></article>
